Southern Cross Care's $11.7 Million Underpayment: What 5,500 Aged Care Workers Need to Know
On April 2, 2026, the Fair Work Ombudsman announced that Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) had signed an enforceable undertaking to rectify $11.7 million in underpayments to approximately 5,500 current and former workers. The underpayments ran for seven years, from July 2017 to October 2024, across 54 facilities including 27 retirement communities and 27 residential aged care homes.
If you work in aged care, or you worked for Southern Cross Care at any point during that period, this is what you need to know.
What Happened: The Southern Cross Care Underpayment
The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) investigation found that Southern Cross Care had been underpaying workers due to a combination of a faulty time and attendance system and manual payroll processes that were inconsistent with the enterprise agreement covering its workforce.
The result: 5,500 workers were underpaid across a seven-year period. Individual underpayment amounts ranged from less than $1 to $44,593. The affected workers include home care employees, assistants in nursing, registered nurses, enrolled nurses, facility managers, diversional therapists, cooks, and handypersons.
As of the enforceable undertaking date, 3,603 workers have already received back payments totalling more than $10 million. However, approximately 1,900 workers are still awaiting their back pay.
The enforceable undertaking is a legally binding agreement between Southern Cross Care and the FWO. It requires the organisation to repay every dollar owed, fix its payroll systems, and submit to ongoing compliance monitoring. If Southern Cross Care fails to meet these obligations, the FWO can take the matter to court.
Why This Keeps Happening in Aged Care
The Southern Cross Care case is not an isolated incident. It follows a pattern that has become increasingly visible across Australian aged care and community services.
Here are the key factors driving aged care underpayments.
-
Complex enterprise agreements and Awards. Aged care employers often operate under enterprise agreements layered on top of Modern Awards, with multiple classification streams for different roles. When these instruments are not correctly mapped into payroll systems, errors compound over time.
-
Faulty time and attendance systems. Southern Cross Care’s underpayment was directly linked to a faulty time and attendance system. Many aged care providers use rostering and timekeeping software that was configured once and never properly updated as pay rules changed.
-
Manual payroll overrides. When automated systems cannot handle complex pay rules, payroll teams resort to manual adjustments. Manual processes are error-prone, especially when applied across thousands of workers over multiple years.
-
High workforce diversity. A single aged care facility may employ registered nurses, enrolled nurses, assistants in nursing, personal care workers, kitchen staff, maintenance workers, and administrative staff, each with different pay rates, penalty rate structures, and allowance entitlements.
-
Shift complexity. Aged care runs around the clock. Workers regularly perform evening shifts, night shifts, weekend shifts, and public holiday shifts, all attracting different penalty rates. Overtime calculations, shift loadings, and minimum engagement periods add further complexity.
-
Seven years of compounding errors. In the Southern Cross Care case, the underpayment ran for seven years. Even small per-shift errors become significant when multiplied across thousands of workers over hundreds of pay periods.
The FWO Is Targeting Aged Care in 2025-26
Aged care is an explicit enforcement priority for the Fair Work Ombudsman in 2025-26. The Southern Cross Care enforceable undertaking follows a series of high-profile aged care and community services enforcement actions, including the Uniting Communities $2.6M SCHADS Award underpayment earlier this year.
The FWO has flagged the aged care sector as high-risk for several reasons: the complexity of pay instruments, the prevalence of shift work, the high proportion of female and migrant workers, and the historical reliance on manual payroll processes.
For aged care employers, the message is clear. Self-auditing payroll systems against enterprise agreements and Awards is no longer optional. The FWO is actively investigating, and the penalties for non-compliance are escalating.
The Balanced View: Why Good Employers Still Get It Wrong
It is important to note that Southern Cross Care cooperated with the FWO throughout the investigation and had already begun back-paying affected workers before the enforceable undertaking was finalised. Of the $11.7 million owed, more than $10 million has already been repaid to 3,603 workers.
Many aged care providers are not-for-profit organisations operating on government funding. Payroll complexity can outpace the administrative resources available, particularly when enterprise agreements are renegotiated, Awards are varied by the Fair Work Commission, or time and attendance systems are upgraded.
That context matters. But it does not change the outcome for the 1,900 workers still waiting for their back pay, or for the worker who was underpaid $44,593 over seven years.
How to Check Your Pay if You Work in Aged Care
You do not need to wait for an FWO investigation to find out whether your pay is correct. Here is how to check.
-
Identify your classification. Check your employment contract or letter of offer for your classification level under your enterprise agreement or the relevant Modern Award (such as the Aged Care Award 2010 or the Nurses Award 2020). If it is not stated, ask your employer in writing.
-
Compare your base rate. Match the hourly rate on your payslip against the current rates published on the Fair Work Ombudsman website for your classification.
-
Check your penalty rates. Verify that weekend, public holiday, evening, and night shifts are paid at the correct penalty rate. Penalty rates vary by day, time of day, and whether you are permanent, part-time, or casual.
-
Review overtime calculations. Check that overtime is being calculated correctly, including whether it is triggered after a certain number of hours per shift or per week under your agreement.
-
Verify allowances. Aged care workers may be entitled to uniform allowances, meal allowances, laundry allowances, and other payments depending on their role and classification.
-
Check your superannuation. Confirm that your employer is paying 11.5% super on your ordinary time earnings. Log into your super fund to verify contributions have been received.
-
Keep your own records. Record your start and finish times, break times, and any shift swaps or changes. Your own records are essential evidence if a dispute arises later.
What to Do if You Think You Have Been Underpaid
If your pay does not match your entitlements, here are your options.
Step 1: Raise it with your employer in writing. Email your manager or payroll team with the specific discrepancy. State your classification, the rate on your payslip, and the rate you believe applies under your agreement or Award. Keep a copy.
Step 2: Contact your union. If you are a member of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), the Health Services Union (HSU), or another relevant union, contact them for support. Union industrial officers can review your pay records and represent you in discussions with your employer.
Step 3: Use the FWO’s free tools. The Fair Work Ombudsman website at fairwork.gov.au offers a free Pay and Conditions Tool. You can also call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 for free advice.
Step 4: Lodge a formal complaint. If your employer does not resolve the issue, lodge a complaint with the FWO online. There is no cost, and you can do it anonymously.
Step 5: Get your pay audited. For a detailed analysis of your pay against your specific classification, entitlements, and shift patterns, consider running a professional wage audit.
If You Worked for Southern Cross Care
If you worked for Southern Cross Care (NSW & ACT) at any time between July 2017 and October 2024, you may be one of the 1,900 workers still awaiting back pay. Southern Cross Care is required under the enforceable undertaking to contact all affected workers and process remediation payments. If you have not been contacted and believe you may be affected, reach out to Southern Cross Care’s payroll team directly, or contact the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
Your Pay Should Be Right. Check It.
The Southern Cross Care case is a reminder that underpayment in aged care is not always deliberate. Faulty systems, manual errors, and complex pay rules can combine to shortchange workers for years before anyone notices. The $11.7 million owed to 5,500 workers across 54 facilities shows the scale of what can go wrong.
If you work in aged care, take 30 minutes this week to compare your payslip against your enterprise agreement or Award rates. If the numbers do not match, you have options.
Start Your Free Audit to check your aged care pay in minutes.
Check Your Pay Now
Think you might be underpaid? Join our waitlist to be the first to validate your salary.
