The purpose of this grant opportunity is to provide one-off funding of the actual cost to CHSP service providers to meet the costs of increased wages of eligible aged care workers to the new minimum award wage from 1 January 2025.

The purpose of this grant opportunity is to provide one-off funding of the actual cost to CHSP service providers to meet the costs of increased wages of eligible aged care workers to the new minimum award wage from 1 January 2025.

The objective of the grant opportunity is:

• to provide funding for CHSP service providers to pay the increase in wages as a result of the FWC Stage 3 decisions for Tranche 1 (increases from 1 January 2025 only) to eligible aged care workers to the new minimum award wage in the 2024-25 financial year.

The intended outcome of the grant opportunity is:

• that CHSP service providers are funded to pass on the relevant award wage increases to eligible aged care workers from 1 January 2025.

This grant opportunity provides $17.1 million in funding in the 2024-25 financial year to support CHSP providers with the FWC Stage 3 Tranche 1 increases, to increase the wages of eligible aged care workers on in scope awards to the new minimum award wage (including associated on-costs), from 1 January 2025.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible you must be one of the following entity types: 

• Indigenous Corporation (registered under the Corporations (Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006) 
• Company 
• Corporate State or Territory Entity 
• Non-corporate State or Territory Entity 
• Non-corporate State or Territory Statutory Authority
• Local Government 
• Cooperative 
• Incorporated Association
• Unincorporated Association
• Statutory Entity

If you are applying as a Trustee on behalf of a Trust, the Trustee must have an eligible entity type as listed above.

Applications can only be accepted from:

• An existing CHSP service provider that:
  • has an executed grant agreement with the Commonwealth, as represented by the Department of Health and Aged Care, to deliver CHSP services that is due to expire on 30 June 2025; and
  • employs CHSP direct and indirect aged care workers that are paid under one of the following eligible award types that are impacted by the FWC Stage 3 decision (and must provide evidence of this through a completed Employee Workforce Capture Template and where relevant Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) that shows the eligible workers and award payment type / amount):
    • Aged Care Award 2010
    • Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry (SCHADS) Award 2010 (Schedule F - Home Care) , and
  • employs CHSP aged care under one or more of the below CHSP service types: 
    • Allied Health and Therapy Services
    • Assistance with Care and Housing
    • Centre Based Respite
    • CHSP Personal Care
    • CHSP Transport
    • Cottage Respite
    • Domestic Assistance
    • Flexible Respite
    • Goods, Equipment and Assistive Technology
    • Home Maintenance
    • Home Modifications
    • Meals
    • Nursing
    • Other Food Services
    • Service Systems Development
    • Social Support - Group
    • Social Support - Individual
    • Specialised Support Services

• Email: Grant.ATM@health.gov.au