The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has released its final decision on 26 May 2026 confirming major changes to the Health Professionals and Support Services Award. These changes have two main effects:

·       The classification levels for Health Professionals; and

·       The minimum pay rates applying to those classifications.

This is not just a normal annual wage increase.

For professions requiring university degrees, graduates will see around a 30% increase in minimum wages and experienced practitioners generally around 20-25%.

These adjusted rates will be phased in over 5 years. This means on average an increase of around a 5% each year will apply until the final rate is reached, plus whatever the minimum wage increase for that year.

The below is an overview of what this means practically, note these are example rates only:

–          Current example pay rate = $30/hr

–          Estimated Fair Work Commission annual increase 3.5% = $31.05/hr

–          Approximate increase due to these changes 5% = $32.60

Overall this equates more than an 8.5% increase when the two increases are applied simultaneously (compound interest).

Depending on how your wages are designed, this could result in big changes to your pay structures including minimum hourly rates, salaries or bonuses.

The FWC will publish the annual increase % figure in early June; for the detailed staged rates, profession-by-profession AQF table, hourly rates, casual rates and implementation checklist, download our free HPSSA Pay Rate Guide (to be released 5^th June 2026 after the FWC annual wage increase is confirmed).

Why did the FWC decide to increase health professionals pay rates by 20-30%?

This decision comes from the FWC’s gender-based undervaluation review of 5 separate Awards, where they found that as a female dominated industry the work of health professionals has been historically undervalued compared to male dominated industries.

In practical terms, this means the Award minimum rates had not properly reflected the qualifications, skills, responsibility, complexity and value of the work performed by Health Professionals.

When do the new classifications for health professionals take effect?

Due to the complexity of the changes to the Health Professional classifications and pay rates, the Fair Work Commission has made the new structure and rates effective from 1 October 2026, rather than 1 July 2026, to allow employers time to prepare.

The staged increases required to reach the final rates will still occur each year, with further increases where applicable continuing from 1^st July in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030.

New Classification(7+Yrs Experience)	Current Weekly Rates	Final Weekly Rates*
AQF5 – Diploma	$          1,426.14	$          1,471.40
AQF6 – Advanced Diploma	$          1,426.14	$          1,589.90
AQF7 – Bachelor Degree	$          1,478.20	$          1,859.40
AQF8 – Honors Degree	$          1,534.44	$          1,915.20
AQF9 – Masters	$          1,595.62	$          1,969.80
Level 2.1	$1,426   –  $1,595	$          1,999.30

* Note the final rates are expressed in today’s value. This will increase each year with the minimum wage increase – so for example, if the AQF9 final rate will be effective in 2030 it will be $1,969 + the annual increase each year. If there was a 3% increase annually, this would be approximately $2,282 in 2030.

Will practitioners be classified by their profession or their actual qualification?

Many allied health professions have different university pathways into the same profession so one of the big issues during the review process was whether employees should be classified by:

• the qualification they personally hold; or
• the standard minimum qualification required for their profession.

Based on client feedback, in our submission to the Fair Work Commission, we supported classifications being set by profession to ensure there is not inequality between practitioners doing the same job simply because of their university pathway.

Thankfully, the final decision mostly reflects the profession-based approach for most allied health professions.

Unfortunately, they made some exceptions, so there is some inconsistency between a few professions. For example, Speech Pathology and Dietetics have multiple AQF levels listed, so the employee’s actual qualification may be relevant.

What is the AQF Framework and how will my practitioners be classified?

The Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) is a standard relating to formal qualifications in Australia. The table below summarises common professions my clients employ:  

Profession	Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Level
Remedial Massage	AQF Level 5 – Diploma
Myotherapy	AQF Level 6 – Advanced Diploma
Physiotherapy, Exercise Physiology, Occupational Therapy, Podiatry	AQF Level 7 – Bachelor Degree
Psychology, Chiropractic, Osteopathy	AQF Level 9 – Masters Degree
Speech Pathology, Dietician	AQF Level 7, 8 or 9

Note: This is not a complete list – if you have other health professionals not listed above, please check the Award or get in touch with us for assistance.

What are the main changes to how employees progress in levels?

Within Level 1, employees will only have the following “pay points”:

–          >1 yrs experience

–          2-3yrs experience

–          4-6yrs experience

–          7+yrs experience

This WILL NOT be pro-rata on part time experience. If someone is in their 4^th year of post graduate practice, even though they are working part time, they will be in the 4-6yr experience bracket. This is a major change from the current structure.

The FWC stated they preferred this method so as not to disadvantage the high proportion of women working in part time roles, which would further perpetuate the gender pay gap by penalising them for working part time.

Unlike the current system, employees do not automatically progress to Level 2 unless they are performing Level 2 duties.

Do my health professionals who are currently Level 2 stay or drop back to Level 1?

This needs careful review.

Some employees who are currently Level 2 under the old structure may translate into Level 1 under the new structure unless they actually perform the new Level 2 duties.

For example, an experienced physiotherapist who manages their own caseload but does not supervise others, perform specialist work, or hold a formal Senior Clinician / Supervisor / Educator role may be classified as: AQF7 – 7+yrs experience.

Note – just because you use a “Senior” title internally, does not mean they fit the Level 2 description.

This is why employers should not simply roll current classifications across. You need to review the employee’s profession, AQF level, experience and actual duties.

The translation rules and retained minimum rate provisions are also important because an employee’s minimum rate may need to be the higher of their translated classification rate to make sure their pay does not drop.

How much do I need to budget for wage increase in 2026?

From 1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026, current classifications will continue to apply, with the rates being the current rates + the usual FWC Annual Wage Review increase. This will be announced early June – we predict this could be in the 3-5% range.

From the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2026, the new Health Professional classification structure and first stage rates will apply. The rates are increased approximately 5% on the current rates. This means overall with both increases applied expect minimum rates to be 8-10% higher this year.  Those published in the below table is the classification change and doesn’t include the Annual Wage Review.

Want the full hourly, casual and staged 2026–2030 tables? Download our free HPSS Award Pay Rate Guide (available after 5^th June 2026)

Example role	Example Current Classification	Previous hourly rate FY25/26	New classification from October 2026	New hourly rate from October 2026
Remedial Massage Therapist – graduate	L1, PP1	$29.49	AQF5 – 1st year	$30.97+
Remedial Massage Therapist – 7+yrs	L2, PP1	$37.53	AQF5 – 7th year+	$38.72+
Myotherapist – graduate	L1, PP1	$29.49	AQF6 – 1st year	$30.97+
Myotherapist – 7+yrs	L2, PP1	$37.53	AQF6 – 7th year+	$41.68+
Physio / OT / Exercise Physiologist – graduate	L1, PP2	$30.64	AQF7 – 1st year	$32.88+
Physio / OT / Exercise Physiologist – 7+yrs	L2, PP2	$38.90	AQF7 – 7th year+	$42.44+
Chiro / Osteo / Psychologist – graduate	L1, PP4	$33.09	AQF9 – 1st year	$36.30+
Chiro / Osteo / Psychologist – 7+yrs	L2, PP4	$41.99	AQF9 – 7th year+	$44.09+
Team Leader	L2, PP4	$41.99	Level 2.1	$48.87+

What are the new pay rates for Senior Clinicians, Supervisors and Clinical Leads?

Similar to the current Award, there are still higher levels for Health Professionals. However, the definitions have changed.

In most private allied health clinics, you will likely have primarily Level 1 clinicians. If you have team leaders, they are likely Level 2 Supervisors.

Some businesses may also have Level 2 Specialist Clinicians, but you should not automatically assume someone becomes Level 2 simply because they have more than seven years’ experience or have a “Senior” title. 

Most small clinics will not have Level 3 roles unless someone has been formally appointed into a genuine Advanced Clinician, Clinical Lead or Section Manager role with broader responsibility than day-to-day supervision.

Below is a summary of the Level descriptors and the first-stage 2026 rates.

Classification	General description
Level 2.1	Senior Clinician, Specialist, Supervisor or Educator with less than 5 years performing Level 2 duties. May involve specialist knowledge, advanced practice, clinical guidance, supervision, education or day-to-day oversight.
Level 2.2	Senior Clinician, Specialist, Supervisor or Educator with 5 years or more performing Level 2 duties.
Level 3	Advanced Clinician, Senior Specialist or Section Manager. More likely where there is broader clinical leadership, section management, service responsibility or higher-level accountability.
Level 4	Manager. More likely where the role has significant management, resource, budget, strategic or service delivery responsibility.

What actions should I take to get ready for changes to the Health Professionals Award?

How do I work out my practitioners new pay classification?

If you don’t already have this information documented, we recommend creating a list of all employees that includes:

• Position title
• Year their qualification was obtained
• How much experience they have in calendar years – not full time equivalent, actual total years of experience
• Their current classification
• Their current pay
• If they are paid bonuses or commissions, how much they have been paid in the last 12 months
• How much revenue they have generated in the last 12 months

If you have employees in professions where multiple AQF levels are listed, such as Speech Pathology or Dietetics, you will also need to confirm the qualification they hold.

This is the kind of information we use with clients to work out revenue and wage cost projections, review pay structures and design practical performance metrics for the team.

You should also make sure your position descriptions are clear so you can determine whether employees are Level 1, 2, 3 or 4 under the new structure.

This is particularly important for employees who are currently classified as Level 2. Under the new structure, they may only be Level 1 unless they are genuinely performing the duties of a Senior Clinician, Specialist, Supervisor or Educator.

I also often see clinics over-inflating classifications because they want to pay an employee a higher rate. You don’t need to do this – you can simply pay above the Award.

Why this matters for allied health businesses

For clinics that already pay well above the Award, the immediate impact of these changes may be limited. However, this does not mean the changes can be ignored.

Employers still need to classify employees correctly and make sure employment contracts, salaries, payroll systems and position descriptions are aligned to the new structure.

For clinics that pay close to the Award, or use base wage plus bonus or commission structures, the impact may be much more significant.

In my view, the biggest risk is not just underpayment. It is businesses waiting too long to model the commercial impact, then trying to make rushed pay structure decisions close to the implementation date.

My recommendation: 

Do not wait until September.

Start by mapping your team into the new structure and modelling what your wage costs may look like over the full transition period, not just from October 2026.

You may also need to review your incentive or commission structure. If base wages increase over time, the same commission model may no longer be feasible.

In some cases, the right answer may be a redesigned remuneration structure that is still compliant, fair and commercially sustainable.

The clinics that handle this best will be the ones that review classifications, pricing, productivity and profitability together, not in isolation.

How do I get help working out classifications and pay rates and reviewing my bonus structures?

We are super happy to help – this is our jam! We love numbers and understand the Award implicitly.

We specialise in HR for allied health businesses and help clinic owners understand Award obligations, classify employees correctly and design wage structures that are compliant and commercially sustainable.

If you would like help reviewing your team’s classifications, wages and incentive structure, book a call here: