Industrial hub · Nurses and midwives · Western Australia

Nurses and midwives in WA. Know your rights at work.

Your agreement and pay, discipline and registration, workload, ratios and safety, and how bargaining works in each system. Every point cites the Act, the clause or the decision it comes from.

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Three nurses read a chart together at a hospital ward station

Who do you work for?

Your employer decides your system, your agreement, your union and your time limits.

System: WA state (WAIRC)
Agreement or award: WAH042, which has no award under it (cl 6(1))
Union: ANMF WA (state union)
If you are dismissed: Refer a disciplinary decision to the WAIRC within 28 days of the decision

Discipline is under Part 11 of the Health Services Act 2016 (WA), not the public service code. Read about your group

Guides

Each one cites the Act, the clause or the decision for every point.

Your agreement and payWAH042 clause by clause, the St John of God and Ramsay agreements, pay tables, allowances, hours, leave, disputes and the Nurses Award.WAH042 cl 5 · cl 17 · cl 31 · AE530159 cl 23Read the guide

Discipline, dismissal and registrationThe Health Services Act discipline process, the 28-day referral to the WAIRC, private hospitals and aged care, and the Nursing and Midwifery Board.HSA s 161 · s 164 · s 171 · IR Act s 29(2)(c) · National Law s 156Read the guide

Workload, safety and injuryRatios and the WA Health policy, workload grievances, aged care staffing, occupational violence, safety rights and workers’ compensation.WAH042 cl 10–12 · MP 0187/24 · WHS Act s 19 · WCIM Act s 25Read the guide

Bargaining, and what is happening nowBargaining in the WA state system and under the Fair Work Act, industrial action, the ratio rollout and the 2027 rounds.IR Act s 41(6) · s 42I · s 44 · FW Act s 413Read the guide

Time limits that cannot be missed

28 daysto refer a WA Health disciplinary decision, from the decision · IR Act s 29(2)(c)

28 daysWAIRC unfair dismissal for other WA system dismissals · IR Act s 29(2)(a)

21 daysFair Work unfair dismissal (private hospitals, aged care) · FW Act s 394(2)(a)

12 monthsto make a workers’ compensation claim · WCIM Act s 25(1)

Your group at a glance

Find your employer in the first column. Each instrument links to its official text. "Not yet covered" means this guide names the system but does not yet explain that group's instrument.

Your employer	System	Main instrument	Union	If you are dismissed: route and time limit	Note
WA Health (a health service provider such as North, South or East Metropolitan Health Service, the Child and Adolescent Health Service, WA Country Health Service or the Quadriplegic Centre), as a registered nurse or midwife	WA state (WAIRC)	WAH042 (cl 4(1)–(3))	ANMF WA (state union)	A decision to take disciplinary action, including dismissal, can be referred to the WAIRC within 28 days after the day the decision is made (Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) s 29(1)(j), (2)(c); HSA s 171). Other dismissals: WAIRC unfair dismissal claim within 28 days of the termination (s 29(1)(c), (2)(a))	Discipline is under the Health Services Act 2016 (WA) Part 11, not the public service code
WA Health, as an enrolled mental health nurse or an enrolled nurse (mothercraft nursing)	WA state (WAIRC)	WAH042 (cl 4(1), (4)(a))	ANMF WA (state union)	As above	The pay tables are in cl 17
WA Health, as any other enrolled nurse or as an assistant in nursing	WA state (WAIRC)	The United Workers Union's agreement, WAH044, not WAH042 (WAH042 cl 4(4)(a))	United Workers Union is the party; ANMF WA is not a party to WAH044	As above	Not yet covered in detail. WAH044 gives the UWU and enrolled nurses "equal standing" with the ANMF and registered nurses on nursing workload (cl 12C.5)
Peel Health Campus	WA state since 13 August 2024, when it joined South Metropolitan Health Service (WA Health, 13 August 2024)	WAH042 (South Metropolitan Health Service is a party: cl 4(3)(b)(vii))	ANMF WA (state union)	As for WA Health	If you worked there before and after the move, check which instrument covered each period
The Mental Health Commission, or the Department of Health's Central Referral Service (registered nurses and midwives)	WA state (WAIRC)	WAH042 (cl 4(3)–(4))	ANMF WA (state union)	Not yet covered. These nurses are not employed by a health service provider, so the Health Services Act discipline route above may not apply to them (HSA s 6, definition of employee). Check before relying on a time limit	Not yet covered in detail. Other Department of Health staff are excluded from WAH042 (cl 4(4)(c))
Department of Justice (prison health)	WA state (WAIRC)	DEP187, the Justice registered nurses' and enrolled (mental health) nurses' agreement, nominal expiry 12 October 2027 (cl 5(1))	ANMF WA (state union)	WAIRC, 28 days	Which discipline code applies to Justice nurses is not yet covered
A WA local government	WA state since 1 January 2023 (Industrial Relations (General) Regulations 1997 (WA) r 7 and Sch 4)	LGA111, the Nurses Award 2020 carried into the state system	ANMF WA	WAIRC, 28 days	Not yet covered in detail
Mount Lawley Hospital	It passed from St John of God to the WA Government on 31 August 2026 (St John of God Health Care Inc. v Lia Perrella [2026] FWC 4004 at [5])	Not yet covered	ANMF WA	Check your employer and instrument before relying on a time limit	Not yet covered
A private hospital company: St John of God, Ramsay (Hollywood, Joondalup, Glengarry, Attadale), Healthscope's Mount Hospital, Bethesda and others	Federal (Fair Work Commission)	St John of God: AE530159. Ramsay: AE529165, nominal expiry 11 October 2027. Mount Hospital: AE520367. Under each sits the Nurses Award 2020	ANMF WA Branch (federal)	Fair Work Commission unfair dismissal, 21 days after the dismissal took effect (FW Act s 394(2)(a)); general protections dismissal dispute, 21 days (s 366(1)(a))	Registered nurses and midwives
Joondalup Health Campus or St John of God Midland Public Hospital (public patients, private operator)	Federal (Fair Work Commission)	The operator's agreement. At Joondalup, Ramsay's AE529165 covers registered nurses at any Ramsay WA hospital (cl 2.2–2.3). At Midland, check which St John of God entity employs you: AE530159 covers St John of God Health Care Inc and St John of God Outreach Services (cl 2(1))	ANMF WA Branch (federal)	Fair Work Commission, 21 days	You are employed by the operator, not WA Health. A contracted health entity is part of the WA health system (HSA s 19(1)(c)), but its staff are its own employees
St John of God or Ramsay, as an enrolled nurse or assistant in nursing	Federal (Fair Work Commission)	AE528105 (St John of God, nominal expiry 30 June 2027) or AE533652 (Ramsay, nominal expiry 31 December 2027)	ANMF WA Branch and the United Workers Union	Fair Work Commission, 21 days	Not yet covered in detail
An aged care provider (Regis, Southern Cross Care (WA), Brightwater, Bethanie, Amana Living, Opal and others)	Federal (Fair Work Commission)	The provider's agreement, over the Nurses Award 2020 (registered and enrolled nurses) and the Aged Care Award 2010 (assistants in nursing in residential care)	ANMF WA Branch, often with the UWU and HSU	Fair Work Commission, 21 days. The Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth) adds a Code of Conduct (s 173) and banning orders (s 498)
Silver Chain (community nursing)	Federal (Fair Work Commission)	AE527424, nominal expiry 30 June 2026, still operating	ANMF WA Branch and the UWU	Fair Work Commission, 21 days
A GP practice, clinic or other private practice	Federal if the employer is a company; WA state if it is a sole trader or partnership (FW Act s 14(1)(a), s 30B)	Usually the Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034); a state award if the employer is in the WA system	ANMF WA	Fair Work Commission, 21 days; or WAIRC, 28 days	We found no WA GP practice agreement that names the union
A nursing agency	Federal if the agency is a company	Not yet covered	ANMF WA	Not yet covered	Not yet covered by this guide
Midwives	As for your employer above: WA Health and Justice midwives are under WAH042 or DEP187; St John of God and Ramsay midwives under AE530159 or AE529165	See your employer's row	ANMF WA	See your employer's row	A self-employed midwife in private practice is not an employee and is not covered by this guide. In WA, managing a person's labour is restricted to listed people, including midwives (Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA) s 123A)
Students on placement	Neither: students are not employees	None	ANMF WA	None

WA Health (a health service provider such as North, South or East Metropolitan Health Service, the Child and Adolescent Health Service, WA Country Health Service or the Quadriplegic Centre), as a registered nurse or midwifeSystem: WA state (WAIRC)

Main instrument: WAH042 (cl 4(1)–(3))
Union: ANMF WA (state union)
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: A decision to take disciplinary action, including dismissal, can be referred to the WAIRC within 28 days after the day the decision is made (Industrial Relations Act 1979 (WA) s 29(1)(j), (2)(c); HSA s 171). Other dismissals: WAIRC unfair dismissal claim within 28 days of the termination (s 29(1)(c), (2)(a))
Note: Discipline is under the Health Services Act 2016 (WA) Part 11, not the public service code

WA Health, as an enrolled mental health nurse or an enrolled nurse (mothercraft nursing)System: WA state (WAIRC)

Main instrument: WAH042 (cl 4(1), (4)(a))
Union: ANMF WA (state union)
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: As above
Note: The pay tables are in cl 17

WA Health, as any other enrolled nurse or as an assistant in nursingSystem: WA state (WAIRC)

Main instrument: The United Workers Union's agreement, WAH044, not WAH042 (WAH042 cl 4(4)(a))
Union: United Workers Union is the party; ANMF WA is not a party to WAH044
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: As above
Note: Not yet covered in detail. WAH044 gives the UWU and enrolled nurses "equal standing" with the ANMF and registered nurses on nursing workload (cl 12C.5)

Peel Health CampusSystem: WA state since 13 August 2024, when it joined South Metropolitan Health Service (WA Health, 13 August 2024)

Main instrument: WAH042 (South Metropolitan Health Service is a party: cl 4(3)(b)(vii))
Union: ANMF WA (state union)
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: As for WA Health
Note: If you worked there before and after the move, check which instrument covered each period

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The Mental Health Commission, or the Department of Health's Central Referral Service (registered nurses and midwives)System: WA state (WAIRC)

Main instrument: WAH042 (cl 4(3)–(4))
Union: ANMF WA (state union)
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Not yet covered. These nurses are not employed by a health service provider, so the Health Services Act discipline route above may not apply to them (HSA s 6, definition of employee). Check before relying on a time limit
Note: Not yet covered in detail. Other Department of Health staff are excluded from WAH042 (cl 4(4)(c))

Department of Justice (prison health)System: WA state (WAIRC)

Main instrument: DEP187, the Justice registered nurses' and enrolled (mental health) nurses' agreement, nominal expiry 12 October 2027 (cl 5(1))
Union: ANMF WA (state union)
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: WAIRC, 28 days
Note: Which discipline code applies to Justice nurses is not yet covered

A WA local governmentSystem: WA state since 1 January 2023 (Industrial Relations (General) Regulations 1997 (WA) r 7 and Sch 4)

Main instrument: LGA111, the Nurses Award 2020 carried into the state system
Union: ANMF WA
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: WAIRC, 28 days
Note: Not yet covered in detail

Mount Lawley HospitalSystem: It passed from St John of God to the WA Government on 31 August 2026 (St John of God Health Care Inc. v Lia Perrella [2026] FWC 4004 at [5])

Main instrument: Not yet covered
Union: ANMF WA
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Check your employer and instrument before relying on a time limit
Note: Not yet covered

A private hospital company: St John of God, Ramsay (Hollywood, Joondalup, Glengarry, Attadale), Healthscope's Mount Hospital, Bethesda and othersSystem: Federal (Fair Work Commission)

Main instrument: St John of God: AE530159. Ramsay: AE529165, nominal expiry 11 October 2027. Mount Hospital: AE520367. Under each sits the Nurses Award 2020
Union: ANMF WA Branch (federal)
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Fair Work Commission unfair dismissal, 21 days after the dismissal took effect (FW Act s 394(2)(a)); general protections dismissal dispute, 21 days (s 366(1)(a))
Note: Registered nurses and midwives

Joondalup Health Campus or St John of God Midland Public Hospital (public patients, private operator)System: Federal (Fair Work Commission)

Main instrument: The operator's agreement. At Joondalup, Ramsay's AE529165 covers registered nurses at any Ramsay WA hospital (cl 2.2–2.3). At Midland, check which St John of God entity employs you: AE530159 covers St John of God Health Care Inc and St John of God Outreach Services (cl 2(1))
Union: ANMF WA Branch (federal)
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Fair Work Commission, 21 days
Note: You are employed by the operator, not WA Health. A contracted health entity is part of the WA health system (HSA s 19(1)(c)), but its staff are its own employees

St John of God or Ramsay, as an enrolled nurse or assistant in nursingSystem: Federal (Fair Work Commission)

Main instrument: AE528105 (St John of God, nominal expiry 30 June 2027) or AE533652 (Ramsay, nominal expiry 31 December 2027)
Union: ANMF WA Branch and the United Workers Union
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Fair Work Commission, 21 days
Note: Not yet covered in detail

An aged care provider (Regis, Southern Cross Care (WA), Brightwater, Bethanie, Amana Living, Opal and others)System: Federal (Fair Work Commission)

Main instrument: The provider's agreement, over the Nurses Award 2020 (registered and enrolled nurses) and the Aged Care Award 2010 (assistants in nursing in residential care)
Union: ANMF WA Branch, often with the UWU and HSU
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Fair Work Commission, 21 days. The Aged Care Act 2024 (Cth) adds a Code of Conduct (s 173) and banning orders (s 498)
Note

Silver Chain (community nursing)System: Federal (Fair Work Commission)

Main instrument: AE527424, nominal expiry 30 June 2026, still operating
Union: ANMF WA Branch and the UWU
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Fair Work Commission, 21 days
Note

A GP practice, clinic or other private practiceSystem: Federal if the employer is a company; WA state if it is a sole trader or partnership (FW Act s 14(1)(a), s 30B)

Main instrument: Usually the Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034); a state award if the employer is in the WA system
Union: ANMF WA
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Fair Work Commission, 21 days; or WAIRC, 28 days
Note: We found no WA GP practice agreement that names the union

A nursing agencySystem: Federal if the agency is a company

Main instrument: Not yet covered
Union: ANMF WA
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: Not yet covered
Note: Not yet covered by this guide

MidwivesSystem: As for your employer above: WA Health and Justice midwives are under WAH042 or DEP187; St John of God and Ramsay midwives under AE530159 or AE529165

Main instrument: See your employer's row
Union: ANMF WA
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: See your employer's row
Note: A self-employed midwife in private practice is not an employee and is not covered by this guide. In WA, managing a person's labour is restricted to listed people, including midwives (Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (WA) s 123A)

Students on placementSystem: Neither: students are not employees

Main instrument: None
Union: ANMF WA
If you are dismissed: route and time limit: None
Note

Key time limits

These are short. Missing one can end a claim.

What	Time limit	Source
WA Health: refer a disciplinary decision (including dismissal), a suspension on partial or no pay, or a termination for substandard performance to the WAIRC	28 days after the day on which the decision or finding is made, not the day employment ends	IR Act s 29(1)(j), (2)(c); HSA s 171(1)
WA system: unfair dismissal claim for any other dismissal (for example incapacity, end of contract, probation)	28 days after the day the employment is terminated	IR Act s 29(1)(c), (2)(a)
Fair Work system: unfair dismissal claim	21 days after the dismissal took effect	FW Act s 394(2)(a)
Fair Work system: general protections dismissal dispute	21 days after the dismissal took effect	FW Act s 366(1)(a)
Unlawful termination, for WA system employees including WA Health (Fair Work employees use the general protections route above)	21 days after the termination took effect	FW Act ss 772–774
Equal opportunity complaint in WA	12 months	Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) s 83(4)
Workers' compensation claim in WA	12 months after the injury. A late claim is not invalid if the delay came from mistake, absence from the State or another reasonable cause, or would not prejudice the employer's defence	Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) s 25(1), (5)

WA Health: refer a disciplinary decision (including dismissal), a suspension on partial or no pay, or a termination for substandard performance to the WAIRCTime limit: 28 days after the day on which the decision or finding is made, not the day employment ends

Source: IR Act s 29(1)(j), (2)(c); HSA s 171(1)

WA system: unfair dismissal claim for any other dismissal (for example incapacity, end of contract, probation)Time limit: 28 days after the day the employment is terminated

Source: IR Act s 29(1)(c), (2)(a)

Fair Work system: unfair dismissal claimTime limit: 21 days after the dismissal took effect

Source: FW Act s 394(2)(a)

Fair Work system: general protections dismissal disputeTime limit: 21 days after the dismissal took effect

Source: FW Act s 366(1)(a)

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Unlawful termination, for WA system employees including WA Health (Fair Work employees use the general protections route above)Time limit: 21 days after the termination took effect

Source: FW Act ss 772–774

Equal opportunity complaint in WATime limit: 12 months

Source: Equal Opportunity Act 1984 (WA) s 83(4)

Workers' compensation claim in WATime limit: 12 months after the injury. A late claim is not invalid if the delay came from mistake, absence from the State or another reasonable cause, or would not prejudice the employer's defence

Source: Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) s 25(1), (5)

The WAIRC may accept a referral out of time if it would be unfair not to (IR Act s 29(3)). The Fair Work Commission allows more time only in "exceptional circumstances" (FW Act s 394(3)). Treat both as last resorts.

The short version

Pay

WA Health salaries are set by WAH042 cl 17(1), with steps on and from 12 October 2024, 12 October 2025 and 12 October 2026 (cl 17(1)). From 12 October 2026, for example:

Classification	Annual salary from 12 October 2026
Registered Nurse/Midwife Level 1.1	$85,848
Registered Nurse/Midwife Level 1.8	$112,644
Registered Nurse/Midwife Level 2.4	$124,087

Registered Nurse/Midwife Level 1.1Annual salary from 12 October 2026: $85,848

Registered Nurse/Midwife Level 1.8Annual salary from 12 October 2026: $112,644

Registered Nurse/Midwife Level 2.4Annual salary from 12 October 2026: $124,087

The 12 October 2026 step was not the same for everyone. Worked out from the cl 17(1) table, it ranged from 3.50% (Level 1.1) to 7.73% (Level 2.3). The agreement excludes any award (cl 6(1)), so WA Health pay moves only when a new agreement is made.

St John of God registered nurses are paid weekly rates under AE530159 cl 23(4), rising from the first full pay period on or after 13 December each year. Converted to annual figures with the agreement's own divisor (weekly × 52.167, cl 23(5)), the rates from 13 December 2025 equal the WA Health salary for the same level, about two months after the WA Health date. That match is our calculation: neither agreement mentions the other, and only salaries were compared.

In aged care and other award-covered work, the Nurses Award 2020 sets the minimum. From 1 August 2026 an aged care registered nurse in the first year at Level 1 has a minimum of $1,571.60 a week; outside aged care, a Level 1 pay point 1 registered nurse has $1,219.50 a week from 1 July 2026 (MA000034 cl 15). An enterprise agreement usually pays more.

Deep page: Your agreement and pay

Workload and ratios

For WA Health, the agreement says: "The Employer commits to introducing minimum nurse/midwife to patient ratios via a phased approach over a minimum of two years" (WAH042 cl 10(1)), and once each phase is determined "it will be implemented without unreasonable delay" (cl 10(6)). The agreement itself sets no ratio numbers. The numbers come from WA Health policy, the Nurse/Midwife to Patient Ratios Policy MP 0187/24, which applies to specified wards in the metropolitan health services, not WA Country Health Service, and says "AINs must not be included in the ratio" (3.2.2). Ratios are policy and agreement terms, not a WA Act.

Once ratios have run on a ward for four months, a dispute about them goes through four stages, from the line manager "within the shift" to the WAIRC (cl 10(9)–(10)). Where ratios have not arrived, the Nursing Hours per Patient Day model and a workload grievance apply (cl 11–12).

Private hospitals have no ratio law. The St John of God agreement says "existing flexibility in respect of nurse patient ratios will be maintained" (AE530159 cl 54(2)) and gives a workload grievance to the nurse manager and then the Director of Nursing (cl 54(7)). In residential aged care, a provider must ensure "at least one registered nurse is on site, and on duty, at all times" (Aged Care Act 2024 s 175(1)).

Deep page: Workload, safety and injury

Discipline and registration

A WA Health nurse is disciplined under Part 11 of the Health Services Act, which "applies to all employees" of health service providers (HSA s 154(1)); WAH042 says the same (cl 73(6)(a)). You have a right to representation "at any stage", including by the union (cl 73(6)(b)). The Public Service Appeal Board no longer exists. It was abolished on 31 January 2025 by the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (WA) s 57, and a disciplinary decision now goes to the WAIRC within 28 days of the decision (HSA s 171; IR Act s 29(2)(c)).

In a private hospital or aged care, discipline follows the employer's policy and the agreement's clause, and a dismissal is tested under the Fair Work Act's unfair dismissal law.

Registration runs separately, whoever employs you. Employers must notify "notifiable conduct" to AHPRA (National Law s 140, 142), and the Nursing and Midwifery Board may take immediate action where a nurse "poses a serious risk" or where action "is otherwise in the public interest" (s 156(1)(a), (e)). One allegation can therefore run as employer discipline and an AHPRA notification at the same time.

Deep page: Discipline, dismissal and registration

Injury and safety

Every WA employer must ensure health and safety so far as reasonably practicable (Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) s 19), and must manage psychosocial hazards such as job demands and violence (WHS Regulations rr 55A–55D). Workers' compensation applies in both systems. Nurses have no PTSD presumption (WCIM Regulations r 10(2)). There is a COVID-19 presumption for health professionals and hospital staff (r 9(2)), and presumptions for some diseases where the prescribed employment names health care work, such as hepatitis B or C and tuberculosis (Sch 1 items 6, 14). An assault on a person working in a hospital or providing a health service is a serious assault under the Criminal Code (WA) s 318(1)(i).

Deep page: Workload, safety and injury

Bargaining

WA Health agreements are bargained in the WA system: in good faith, under the WA Government's wages policy, with no protected industrial action. Private hospital and aged care agreements are bargained under the Fair Work Act, where protected action is possible after a ballot, subject to the Commission's power to stop action that endangers life, safety, health or welfare. WAH042 and the Ramsay WA registered nurses' agreement both reach their nominal expiry on 11 October 2027, and the St John of God agreement on 12 December 2027.

Deep page: How bargaining works, and what is happening now

What is happening now

From the public record only, as at 3 November 2026. No view on any outcome.

WA HealthThe ratio rolloutWAH042 commits WA Health to phased minimum ratios; the numbers and wards are set by policy MP 0187/24. In September 2026 the State Government announced that the next stage was delayed, with no new start date.

July 2023 Ratios begin with a pilot at the Perth Children’s Hospital emergency department. ANMJ, 14 September 2026
October 2024 Medical and surgical wards at Sir Charles Gairdner and Osborne Park hospitals. ANMJ, 14 September 2026
July 2025 Metropolitan medical and surgical wards at eight hospitals. ANMJ, 14 September 2026
February 2026 A further phase begins in metropolitan critical care areas. ANMJ, 14 September 2026
September 2026 The State Government announces that the next stage is delayed, with no new start date. The union says it was not consulted. ANMJ, 14 September 2026
20 October 2026 MP 0187/24 is last amended. MP 0187/24

WA Commission and Fair Work CommissionThe 2027 bargaining roundsFour nurses’ agreements reach their nominal expiry within about two months of each other. No log of claims for these rounds was public on 3 November 2026.

11 October 2027 WAH042, WA Health registered nurses and midwives (WA state). cl 5(1)
11 October 2027 AE529165, Ramsay WA registered nurses and midwives (Fair Work). cl 3.2
12 October 2027 DEP187, Department of Justice nurses (WA state). cl 5(1)
12 December 2027 AE530159, St John of God registered nurses and midwives (Fair Work). cl 3(1)

Fair Work CommissionAward rates for nurses outside aged careAged care nurses received work value increases under the Nurses Award 2020 in three tranches. The ANMF’s application for nurses outside aged care, AM2024/11, had no final decision we could find on 3 November 2026.

1 August 2026 The last aged care tranche under the Nurses Award 2020. Applications by ANMF [2024] FWCFB 452 [65]
Pending AM2024/11, the ANMF’s work value application for nurses outside aged care. Applications by ANMF [2024] FWCFB 452 [7], [71]

How bargaining works in each system, and the full public record: Bargaining, and what is happening now

WA Health registered nurse and midwife salaries from 12 October 2026

WAH042 sets annual salaries (cl 17(1)). The 12 October 2026 step was not the same for everyone: worked out from the table, it ranged from 3.50% (Level 1.1) to 7.73% (Level 2.3). The agreement excludes any award (cl 6(1)), so WA Health pay moves only when a new agreement is made.

Your agreement and pay →

RN/M 1.1$85,848 a year

RN/M 1.2$88,818 a year

RN/M 1.3$92,058 a year

RN/M 1.4$96,510 a year

RN/M 1.5$101,747 a year

RN/M 1.6$105,678 a year

RN/M 1.7$109,951 a year

RN/M 1.8$112,644 a year

RN/M 2.1$115,717 a year

RN/M 2.2$119,138 a year

RN/M 2.3$122,400 a year

RN/M 2.4$124,087 a year

Outside WA Health

Aged care and community nursing, in the Fair Work system.

A nurse walks beside an elderly resident with a walking frame in an aged care corridor

Aged careThe provider’s agreement over the Nurses Award 2020, or the Aged Care Award 2010 for assistants in nursing in residential care, and at least one registered nurse on site and on duty at all times (Aged Care Act 2024 s 175(1)).Fair Work system

Worked examples

How it plays out, step by step.

Illustrative example, not a real case

An aged care nurse is dismissed

An enrolled nurse at an aged care home run by a company is dismissed on Friday 13 November 2026, effective that day. She believes the real reason is that she raised understaffing concerns.

Walk through itShow less

Which system? Her employer is a trading company, so she is in the national system, unlike a WA Health nurse (Nancy Mathew [2022] FWC 320 at [18]-[22], by contrast).
Unfair dismissal. If she has completed the minimum employment period (6 months, or 12 with a small business employer) and is covered by an award or agreement (ss 382, 383), she may apply to the Fair Work Commission for an unfair dismissal remedy "within 21 days after the dismissal took effect" (FW Act s 394(2)(a)). Counting from the next day, 21 days ends on Friday 4 December 2026. A later period is allowed only for "exceptional circumstances" (s 394(3)).
General protections. If she alleges she was dismissed in contravention of the general protections, for example for exercising a workplace right, she or her union may apply to the Commission to deal with the dispute (s 365), also "within 21 days after the alleged dismissal took effect" (s 366(1)(a)). Part 6-1 of the Act may prevent an unfair dismissal application if another application or complaint has been made about the same dismissal (s 394, note 3), so the choice of route matters from the start.
What the Commission will look at. On an unfair dismissal claim the Commission considers whether there was a valid reason, whether she was told of it and could respond, and whether a support person was unreasonably refused, among other things (s 387); the theatre nurse's case shows how those factors are weighed (Sebastian Sajish Kanamkombil v St John of God Health Care Inc [2017] FWC 4795 at [123]-[130], [147]).
Her pay. Her award minimum rates were rebuilt in the aged care work value case, with the last tranche from 1 August 2026 (Applications by Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation [2024] FWCFB 452 at [65]); any unpaid amount is a separate claim from the dismissal.

The dates and day counts are our working, for illustration.

Your union

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, WA (ANMF WA). It is two registered bodies: a state union, which is the party to the WA Health agreement, and the federal WA Branch, which is covered by the Fair Work agreements. Enrolled nurses (other than mental health and mothercraft) and assistants in nursing at WA Health are under the United Workers Union’s agreement, WAH044.

If you are facing discipline or a claim, talk to your union first.

Need a lawyer?

We act for employees in the WA Commission, the Industrial Magistrates Court and the Fair Work Commission.

Questions

The things people ask.

Which industrial system am I in as a WA nurse or midwife?

It depends on your employer. WA Health's health service providers are agents of the State (HSA s 33), so their nurses are in the WA state system and deal with the WAIRC. Private hospital companies, aged care providers and other companies are national system employers under s 14(1) of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), so their nurses deal with the Fair Work Commission. WA has not referred its industrial powers to the Commonwealth (s 30B), so an employer that is not a corporation, such as a sole trader, stays in the WA system.

I work at Joondalup Health Campus or Midland Public Hospital. Am I a WA Health employee?

No. Those hospitals treat public patients, but they are run by private operators. A contracted health entity is part of the WA health system (HSA s 19(1)(c)), but you are employed by the operator, Ramsay or St John of God, and are in the Fair Work system under that operator's agreement (at Midland, check which St John of God entity employs you). Your dismissal time limit is 21 days, not 28.

I am an enrolled nurse at a WA Health hospital. Which agreement covers me?

If you are an enrolled mental health nurse, or an enrolled nurse in mothercraft nursing, WAH042 covers you. Other enrolled nurses, and all assistants in nursing, are excluded from WAH042 (cl 4(4)(a)) and are covered by the United Workers Union's agreement, WAH044.

Are nurse-to-patient ratios the law in WA?

Not in an Act. WAH042 commits WA Health to introduce minimum ratios in phases and to implement each phase "without unreasonable delay" (cl 10(1), (6)). The ratios themselves are set by WA Health policy MP 0187/24, which is mandatory for the health service providers and staff it applies to under the Health Services Act. It covers specified metropolitan wards only, and does not count assistants in nursing. Private hospitals have no ratio requirement unless their agreement creates one.

My WA Health agreement expires in 2027. What happens then?

WAH042 "will continue in force until replaced by a new agreement" (cl 5(2)), and the IR Act says the same of any expired industrial agreement (s 41(6)). The bargaining page explains how the replacement is made.

How long do I have to challenge a WA Health disciplinary decision?

28 days after the day on which the decision or finding is made (IR Act s 29(2)(c)). The time runs from the decision, not from when your employment ends. You can refer it yourself (s 29(1)(j)), or the union can refer it (s 29(1)(a)(ii)). A suspension on full pay is not something you can refer yourself (Kenneth Lee v South Metropolitan Health Service [2025] WAIRC 00767 at [29]–[30]).

I was dismissed by a private hospital. How long do I have?

21 days after the dismissal took effect, for both an unfair dismissal claim (FW Act s 394(2)(a)) and a general protections dismissal dispute (s 366(1)(a)). You must usually have worked for at least 6 months, or 12 months for a small business employer, to claim unfair dismissal (ss 382–383).

Does the Fair Work Act protect WA Health nurses at all?

In three ways. A WA Health nurse can bring an unlawful termination claim, for example for dismissal because of union activity, temporary illness or a complaint, within 21 days (FW Act ss 772–774). The Act also gives WA Health staff unpaid parental leave, paid family and domestic violence leave and notice of termination (ss 744, 757B, 759). And if WA Health work is transferred to a private operator, the State agreement's terms are copied across (s 768AD(1), ss 768AF–768AJ).

Is there a time limit for a workers' compensation claim?

A claim must be made within 12 months after the injury. A late claim is not invalid if the delay came from mistake, absence from the State or another reasonable cause, or if it would not prejudice the employer's defence (WCIM Act s 25(1), (5)).

For unions and industrial officers

The same research agent can work through your members' agreement, its history in the Commission, and the decisions on it.

We use our software to generate this content with AI assistance. General information about the law, not legal advice. It takes no side in any current proceeding. Last checked 3 November 2026.