The Fair Work Commission's gender undervaluation review changes the SCHADS Award in two steps. Home care employees who provide disability care get an initial increase of up to 15% to their minimum award rate from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026. From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2027, a new classification structure replaces Schedules B, C, E and F and the remaining increases apply.
Dates, as at 17 October 2026
- DoneInitial decision of the Expert Panel
Decision [2025] FWCFB 74 starts the review of five priority awards, the SCHADS Award among them, for gender-based undervaluation.
- DoneSCHADS review finalised, Schedule E provisional
Decision [2026] FWCFB 137 settles the new classification structure for 1 October 2027 and puts a provisional view that Schedule E home care employees should get an earlier first increase.
- DoneFinal decision and determination
Decision [2026] FWCFB 232 and determination PR814259. The Schedule E interim increase is moved from 1 October 2026 to 1 December 2026.
- DoneFair Work Ombudsman publishes the changes
The FWO page on the SCHADS changes goes up, with the 1 December 2026 pay guide and rates in its Pay and Conditions Tool.
- AheadInitial increase for home care disability employees
Up to 15% on the minimum award rate for home care employees who provide disability care, from the first full pay period starting on or after this date.
- AheadNew classification structure
Schedules B, C, E and F are replaced, the remaining increases apply, and the rates include any change from the 2027 Annual Wage Review. Again from the first full pay period starting on or after this date.
Who gets the 1 December 2026 increase
The first step is for home care employees who provide disability care: the Schedule E employees whose minimum wages sit in clause 17.1 of the award. The Fair Work Ombudsman says they receive an initial increase of up to 15% to their minimum award rate, starting from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026.
Some pages still give 1 October 2026. That was the Commission's provisional date for this step, and its 11 September 2026 decision deferred it to 1 December 2026. Any remaining increase for these employees applies when the new structure starts on 1 October 2027.
“The following minimum wages apply to home care employees providing services to a person with a disability.”
SCHADS Award cl 17.1
- Not 1 October 2026: deferred to 1 December 2026 by [2026] FWCFB 232
- Up to 15% on the minimum award rate
- From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026
Home care or social and community services: which schedule a worker is on
The award defines the home care sector as personal care, domestic assistance or home maintenance for an aged person or a person with a disability in a private residence. The social and community services sector includes disability services, including personal care and domestic and lifestyle support, in a community or residential setting, including respite centres and day services.
Many disability support workers in group homes, SIL houses and day programs are engaged as social and community services employees under Schedule B. The award says working in a private home does not on its own stop someone being on Schedule B. Their changes start with the new classification structure on 1 October 2027, not on 1 December 2026. Which schedule fits a worker depends on the work and how they are engaged, so check each classification against the award.
“an employee will not be precluded from being engaged under Schedule B, instead of another schedule, merely because they provide services in a private residence or in outreach.”
SCHADS Award cl 3.1 (note to the definition of social and community services sector)
What changes on 1 October 2027
Most of the changes start from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2027. The Commission replaces the classification schedules for social and community services, crisis accommodation and home care employees (Schedules B, C, E and F) with a new classification structure, and the award gets new definitions, new rules about progression between pay points and new minimum pay rates.
The Fair Work Ombudsman says the rates that apply from 1 October 2027 will include any changes from the 2027 Annual Wage Review. The pay tables for that date are not in the award yet, so no figure for them appears here.
“We determined to replace the current Schedules B, C, E and F of the Award with a new classification structure to commence on 1 October 2027”
[2026] FWCFB 232 at [1]
- New classification structure replacing Schedules B, C, E and F
- New definitions and pay point progression rules
- New minimum rates, including the 2027 Annual Wage Review
Why it starts on a pay period, not a date
A change to modern award minimum wages takes effect for each employee from the start of their first full pay period that starts on or after the operative date. A fortnightly pay period that starts on Monday 30 November 2026 is paid at the old rate for that whole period, and the increase applies from the next one.
“does not take effect in relation to a particular employee until the start of the employee’s first full pay period that starts on or after”
Fair Work Act s 166(5)
Getting payroll ready
The 1 December 2026 rates are in the Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool and its 1 December 2026 pay guide for MA000100. Read them from there rather than working out 15% yourself: the increase is up to 15%, and the pay guide states the rate for each level and pay point.
Before the first pay period on or after 1 December, list every worker on a home care classification, confirm the classification against the award, and check the pay period start dates so the new rate lands on the right run.
Parkways compares its SCHADS rates and allowances with the Fair Work Commission's Modern Awards Pay Database for MA000100 and reports any difference as a finding a person confirms. It never changes a worker's pay on its own.
- List workers on Schedule E home care classifications
- Confirm each classification against the award
- Map the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026
- Load the rates from the FWO pay guide, then check the first run
SCHADS increase December 2026: straight answers
When does the SCHADS increase start?
In two steps. Home care employees who provide disability care get an initial increase from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026. Most of the other changes, including the new classification structure, start from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2027.
Does the SCHADS increase start on 1 October 2026?
No. 1 October 2026 was the Fair Work Commission's provisional date for the first step. Its decision of 11 September 2026 ([2026] FWCFB 232) deferred it to 1 December 2026, so the initial increase for home care employees who provide disability care applies from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 December 2026.
How much is the 1 December 2026 SCHADS increase?
Up to 15% to the minimum award rate, for home care employees who provide disability care. The exact rate for each level and pay point is in the Fair Work Ombudsman's 1 December 2026 pay guide for MA000100 and its Pay and Conditions Tool.
Do disability support workers on Schedule B get the 1 December 2026 increase?
The 1 December 2026 step is for Schedule E home care employees who provide disability care. Social and community services employees doing disability services work under Schedule B move to the new classification structure, with its new rates, from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2027.
What changes in the SCHADS Award on 1 October 2027?
A new classification structure replaces Schedules B, C, E and F, with new definitions, new rules about progression between pay points and new minimum pay rates. The rates will include any changes from the 2027 Annual Wage Review.
Which Fair Work Commission decision made the change?
Decision [2026] FWCFB 232 of 11 September 2026 and determination PR814259, finalising matter AM2024/21 in the gender-based undervaluation priority awards review. It followed decision [2026] FWCFB 137 of 1 June 2026.
Does the increase apply from 1 December 2026 exactly?
No. It applies from the start of each employee's first full pay period that starts on or after 1 December 2026 (Fair Work Act s 166(5)).
Sources
Read from these editions on 17 October 2026. This guide explains the rules; it is not advice on one person's pay or one incident.
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Gender undervaluation: priority awards review (published 23 April 2025, updated 21 September 2026)
- Fair Work Ombudsman, Changes to the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award (published 21 September 2026)
- Fair Work Commission, Decision [2026] FWCFB 232 (11 September 2026), matter AM2024/21
- Fair Work Commission, Determination PR814259 (Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010)
- Fair Work Commission, Gender-based undervaluation: priority awards review (case page, updated 1 October 2026)
- Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award 2010 (MA000100), Fair Work Ombudsman consolidation to 1 September 2026 (PR813674)
- Fair Work Act 2009, Compilation No. 73 (7 July 2026), section 166