Union battle to stamp out rampant NDIS wage theft heats up

Together the HSU, ASU, AWU and UWU made an application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to vary the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award (SCHADS Award) to ensure providers pay staff at least the minimum wage for social and community services workers.

Currently, a homecare classification loophole allows the employer to pay their employees as little as $24 per hour. This means employers can charge full NDIS prices based on higher wages under Schedule B and pocket a difference of almost $9 an hour. This dodgy practice must be stopped.

The unions are asking the FWC to vary the SCHADS Award to ensure that all disability support workers are covered by the Schedule B – Social and Community Services Employees classifications and the SACS Equal Remuneration Order (ERO).

To complement this work, we have also been calling on the Federal Government and NDIA to tighten funding guidelines and require providers to demonstrate that they have complied with the SACS ERO rates of pay before receiving payments.

The Disability Royal Commission heard that wage theft was a major issue and included a recommendation to vary the modern award. The unions are taking action on this recommendation and with aged care workers set to receive a pay increase in home care, the time is now to get disability workers in home care paid their proper wage to ensure the pay gap doesn’t widen.

Quotes attributable to HSU National Secretary Lloyd Williams

“Too many providers are underpaying disability support workers as home care workers. They do this by exploiting vague wording in the Award around “domestic assistance”. But just because the highly skilled support work is delivered in a home this doesn’t mean it’s home care.”

“This loophole must be closed; we must stop employers ripping off disability support workers by misclassifying them. We’re taking action because support workers can’t wait longer.”

“We can’t put the heart back into the NDIS unless we clean up the rorting and ensure every highly skilled and dedicated disability support worker is being paid a proper wage.”

“The disability sector is failing to attract the workers it desperately needs, and support workers aren’t even receiving the legal minimum wage. Stamping out wage theft is one of the necessary steps our union is taking to build up a well-qualified workforce with decent, safe working conditions.”