Official update · document review
Aged care wage funding and GO8512 leave liabilities grant
The Department's guidance covers funding related to Fair Work aged care wage increases for relevant registered nurse and enrolled nurse roles from the first full pay period on or after 1 August 2026. Applications are also open for Grant Opportunity GO8512, which may help eligible providers meet part of the increased annual or recreation leave, personal or sick leave, and long service leave costs arising from the 1 August 2026 wage increase for eligible aged care nurses. The grant covers 25% of the Fair Work Commission increase to eligible leave entitlements for registered residential providers and 50% for eligible Support at Home, CHSP, Transition Care, and NATSIFACP providers. Multi-Purpose Services are funded through existing agreements and are not eligible to apply for this grant. This is a grant opportunity, not an automatic payment or full reimbursement. Separately, the Department has now published the official Schedule of Subsidies and Supplements with rates applying from 1 October 2026, including the Support at Home subsidy and relevant supplements connected to the nurse award wage increase. Published quarterly budget figures remain indicative and do not change a participant's classification. A provider considering a nursing-service price change must explain and discuss it with the participant and obtain informed agreement before changing the price or service agreement. Refusal does not itself justify ceasing a service: any cessation must satisfy legal and contractual requirements and support continuity or transition. Increased funding is not paid in advance and remains subject to the normal post-service claim and payment process.
Document and workflow checks
Turn the official change into reviewable actions
- Assign owners across workforce, payroll, finance, and operational teams.
- Record which classifications and official pay source were reviewed outside CaresLink.
- Keep written communication dates, timing notes, and any back-pay follow-up owner.
- Maintain funding evidence and record the owner for Quarterly Financial Report information and attestation.
- Check the GO8512 Grant Opportunity Guidelines for full eligibility, claim, and evidence requirements; do not treat the 25% or 50% rate as a share of total wages or total leave liabilities.
- Record the questions deadline of 5:00 pm Canberra time on 29 September 2026 and the application deadline of 2:00 pm Canberra time on 6 October 2026, with an authorised submission owner.
- For Support at Home, record the 1 October funding source and the applicable subsidy or supplement, distinguishing indicative quarterly figures from actual published rates and provider-specific payments.
- Before proposing a nursing-service price or service-agreement change, record the explanation, discussion and informed participant agreement. Do not treat a participant's refusal as permission to cease the service.
- Keep any service cessation, continuity and transition process within applicable legal and contractual requirements. Do not record increased funding as received in advance; reconcile it through the normal claim process after eligible services are delivered.
- Keep the Support at Home subsidy change, participant pricing, GO8512 grant and any separate personal-care contribution change as distinct workstreams.
Who may need to review this
- Residential and in-home aged care providers
- Provider owners and executives
- Payroll, finance, and workforce teams
- Registered nurse and enrolled nurse workforce managers
Impact areas
- Effective-date controls
- Written workforce communication
- Funding evidence
- Quarterly Financial Report ownership
- Payroll and rostering handoff
- GO8512 historical leave liabilities grant
- Support at Home subsidy and supplement changes from 1 October 2026
- Participant price-change consent and service continuity
Team review question
Ask whether users need a workforce briefing register, funding evidence index, or payroll handoff checklist.
Usage boundary
Published funding schedules are not provider-specific payment results, automatic permission to increase a participant's price or change a service agreement, permission to cease a service, or advance funding. The Support at Home subsidy change is separate from GO8512 and any personal-care contribution change. CaresLink does not decide grant eligibility, calculate funding or wages, prepare or submit applications or claims, promise payment, or provide award, payroll, industrial-relations, pricing, financial, legal or professional advice.