Pay Changes from 1 December 2026, Award by Award
Three changes share one start date. Home care disability workers get the first stage of a gender undervaluation increase, 18 to 20 year olds in retail, fast food and pharmacy with more than 6 months’ service move closer to the adult rate, and the early childhood worker retention payment enters its extension. Every award figure below is read from the determination the Fair Work Commission made, not retyped.
Published 25 September 2026 by Wage Calculator. Every figure below is traced to the government page that announced it, with that page’s own date.
The short answer
From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026, a Level 1 home care disability employee under the SCHADS Award goes from $27.28 to $31.38 an hour, and an 18 year old retail employee at Level 1 with more than 6 months’ service goes from 70% to 75% of the adult rate, or $19.47 to $20.86 an hour.
The worker retention payment for childcare continues from 1 December 2026 to 30 June 2028, but the Department of Education has not yet published minimum rates for the extension period, so none are given here.
Three changes, one start date.
| Change | Who it reaches | What moves |
|---|---|---|
| SCHADS home care disability increase (PR814259) | Home care employees providing disability care under the SCHADS Award | Minimum rates rise 13.3% to 15.0% |
| Junior rate steps (PR813655, PR813654, PR813656) | Employees aged 18 to 20 under the General Retail, Fast Food and Pharmacy awards, employed by their employer for more than 6 months | A higher percentage of the adult rate, rising in steps to 100% |
| Worker retention payment extension | Early childhood services that receive the Commonwealth grant | The grant continues to 30 June 2028. Extension rates not yet published |
The two award changes bite on your pay cycle, not the calendar: each applies from the start of your first full pay period that begins on or after 1 December 2026. 1 December 2026 is a Tuesday, so on a Monday to Sunday weekly cycle the new rates start on Monday 7 December 2026.
Home care disability workers: up to 15% more.
Fair Work Commission determination PR814259, made on 11 September 2026 with decision [2026] FWCFB 232 in the gender-based undervaluation priority awards review, replaces the home care disability scale in the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010. The Fair Work Ombudsman calls it an initial increase of up to 15%, and says any remaining increase applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2027, including whatever the 2027 Annual Wage Review adds.
Only the home care disability scale moves in December. The social and community services scale, crisis accommodation and home care for aged persons stay as they are, and all of them are on SCHADS Award Pay Rates. Which of the two scales a support worker sits on depends on where the support is delivered, which Disability Support Worker Pay Rate sets out.
| Level and pay point | Weekly now | Weekly from December | Rise | Hourly from December | Casual hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1, pay point 1 | $1,036.80 | $1,192.30 | 15.0% | $31.38 | $39.23 |
| Level 2, pay point 1 | $1,096.60 | $1,261.10 | 15.0% | $33.19 | $41.49 |
| Level 2, pay point 2 | $1,104.10 | $1,269.70 | 15.0% | $33.41 | $41.76 |
| Level 3, pay point 1certificate 3 | $1,119.10 | $1,287.00 | 15.0% | $33.87 | $42.34 |
| Level 3, pay point 2 | $1,153.70 | $1,326.80 | 15.0% | $34.92 | $43.65 |
| Level 4, pay point 1 | $1,221.00 | $1,404.20 | 15.0% | $36.95 | $46.19 |
| Level 4, pay point 2 | $1,245.40 | $1,431.70 | 15.0% | $37.68 | $47.10 |
| Level 5, pay point 1degree or diploma | $1,309.20 | $1,505.60 | 15.0% | $39.62 | $49.53 |
| Level 5, pay point 2 | $1,360.80 | $1,541.90 | 13.3% | $40.58 | $50.73 |
The weekly figures are the determination’s own. Hourly is the weekly rate divided by 38 and casual is that hourly rate plus the 25% casual loading, both rounded to the cent, which is the method that reproduces every current home care disability rate. Level 5 pay point 2 rises least, 13.3%, which is why the Ombudsman says “up to”.
Junior rates: 18 to 20 year olds with more than 6 months’ service.
Three determinations made on 26 August 2026, following [2026] FWCFB 75 and [2026] FWCFB 222, rewrite the junior rates tables in three awards. Each new table takes effect for an employee from the start of their first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026. Only employees aged 18, 19 and 20 who have been employed by their employer for more than 6 months move. An 18 to 20 year old with 6 months or less keeps today’s percentage, and nothing changes for anyone under 18.
In the retail award a 20 year old with more than 6 months’ service is already on 100% of the adult rate, so in that award only 18 and 19 year olds move. Every age band, with each later step, sits beside the junior table on Retail Award Pay Rates, Fast Food Award Pay Rates and Pharmacy Award Pay Rates.
General Retail Industry Award 2020
Determination PR813655, clause 17.2. Adult rate for Retail Employee Level 1: $27.81 an hour from 1 July 2026.
| Age | Now | From December | Adult rate from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 70%$19.47 | 75%$20.86 | 1 July 2029 |
| 19 | 80%$22.25 | 85%$23.64 | 1 July 2028 |
| 20 | 100%$27.81 | 100%$27.81 | Already |
Fast Food Industry Award 2020
Determination PR813654, clause 15.2. Adult rate for Fast food employee level 1: $27.81 an hour from 1 July 2026.
| Age | Now | From December | Adult rate from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 70%$19.47 | 75%$20.86 | 1 July 2029 |
| 19 | 80%$22.25 | 85%$23.64 | 1 July 2028 |
| 20 | 90%$25.03 | 95%$26.42 | 1 July 2027 |
Pharmacy Industry Award 2020
Determination PR813656, clause 16.2. Adult rate for Pharmacy assistant level 1: $27.81 an hour from 1 July 2026.
| Age | Now | From December | Adult rate from |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | 70%$19.47 | 75%$20.86 | 1 July 2029 |
| 19 | 80%$22.25 | 85%$23.64 | 1 July 2028 |
| 20 | 90%$25.03 | 95%$26.42 | 1 July 2027 |
Hourly figures are for the lowest adult classification in each award, worked out the way the award works out its junior rates: the adult weekly rate times the percentage, rounded to the cent, then divided by 38. They use the adult rates in force now. The next step, on 1 July 2027, lands on the same day as that year’s wage review, so no dollar figure for it can be known yet, and only its percentage is published here.
For shop work, the adult rate at each level, with the casual loading and take-home pay, is on Retail Assistant Pay Rate. For any other new rate, the Wage Calculator shows what it leaves after tax.
Retail enterprise agreements do not escape the step. On the figures worked out here, the retail award's new Level 1 rates for 18 and 19 year olds with more than 6 months' service, $20.86 and $23.64 an hour, are above the $19.78 and $22.61 on Woolworths Pay Rates and the $20.18 and $22.88 on Coles Pay Rates. Section 206 of the Fair Work Act 2009 does not let an agreement's base rate fall below the award's, so the award rate is the one owed. The Kmart agreement pays its juniors at least the award rate plus 1 cent, so its rates rise with the award.
Worker retention payment: extended, rates not yet out.
What is decided
On 17 June 2026 the Government committed $3.6 billion to extend the worker retention payment to 30 June 2028. The Department of Education’s key dates list 1 December 2026 as the day the extension begins.
Family Day Care and In Home Care services become eligible if they engage all their educators as employees. A funded service must still pay at least 15% above the applicable award rates, and an existing grantee has until 28 February 2027 to get its updated workplace instrument approved, while payments continue from 1 December 2026.
What is not published yet
The minimum hourly rates for the extension period. When we checked on 25 September 2026, the Department’s minimum rates page still gave only the rates that apply from 1 July 2026, such as $30.06 an hour for a Level 1 Introductory Educator. We will not estimate a December figure. It will be added here when the Department publishes it.
The payment is a grant condition, not an award rate, so it reaches only services that receive the grant. The award minimums it sits on top of are on Children's Services Award Pay Rates and Teachers Award Pay Rates, and what each educator level is paid now is on Early Childhood Educator Pay Rate.
Other dates close to December.
1 October 2026
Health professionals under the Health Services Award moved to a new classification structure with higher rates, from the first full pay period starting on or after that date, as Health Professional Pay Rise 2026 sets out. Health Services Award Pay Rates shows the new rates in force.
1 January 2027
The Fair Work Ombudsman says some dental assistants and pathology collectors under the Health Services Award get a further increase from this date.
1 October 2027
The rest of the SCHADS home care disability increase, and most of the other SCHADS classification changes from the same review, start from the first full pay period on or after this date.
One decided change has no date at all yet. The working from home clause the Commission is adding to the Clerks Award changes no pay rate, and its start waits on a final determination, as Clerks Award Working From Home explains.
Where these figures come from.
Provenance
Verified- Start date
- First full pay period on or after 1 December 2026
- SCHADS determination
- PR814259, [2026] FWCFB 232
- Junior rate determinations
- PR813655, PR813654, PR813656
- SCHADS rise, by level
- 13.3% to 15.0%
- Worker retention payment runs to
- 30 June 2028
- Extension rates published
- Not yet
- Determinations retrieved
- 14 September 2026
- Fair Work Commission, determination PR814259The page gave its own last updated date as 11 September 2026. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- Fair Work Commission, determination PR813655 (General Retail)The page gave its own last updated date as 26 August 2026. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- Fair Work Commission, determination PR813654 (Fast Food)The page gave its own last updated date as 26 August 2026. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- Fair Work Commission, determination PR813656 (Pharmacy)The page gave its own last updated date as 26 August 2026. Retrieved 14 September 2026.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services AwardThe page gave its own last updated date as 21 September 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Junior wage changes to Retail, Fast Food and Pharmacy AwardsThe page gave its own last updated date as 8 April 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- Department of Education, Worker retention paymentThe page gave its own last updated date as 3 September 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- Department of Education, Worker retention payment extended to 30 June 2028The page gave its own last updated date as 17 June 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- Department of Education, Worker retention payment eligibility and conditionsThe page gave its own last updated date as 14 September 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- Department of Education, Minimum rates you must pay workersThe page gave its own last updated date as 29 July 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Changes to the Health Services AwardThe page gave its own last updated date as 15 September 2026. Retrieved 25 September 2026.
Nothing on this page is copied from another pay site, and no figure here was taken from a search result summary. How every rate on this site is sourced and checked is set out on the Methodology page.
Pay Changes from 1 December 2026 questions, answered.
What pay changes start on 1 December 2026?
Three. Home care employees doing disability care under the SCHADS Award get an increase of up to 15.0% to their minimum rates. Employees aged 18 to 20 under the General Retail, Fast Food and Pharmacy awards who have worked for their employer for more than 6 months move to a higher percentage of the adult rate. And the Commonwealth worker retention payment for early childhood services enters its extension period. The two award changes apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026, not from the date itself.
How much is the SCHADS home care disability pay rise in December 2026?
Between 13.3% and 15.0%, depending on level and pay point. Determination PR814259 sets new weekly minimums for home care disability employees, and a Level 1 employee moves from $1,036.80 to $1,192.30 a week, or $27.28 to $31.38 an hour. The Fair Work Ombudsman describes it as an initial increase, with any remaining increase applying from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2027. The full current scale is on SCHADS Award Pay Rates.
Do all 18 year olds get a pay rise in December 2026?
No. Only employees aged 18 to 20 covered by the General Retail, Fast Food or Pharmacy award, and only those who have been employed by their employer for more than 6 months. An 18 year old with 6 months or less stays at 70% of the adult rate, and nothing changes for employees under 18. For those who qualify, the percentage steps up from 1 December 2026, and an 18 year old reaches the full adult rate from 1 July 2029 in all three awards.
Has the worker retention payment rate changed for the extension?
Not yet. The Department of Education lists 1 December 2026 as the day the extension begins, but when we checked on 25 September 2026 its minimum rates page still carried only the rates that apply from 1 July 2026, and it had published no rates for the extension period. The condition itself is unchanged: a service must pay at least 15% above the applicable award rates. The award minimums underneath are on Children's Services Award Pay Rates.
When do I actually see the December increase on my payslip?
From the start of your first full pay period that begins on or after 1 December 2026. 1 December 2026 is a Tuesday. On a weekly cycle running Monday to Sunday the period already running on that day finishes on the old rate, so the new rate starts on Monday 7 December 2026. If your cycle happens to start on Tuesday 1 December 2026, the new rate applies from that day.
See what the new rate leaves you with.
Enter your December hourly rate and your hours to work out take-home pay after tax.
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