Current as of 26 October 2026. Every rate and clause on this page was checked against the award text and the Fair Work Ombudsman on that date. We update it when rates change, including each 30 June to 2030.
The Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 is the award most employed podiatrists, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists and chiropractors in private practice are paid under. From the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2026, the way it sets clinician pay changed. This page explains the new system in plain terms, with the current rates and a step-by-step check for employers and employees.
What changed
Three things now set a clinician's minimum pay:
The qualification level of their profession, called the AQF level.
Their years of experience in the profession, at any employer.
The duties they perform, for the senior levels.
The old system of Level 1 pay points 1 to 6 and Level 2 pay points 1 to 4 is gone. The change came out of the Fair Work Commission's review of gender-based undervaluation in several awards. Further increases for health professionals are scheduled on 30 June 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030, on top of the annual wage review each July.
Find your minimum rate
Two questions get most clinicians to their rate.
1. What's your profession's AQF level? Schedule B of the award lists it. Podiatrists, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists and occupational therapists are AQF 7. Chiropractors and osteopaths are AQF 9. If your employer requires a higher qualification for the role, the higher level applies.
2. How many years have you practised in the profession? Count every year, at every employer. The Fair Work Ombudsman says this experience “doesn't have to be with the same employer”. There are four bands: 1st year, 2nd–3rd year, 4th–6th year, and 7th year and beyond.
The rates below are minimums for a full-time 38-hour week, with the hourly rate in brackets. They don't include super, penalty rates, overtime or allowances. Part-time employees get the same hourly rate. Casual employees get the hourly rate plus a 25% casual loading.
AQF 7: podiatry, physiotherapy, exercise physiology, occupational therapy
1st year: $1,308.80 a week ($34.44 an hour)
2nd–3rd year: $1,409.00 ($37.08)
4th–6th year: $1,565.30 ($41.19)
7th year+: $1,689.50 ($44.46)
AQF 9: chiropractic, osteopathy
1st year: $1,444.90 a week ($38.02 an hour)
2nd–3rd year: $1,545.20 ($40.66)
4th–6th year: $1,659.30 ($43.67)
7th year+: $1,755.00 ($46.18)
Levels 2, 3 and 4
Level 2.1: $1,945.40 a week ($51.19 an hour)
Level 2.2: $1,983.20 ($52.19)
Level 3: $1,983.20 ($52.19)
Level 4: $2,499.10 ($65.77)
Reception and admin staff
Support staff weren't reclassified. They only received the July 2026 wage review increase. A receptionist is Support Services Level 3, at $1,106.20 a week ($29.11 an hour).
What Level 2, 3 and 4 mean
Level 2 depends on the work a clinician does, whether or not they have a title. The award lists four roles, and doing any one of them is enough:
Senior clinician: works in a clinical area that needs “specialist knowledge or depth of experience”, and/or gives clinical guidance and direction to less experienced staff.
Specialist: works within or across areas of expertise, which can include research or quality assurance.
Supervisor: provides supervision “on a day-to-day basis” to other clinicians, other employees such as allied health assistants, or students.
Educator: is accountable for planning, running and evaluating education and staff development.
A clinician doing one of these roles is Level 2.1 for their first five years in the role, and Level 2.2 after that.
Level 3 needs an appointment. It covers a clinician appointed as an advanced clinician or clinical lead, a senior specialist, or a section manager responsible for a team.
Level 4 is a manager of a large organisation. It covers a manager with budget and strategy responsibility “within a large and complex organisation”, which rarely fits a private clinic.
The grey area: supervision
Everyone who was Level 2 under the old system was moved to the new Level 1. The new Level 2 includes anyone supervising students or assistants day to day. The award doesn't say how those two rules fit together for someone who supervises, or what counts as “day-to-day” for a clinic that takes the occasional student placement. If that applies to you or your team, the Fair Work Ombudsman or an employment adviser is the place to ask.
If you were employed before 1 October 2026
Anyone employed on 30 September 2026 was moved into the new structure using Schedule J of the award. Where you landed depends on your old pay point and the degree you entered the profession with. The same mapping applies to AQF 7 professions (podiatry, physio, EP, OT) and AQF 9 professions (chiro, osteo).
Entered on a 3-year degree
Old Level 1 pay point 2: 1st year
Old Level 1 pay points 3 and 4: 2nd–3rd year
Old Level 1 pay points 5 and 6, and old Level 2 pay point 1: 4th–6th year
Old Level 2 pay points 2, 3 and 4: 7th year+
Entered on a 4-year degree
Old Level 1 pay point 3: 1st year
Old Level 1 pay points 4 and 5: 2nd–3rd year
Old Level 1 pay point 6, and old Level 2 pay points 1 and 2: 4th–6th year
Old Level 2 pay points 3 and 4: 7th year+
Entered on a Masters degree
Old Level 1 pay point 4: 1st year
Old Level 1 pay points 5 and 6: 2nd–3rd year
Old Level 2 pay points 1, 2 and 3: 4th–6th year
Old Level 2 pay point 4: 7th year+
Old Level 3 clinicians moved to Level 2.1, 2.2 or 3 depending on their duties. Old Level 4 moved to Level 4.
Nobody's minimum went down
Every existing employee is entitled to the higher of their new minimum or their old one. The old minimums, as at 30 September 2026, were:
Old Level 1: pay point 1 $1,174.00, pay point 2 $1,219.50, pay point 3 $1,273.40, pay point 4 $1,317.20, pay point 5 $1,435.00, pay point 6 $1,485.90
Old Level 2: pay point 1 $1,493.90, pay point 2 $1,548.30, pay point 3 $1,607.40, pay point 4 $1,671.40
Old Level 3 pay point 5: $1,983.20
Old Level 4 pay point 4: $2,705.10
For example, a 4-year-degree podiatrist or physio on old Level 1 pay point 3 ($1,273.40) is now on at least $1,308.80. Someone on old Level 2 pay point 4 ($1,671.40) is now on at least $1,689.50. An old Level 4 keeps $2,705.10, because it's higher than the new Level 4 rate.
Annualised wage arrangements made with old Level 2 clinicians before 1 October continue.
For employers: checking each clinician, step by step
Step 1: Coverage. The award applies to employees in a health business. A contractor paying the clinic a service fee isn't covered, and neither is anyone on an enterprise agreement. Whether someone is genuinely a contractor depends on the real working arrangement.
Step 2: The profession's AQF level. Schedule B sets it, unless the role requires a higher qualification.
Step 3: Years in the profession. Total practising experience at any employer sets the Level 1 band. A clinician who joins with six full years elsewhere is in their 7th year, and on the 7th year+ minimum from their first day.
Step 4: Duties. A clinician doing any of the four Level 2 roles is Level 2.1 or 2.2, depending on how long they've done it. Level 3 depends on appointment.
Step 5: Existing staff. Anyone employed on 30 September keeps the higher of their new or old minimum.
Step 6: How they're paid. Hourly and weekly rates are simple to check against the lists above. A percentage of billings or an annualised salary needs checking against the minimum for the hours actually worked in each pay period, including any overtime and penalty rates.
Step 7: The payroll date. The new rates apply from the first full pay period starting on or after 1 October 2026. Any shortfall since then is owed.
Step 8: The next changes. Each clinician's 2nd, 4th and 7th year in the profession brings a new minimum, and the award's own increases land on 30 June each year from 2027 to 2030.
For employees: checking your own classification, step by step
Step 1: Your classification. It's three things: your level, your profession's AQF level, and your experience band. Your employer should be able to tell you all three.
Step 2: Your years in the profession. Count from when you started practising, including every previous employer. Having the dates written down helps if only your time at the current clinic has been counted.
Step 3: What you actually do. A written list of your duties against the four Level 2 roles is useful: students or assistants you supervise and how often, graduates you guide, a specialist caseload, in-services you plan and run.
Step 4: Your pay since 1 October. Your payslips from the first full pay period on or after 1 October show whether your rate changed. If it didn't, the usual reason is that you were already above the new minimum. If you're paid a percentage of billings, dividing a pay period's earnings by the hours you worked gives an hourly figure to compare with the lists above.
Step 5: Your next band. Your 2nd, 4th and 7th years in the profession each bring a higher minimum.
Step 6: Where to check. The Fair Work Ombudsman's Pay and Conditions Tool calculates the minimum for your classification, and the Ombudsman answers individual questions on 13 13 94.
What the award doesn't cover
Contractors. A clinician genuinely running their own business and paying the clinic a service fee isn't paid under the award.
Enterprise agreements. Where one applies, it replaces the award.
Pay above the minimum. The award sets a floor. What a clinic pays above it, and how performance, billings or contribution to the clinic are rewarded, is up to the clinic and the clinician. A billings target can't take anyone below their minimum, and being the top biller doesn't make someone Level 2.
Dates coming up
1 July each year: the annual wage review increase, usually decided in June.
30 June 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030: further scheduled increases for health professionals.
Common questions
Does a Masters put me on a higher rate? Only if your employer requires that qualification for the role, or it leads to a higher level through your duties. A physio or podiatrist who entered the profession with a Masters is still classified at AQF 7, the level Schedule B lists for those professions.
I changed clinics. Do I start again at 1st year? No. Experience at previous employers counts toward your band.
My employer calls me a senior clinician. Does that make me Level 2? The work you do decides it. If you perform one of the four Level 2 roles, Level 2 applies, with or without the title. A title on its own doesn't change your classification.
I'm paid a percentage of billings. Does the award still apply? If you're an employee covered by the award, yes. Your earnings for each pay period need to come to at least the minimum for the hours you worked.
I'm a contractor. Does any of this apply to me? Not directly, because the award covers employees. Whether an arrangement is genuinely a contract depends mainly on how the work is actually done day to day, and the written agreement is only part of that.
I'm already paid above the new rate. Do I get a pay rise? The award doesn't require one if your pay already meets the minimum for your classification, including penalties and overtime for the hours you work.
What about receptionists and assistants? They're Support Services employees and weren't reclassified. They received the July 2026 wage review increase only.
This page summarises the award text and isn't legal advice. For an individual situation, the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay guide and Pay and Conditions Tool are the reference.
Sources
Everything else
For Medicare, DVA, NDIS and WorkCover fee schedules, start at The Billing Reference. We check these pages so you don't have to, and send what changed every fortnight. Subscribing is free.