The Fair Work Commission has found that the work of health professionals has been undervalued on the basis of gender. The fix is a new pay structure under the Health Professionals and Support Services Award (the HPSS Award) and a series of pay rises that started on 1 October 2026 and run through to 2030.
As a physio, I think this is overdue. Allied health clinicians are skilled professionals, and the award hasn’t reflected that for a long time. As a clinic owner, I also know a 15% to 20% rise in wage costs for some of your team needs planning, not a surprise every July.
This guide covers what changed, the new rates, and what the HPSS Award pay rises cost a typical clinic. There’s a calculator below so you can run the numbers for your own team.
Last checked: 20 October 2026, from the Fair Work Commission, Fair Work Ombudsman and ATO. This is general information, not legal, payroll or financial advice. Check your obligations with the Fair Work Ombudsman or an adviser.
The short version
- From 1 October 2026, health professionals under the HPSS Award moved to a new classification structure with higher minimum rates.
- Up to four more increases follow, from 30 June in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030. Level 1 physios, EPs, OTs, podiatrists and psychologists get all four, as do Levels 2.2 and 3. Levels 2.1 and 4 get three, and some AQF 5 and 6 rates reach their final level sooner.
- These come on top of the Annual Wage Review each July. The Commission rejected arguments that they should be absorbed into future wage reviews.
- For a Level 1 physio, EP, OT or podiatrist, the increases from now to 2030 add roughly 15% to 20% to minimum rates, before any Annual Wage Review rises.
- Reception and admin staff on the support services classifications don’t get these increases, except dental assistants and pathology collectors. They still get Annual Wage Review rises.
- In our example clinic of four physios and a receptionist, the pay rises alone add about $52,000 a year by 2030, including super. Add a 3.5% Annual Wage Review each year and it’s about $121,000.
What changed
This came out of the Commission’s gender undervaluation review of priority awards. For the HPSS Award, the key steps were:
| Date | Decision | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| 16 April 2025 | [2025] FWCFB 74 | Found the work of health professionals, dental assistants and pathology collectors was undervalued |
| 24 December 2025 | [2025] FWCFB 297 | Confirmed the new health professional structure and rates, based on AQF level and years of experience, phased in over up to five stages. Also finalised increases for dental assistants and pathology collectors |
| 26 May 2026 | [2026] FWCFB 123 | Finalised the health professional changes, ruled out absorbing them into future wage reviews, and moved the start to 1 October 2026 |
| 7 September 2026 | [2026] FWCFB 231 and determination PR814029 | Made the first stage of new rates law from 1 October 2026 |
The first stage applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2026. The later stages are due from 30 June in each of 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030. The Commission hasn’t yet made the determinations for those stages, and it has said the stage rates may be affected by future Annual Wage Reviews.
The new classification structure
The old Level 1 to 4 pay points are gone. Pay for a Level 1 health professional now depends on two things:
- The AQF level of your profession, listed in Schedule B of the award
- Years of experience in the profession at Level 1: 1st year, 2nd to 3rd year, 4th to 6th year, and 7th year onwards
Level 1 isn’t just for new graduates. It covers anyone who meets the requirements to practise in their profession. Experience counts across employers, so a physio with four years at another clinic comes in at the 4th to 6th year rate.
Above Level 1:
- Level 2.1: senior clinician, specialist, supervisor or educator with less than 5 years in that role
- Level 2.2: the same, with 5 or more years in the role
- Level 3: advanced clinician, senior specialist or section manager
- Level 4: manager with responsibility for budgets and strategy
The old rule for yearly pay point progression has been removed. Progression now comes from moving up the experience bands.
Where common allied health professions sit
| Profession | AQF level in Schedule B |
|---|---|
| Physiotherapist | 7 |
| Exercise physiologist | 7 |
| Occupational therapist | 7 |
| Podiatrist | 7 |
| Dietitian | 7, 8 or 9 (depends on the qualification held, or a higher one the employer requires) |
| Speech pathologist | 7, 8 or 9 (depends on the qualification held, or a higher one the employer requires) |
| Psychologist | 9 |
| Chiropractor | 9 |
| Osteopath | 9 |
| Myotherapist | 6 |
| Remedial massage therapist (listed as “Masseur, Remedial”) | 5 |
Some roles common in allied health clinics, such as Pilates instructors, exercise scientists and allied health assistants, aren’t listed in Schedule B. Under the award, an unlisted profession is placed at the AQF level of its standard minimum qualification. Some of these roles may also be covered by a different award, so check before you assume.
Staff already on the award before 1 October 2026
If someone was classified as a health professional under the award on 30 September 2026, they get the higher of their new rate or their old “retained” rate under the transitional arrangements in the award. In practice, check each existing employee’s old pay point against their new classification before assuming the new rate applies.
This matters for budgeting too. Some existing staff are on retained rates above their new rate, so they’ll see little or nothing from the early stages. For example, someone on the old Level 4 pay point 4 keeps $2,705.10 a week. That’s higher than the new Level 4 rate of $2,499.10, and higher than the indicative 2027 and 2028 stage rates too. The calculator below uses the new rates, so adjust for anyone on a retained rate.
What stage 1 meant for new graduates
For new graduates, the 1 October change was small. Under the old structure, a graduate physio with a 4-year degree started at Level 1 pay point 3, which was $1,273.40 a week from 1 July 2026. A graduate starting now is on $1,308.80, which is $35.40 (2.8%) more.
A graduate with an entry-level Masters started at pay point 4, which was $1,317.20 a week. A new Masters graduate hired now starts on $1,308.80, slightly less. Staff who were already classified on 30 September 2026 keep the higher retained rate.
The bigger rises for graduates and early-career clinicians come in the later stages.
The new rates
These are the minimum weekly rates for a 38-hour week. The 1 October 2026 rates are in force now. The July 2027 to July 2030 rates are the Commission’s indicative stage rates, which don’t include future Annual Wage Review rises. The Commission says the stage rates may be affected by future wage reviews, so expect the real rates to be higher.
Level 1, AQF 7 (physio, EP, OT, podiatrist)
| Years | From 1 Oct 2026 | Hourly now | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | Rise to 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st year | $1,308.80 | $34.44 | $1,374.40 | $1,440.00 | $1,505.60 | $1,571.10 | 20.0% |
| 2nd to 3rd year | $1,409.00 | $37.08 | $1,470.30 | $1,531.60 | $1,592.90 | $1,654.30 | 17.4% |
| 4th to 6th year | $1,565.30 | $41.19 | $1,624.20 | $1,683.10 | $1,742.00 | $1,801.00 | 15.1% |
| 7th year onwards | $1,689.50 | $44.46 | $1,754.10 | $1,818.70 | $1,883.30 | $1,947.70 | 15.3% |
Levels 2 to 4
| Level | From 1 Oct 2026 | Hourly now | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2030 | Rise to 2030 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 2.1 | $1,945.40 | $51.19 | $2,003.80 | $2,063.90 | $2,094.30 | $2,094.30 | 7.7% |
| Level 2.2 | $1,983.20 | $52.19 | $2,043.10 | $2,104.40 | $2,167.50 | $2,222.70 | 12.1% |
| Level 3 | $1,983.20 | $52.19 | $2,085.00 | $2,186.80 | $2,288.60 | $2,390.40 | 20.5% |
| Level 4 | $2,499.10 | $65.77 | $2,574.10 | $2,651.30 | $2,711.10 | $2,711.10 | 8.5% |
Levels 2.1 and 4 reach their final rate in 2029, so the 2030 figure is the same as 2029.
The AQF 5, 6, 8 and 9 rates (for example remedial massage therapists, myotherapists, psychologists, chiropractors and osteopaths) are built into the calculator below.
What about reception and admin staff?
Support services staff weren’t part of this increase, except dental assistants and pathology collectors, who have their own two-stage increase. Everyone else on the support services classifications gets the Annual Wage Review rise each July. The 2026 review added 4.75% from 1 July 2026, after 3.5% in 2025.
Some clinic reception and admin staff may be covered by a different award, so check which one applies to your team.
What it costs: worked examples
One graduate physio
A full-time graduate physio (Level 1, AQF 7, 1st year) is on $1,308.80 a week now. Ignoring experience increases and future wage reviews, the 2030 rate for that same band is $1,571.10.
That’s $262.30 more a week, or about $13,640 a year. With 12% super, it’s about $15,280 a year for one employee, from the pay rises alone.
An example clinic
Here’s a small clinic with four physios and a receptionist, all paid at the award minimum:
- Graduate physio, full time
- Physio with 2 years’ experience, full time
- Physio with 5 years’ experience, full time
- Senior physio at Level 2.1, full time
- Receptionist at Support Services Level 3 (check your own classification), 30 hours a week
Including 12% super, their yearly wage cost now is about $413,600.
| Scenario | Yearly cost from July 2030 | Increase on now | Extra paid, July 2027 to June 2031 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pay rises only (no wage reviews, no experience increases) | $465,571 | $51,962 (12.6%) | $135,862 |
| Pay rises plus a 3.5% wage review each July | $534,254 | $120,644 (29.2%) | $300,450 |
| Pay rises, 3.5% wage reviews and experience increases | $569,227 | $155,617 (37.6%) | $383,438 |
We’ve used 3.5% for the wage review, which was the 2025 increase. The 2026 increase was 4.75%. To estimate future rates, the calculator applies the wage review percentage to the Commission’s stage rates. That matches how the published stage rates were updated for the 2026 review, but the Commission hasn’t said exactly how it will apply future reviews.
The middle row is a sensible planning number, because there’s a wage review every year. The last row adds the cost of your team getting more experienced, which you’d pay anyway, but it all lands in the same budget.
What that means per consult
Say those four physios each see 30 consults a week for 46 weeks of the year. That’s 5,520 consults.
The pay rises alone (the first row) work out to about $9.41 per consult by 2030. That’s roughly $2 to $2.60 more per consult each year from 2027. Your numbers will differ, but it’s a useful way to think about fee reviews.
Calculate your clinic’s cost
Add each employee, choose their classification and experience, and adjust the assumptions. If you pay above the award, enter their current hourly rate and choose whether you’d keep your margin or only pay what’s required.HPSS Award pay rise calculator
Estimate what the 2026 to 2030 health professional pay rises cost your clinic. Add each employee, then adjust the assumptions. Rates last checked 20 October 2026.
Your team
Assumptions
What it costs
- Award rates from 1 October 2026 are from the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 as varied by Fair Work Commission determination PR814029. Rates from July 2027 to July 2030 use the Commission's indicative stage rates, which exclude future Annual Wage Review rises. The calculator applies your wage review assumption to those rates. That matches how the published stage rates were updated for the 2026 review, but the Commission hasn't said exactly how future reviews will be applied.
- Support services staff (such as reception and admin) only get Annual Wage Review rises in this calculator. Dental assistants and pathology collectors have separate increases that aren't included.
- Costs use ordinary hours (up to 38 a week), 52 weeks a year and the casual loading where ticked. They don't include weekend, shiftwork or public holiday penalty rates, overtime, allowances or leave loading. Hours outside the award's span of ordinary hours can cost more.
- Level 1 experience bands: 1st year, 2nd to 3rd year, 4th to 6th year, 7th year onwards. Staff classified as health professionals under the award on 30 September 2026 may be entitled to a higher retained rate, which this calculator doesn't include. Levels 2.1 and 4 reach their final rate in 2029.
- This is an estimate for planning, not payroll or legal advice. Check your obligations with the Fair Work Ombudsman or an adviser.
Costs the award rates don’t show
The calculator uses ordinary hours. A few other things move your real cost:
- Weekend and public holiday work. Under the award, ordinary hours worked on a weekend by full-time and part-time staff are paid at 150%, and public holidays at 250%.
- Evenings and the span of ordinary hours. For private physiotherapy, chiropractic and osteopathic practices (and medical, dental and pathology practices), ordinary hours for day workers can fall between 7.30 am and 9.00 pm on weekdays and 8.00 am and 4.30 pm on Saturdays. For other practices, including OT, podiatry, psychology and exercise physiology, the default span is 6.00 am to 6.00 pm, Monday to Friday. Work outside the span may be paid as shiftwork (115%) or overtime (from 150%), depending on how it’s rostered. If you run evening or Saturday sessions, check clauses 13, 25 and 26 of the award.
- Casual staff. Casuals get a 25% loading on the minimum hourly rate.
- Super. The super guarantee is 12%. Since 1 July 2026, under Payday Super, contributions need to reach the fund within 7 business days after you pay your employee, so the cash goes out more often.
- On-costs. Leave, workers compensation and payroll tax (if you’re over your state’s threshold) all rise with wages. The calculator has a field for these.
If you pay above the award, or use contractors
Plenty of clinics already pay above the minimum, especially for experienced clinicians. If that’s you, the new rates may not force an immediate change for everyone. But by 2030 the minimums are much higher, and a margin that looks comfortable today may disappear. Run your actual rates through the calculator to see when each person’s pay would fall below the award.
Whether you can absorb an award increase into existing above-award pay depends on your employment contracts, so get advice before assuming you can.
The award covers employees, not genuine independent contractors. If your clinicians are contractors on a percentage split, the award doesn’t set their pay. But it does set what an employed clinician earns, and contractors will compare their take-home against it
How to get ready
- Classify everyone under the new structure. Note each clinician’s profession, AQF level and years of experience, and check your payroll applied the new rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2026.
- Check retained rates for anyone classified as a health professional under the award on 30 September 2026.
- Put 30 June and 1 July in your calendar for 2027 to 2030. Most years there’s both a stage increase and an Annual Wage Review.
- Run the calculator with your team and a realistic wage review assumption, and add the result to your budget.
- Plan your fee reviews. Small, regular increases are easier for patients than one big jump. Reviewing fees each July, when the wage rises land, keeps it predictable.
- Look at non-wage costs. Admin time, unfilled appointments and late cancellations all cost you clinician hours you’re now paying more for.
- Talk to your team. These increases recognise the value of their work. That’s a good conversation to have, not one to avoid.
Where Clinic1 helps
Higher wages make every clinician hour more valuable. Clinic1 is built to protect those hours:
- AI notes and letters. The AI Scribe writes the note and letters inside the patient record, so clinicians spend less non-billable time on admin.
- Less front desk time. Patients book, reschedule and pay through the patient app, and cancellation fees are applied automatically under your policy.
- Fewer empty slots. Smart Waitlist offers cancelled appointments to patients in the app.
- Reporting. 24 pre-built reports and a caseload dashboard, so fee reviews are based on real numbers.
If you’d like to see it, start a 14-day free trial or book a walkthrough with me. Data migration is free from any practice management system.
FAQ
How much are the HPSS Award pay rises?
It depends on the classification. For a Level 1 physio, exercise physiologist, occupational therapist or podiatrist (AQF 7), minimum rates rise by about 15% to 20% between October 2026 and July 2030, before Annual Wage Review increases. Level 3 rises by 20.5%, Level 2.2 by 12.1%, Level 4 by 8.5% and Level 2.1 by 7.7%. Existing staff on a higher retained rate may see less.
When do the HPSS Award increases happen?
The first stage started from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2026. Further increases are due from 30 June in 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030.
Are the increases on top of the Annual Wage Review?
Yes. The Fair Work Commission rejected submissions that the increases should be absorbed into future Annual Wage Review increases. The 2026 Annual Wage Review added 4.75% from 1 July 2026.
What is the award rate for a new graduate physio?
A new graduate physiotherapist is Level 1, AQF 7, 1st year of experience. From 1 October 2026 the minimum rate is $1,308.80 a week, or $34.44 an hour, for full-time and part-time employees. Casuals get a 25% loading on top.
Do the increases apply to receptionists?
Not for most support services staff. Under the HPSS Award, only dental assistants and pathology collectors in the support services stream got increases from this review. Other support services staff, such as reception and admin, get Annual Wage Review increases.
Are the 2027 to 2030 rates final?
Not yet. They’re indicative stage rates published by the Fair Work Commission and don’t include future Annual Wage Review increases, which the Commission says may affect them. The Commission still needs to make the determinations for those stages.
Does the HPSS Award apply to contractors?
The award applies to employees. Genuine independent contractors aren’t covered, but make sure your arrangements are a real contracting relationship.
Sources
All sources are Australian and were checked on 20 October 2026.
- Fair Work Commission, Gender undervaluation: priority awards review, including [2025] FWCFB 74
- Fair Work Commission, [2025] FWCFB 297, [2026] FWCFB 123 and [2026] FWCFB 231
- Fair Work Commission, statements [2026] FWCFB 47 and [2026] FWCFB 216 (indicative stage rates)
- Fair Work Commission, Determination PR814029 (operative 1 October 2026)
- Fair Work Commission, Determination PR799308 (rates from 1 July 2026 under the old structure)
- Fair Work Commission, Annual Wage Reviews
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 (MA000027)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Pay guides
- ATO, Super guarantee rate
- ATO, Payment deadlines for Payday Super
