With the Fair Work Commission confirming a 3.5% increase to the national minimum wage from 1 July 2025, HR leaders and hiring managers across the health, social services, and community sectors must act now to ensure compliance — particularly those covered by the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services (SCHADS) Award.
This change lifts the national minimum wage to $24.95 per hour or $948.00 per week, adding an estimated $1,670 annually for a full-time employee on a 38-hour week. But it’s not just about the national minimum wage — updates to the SCHADS Award rates and classifications will also take effect.
What This Means for You
If your organisation employs support workers, case managers, youth workers, or disability staff on SCHADS Award conditions, the impacts will be immediate:
Pay rates will need to be updated across all relevant levels and classifications.
Casual loadings, penalty rates, and allowances must also reflect the new minimum standards.
Incorrect classifications or delays in applying increases could result in backpay liabilities or even wage theft allegations.
The 2023–24 Fair Work Ombudsman data showed over $470 million in unpaid wages recovered, a stark reminder that compliance gaps — even unintentional ones — can result in significant costs.
Key Risks for Employers in the NFP, Aged Care and Disability Sectors
Award reliance: SCHADS remains one of the most complex modern awards due to varied shift patterns, on-call allowances, and broken shift penalties.
Rostering systems under pressure: Non-compliance often stems from outdated payroll systems or workarounds that don’t align with Award provisions.
Misclassification of roles: Especially common in hybrid or non-traditional roles, leading to underpayments.
Employee trust: Mistakes in pay, even if rectified, can harm morale and damage your employer brand.
What Should HR & Hiring Managers Do Now?
To stay ahead of the changes and avoid costly missteps:
Audit your employee classifications.
Check all employees under SCHADS are correctly classified and on the right pay level based on duties, qualifications, and experience.Update payroll systems before 1 July.
Ensure your system reflects the new pay rates, penalties, and entitlements. Don’t rely on manual processes.Communicate with staff.
Let affected employees know about their updated rates and when they’ll see the increase in their pay.Review casual and part-time contracts.
Ensure all terms align with new Award entitlements, including minimum engagement periods and penalty entitlements.Train frontline managers.
Equip team leaders with tools to understand and respond to pay-related queries confidently and accurately.Schedule a post-implementation compliance check.
Plan a check-in by the end of July to confirm changes have been implemented correctly.
Don’t Assume You’re Already Compliant
Paying “above the award” isn’t a free pass — if your rates haven’t kept pace with annual increases, you may unintentionally fall short. And for new hires starting in July, getting it wrong from day one can be an expensive and reputationally risky mistake.
Be Recruitment Can Help
At Be Recruitment, we work closely with HR leaders across Australia’s not-for-profit, health, and community sectors. Whether you’re hiring under SCHADS, updating contracts, or growing your team in response to funding changes, we’re here to support you with:
Award-aligned job design and classification
Recruitment of talent at the right level and salary band
Access to workforce planning insights and benchmarking
Need a hand navigating these changes or recruiting confidently under the new award settings?
Reach out to our team — we’re always happy to help. [email protected]