Health Services Award changes from 1 October 2026: an HR and payroll checklist

Published by SESAY · 2026-10-27 · General Australian payroll guidance

What to understand first

The Fair Work Commission changed the Health Professionals and Support Services Award as part of its gender-based undervaluation review. From 1 October 2026, the classification structure for health professional employees is based on qualifications and professional experience at Level 1, and on roles and duties at Levels 2, 3 and 4. Some minimum rates increased from the first pay period starting on or after 1 October 2026, with further increases scheduled for 30 June 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030. The consolidated award includes transition arrangements, but coverage and classification still require an employee-by-employee assessment. These changes do not automatically apply to every health-sector worker: HR must first confirm whether the employee is covered by this award, an enterprise agreement or another instrument.

Practical checks

• Create an affected-population register showing each employee's employing entity, industrial instrument, profession, current classification, qualification, recognised years of professional experience and substantive duties.
• Map Level 1 employees using the applicable Australian Qualifications Framework level and years of experience in the profession. Experience does not have to be with the current employer, so give employees a controlled way to provide evidence.
• Assess Levels 2, 3 and 4 against actual roles and duties, including senior clinician, specialist, supervisor, educator, advanced clinician, senior specialist, section manager or manager responsibilities. Do not rely on job title alone.
• Use the award's transition arrangements, current consolidated award and 1 October pay guide to approve the new classification and rate. Record the effective pay period for every payroll calendar.
• Test base pay and linked calculations, including overtime, penalties and allowances. The award's standard rate also changed on 1 October 2026, so a correct base rate does not prove every dependent component is correct.
• Reconcile the first affected run and retain the assessment, employee evidence, rate source, system test and approval. Diary the staged increases through 2030 rather than treating the October change as a one-off project.

Fictional example

Fictional allied-health employer Harbour Therapy identifies 18 award-covered health professionals. After checking qualifications, experience and duties, HR confirms that six employees need a different classification or pay point. For one fictional employee, assume the verified difference between the old system rate and the applicable official rate is $1.25 per hour. The employee worked 76 ordinary hours over two affected fortnights, so the gross correction is 76 × $1.25 = $95.00, before testing any linked penalties, overtime, leave payments or super treatment. The $1.25 is an illustrative assumption, not an award rate; the current award and pay guide determine the real entitlement.

Your next step

Run a joint HR and payroll review now, even if October payrolls have already closed. Start with award coverage, then classification, rate, effective pay period and dependent calculations. Separate confirmed corrections from cases needing industrial-relations advice, communicate outcomes carefully and do not ask payroll to guess missing qualifications or experience. Add the future staged dates to the compliance calendar, with named owners for employee data, classification approval, system configuration, testing and post-pay reconciliation.

How SESAY can help

SESAY can help HR and payroll teams build the affected-population register, translate approved classifications into payroll configuration, design test cases and document the first-run reconciliation within an agreed scope. SESAY does not replace the employer's coverage and classification decisions or independent legal advice where the award's application is uncertain.

Official sources

• Fair Work Ombudsman — Changes to the Health Services Award
• Fair Work Ombudsman — Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020
• Fair Work Ombudsman — Pay guides

Sources researched 2026-10-27. Examples are fictional and use stated assumptions. Confirm current rules and your circumstances before acting. This is general information, not individual tax or legal advice. SESAY is independent of the regulators linked here.