Aged Care Award 2010

[2022] FWCFB 200

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 200

s.158—Application to vary or revoke a modern award

Aged Care Award 2010

(AM2020/99 and AM2021/63)

Nurses Award 2020

(AM2021/63)

Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010

(AM2021/65)

JUSTICE ROSS, PRESIDENT
DEPUTY PRESIDENT ASBURY
DEPUTY PRESIDENT O’NEILL MELBOURNE, 4 NOVEMBER 2022

Applications to vary modern awards – work value – Aged Care Award 2010 – Nurses Award 2020 – Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 – Decision.

INDEX

Chapter				Paragraph
1.        Introduction				[1]
2.        The Decision: An Overview				[27]
3.        Legislative Framework				[66]
3.1      Overview			[66]
3.2      Subsections 157(2)(a) and (2A)			[75]
3.2.1	The Pharmacy Decision		[80]
3.2.2	The Teachers Decision		[101]
3.2.3	‘Reconciling’ the Pharmacy and Teachers Decisions		[111]
3.3      Consideration			[125]
3.3.1	Section 157(2)(b)		[129]
3.3.2	Section 157(2)(a)		[134]
(i)	A fixed datum point	[170]
(ii)	Relativities	[176]
(iii)	Pharmacy Decision: Proposition 6	[193]
3.3.3	Particular issues in contention		[225]
(i)	The ‘social utility’ of the work	[225]
(ii)	Dangerous work	[231]
(iii)	Attraction and retention	[255]
3.4      Modern Awards Objective			[270]
3.5      Minimum Wages Objective			[289]
3.6      Summary			[293]
4.        Summary of Submissions				[294]
(i)       Tandara Lodge Community Care submission dated 27            August 2021			[307]
(ii)      Uniting NSW.ACT submission dated 4 March 2022			[311]
(iii)     UnitingCare Australia submission dated 4 March 2022			[317]
(iv)     IRT Group submission dated 4 March 2022			[320]
(v)      BaptistCare NSW & ACT submission dated 4 March 2022			[325]
(vi)     Evergreen Life Care submission dated 7 March 2022			[331]
(vii)     MercyCare submission dated 7 march 2022			[335]
(viii)    Victorian Government			[338]
(ix)     Queensland Government			[343]
5.        The Evidence				[358]
5.1      Overview			[358]
5.2      Expert Evidence			[370]
5.2.1    Professor Charlesworth			[370]
5.2.2    Professor Kurrle			[377]
5.2.3    Professor Eagar			[384]
5.2.4    Professor Meagher			[390]
5.2.5    Associate Professor Smith and Dr Lyons			[396]
5.2.6    Associate Professor Junor			[409]
5.3      Joint Employers’ objections to the expert evidence			[416]
5.4      Lay Witness Evidence			[431]
6.        The Aged Care Sector				[438]
6.1      Overview			[438]
6.2      Data Sources			[441]
6.3      The Aged Care Workforce			[446]
6.3.1    Changes in occupational composition			[460]
6.3.2    Estimates of workers covered by modern awards			[469]
6.3.3    ‘Low paid’ aged care workers			[473]
6.4      Regulation of the Aged Care Sector			[479]
6.4.1    The Aged Care Quality Standards (the Standards)			[480]
6.4.2    Requirements relating to the use of physical or   chemical restraints			[491]
6.4.3    The National Aged Care Mandatory Quality   Indicator Program (QI Program)			[502]
6.4.4    The Serious Incident Response Scheme			[512]
6.5      Commonwealth Funding in the Aged Care Sector			[527]
6.5.1    The Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI)			[527]
6.5.2    New funding model – Australian National Aged   Care Classification (AN-ACC) Model			[529]
7.        Our Findings				[534]
7.1      The Aged Care Sector Stakeholder Consensus Statement			[535]
7.2      The Uncontentious Propositions			[551]
7.2.1	Overview		[551]
7.2.2	Evidentiary basis for the agreed propositions		[557]
7.3      The Contentious Issues			[740]
7.3.1	Gender Undervaluation		[740]
7.3.2	Invisible Skills – The Junor Report		[759]
7.3.3	Gender pay gap		[859]
8.        Consideration				[867]
8.1      The Context			[867]