The gender-undervaluation finding
After a multi-year review, the Fair Work Commission found that the SCHADS workforce — which is predominantly women — had been subject to long-standing gender-based undervaluation. The Commission concluded that the existing classification structure and wage rates no longer reflected the true work value of the sector, and that the framework had become complex and prone to misclassification.
In response, the Commission is replacing the classification structures in Schedules B, C, E and F with a single integrated Final Classification Structure, and removing the Equal Remuneration Order that previously sat alongside the award.
Schedule E goes first: ~15% from 1 December 2026
The reforms are being rolled out in stages, and Schedule E (Home Care Employees — Disability Care) is first. These workers are set to receive an interim increase of around 15% from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026 (about 14.96% at Level E.4.2 and 13.31% at Level E.5.2).
The rationale is an anomaly the review exposed: disability support workers under Schedule E were paid less than aged-care workers performing comparable work. The interim increase is the Commission's first step toward closing that gap while the final structure is settled.
The full new classification structure then applies to everyone from the first full pay period on or after 1 October 2027, when Schedule E is abolished.
This is on top of the July increase — not instead of it
It is important not to confuse the two. The 4.75% Annual Wage Review increase applies to all SCHADS rates from the first full pay period on or after 1 July 2026. The Schedule E classification increase is a separate, additional change from the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026. A Schedule E disability worker therefore sees the 4.75% lift in July and then the classification-driven increase in December. (See our overview of the July 2026 SCHADS changes for the full picture.)
What the September decision settled
The June 2026 decision left parts of the change preliminary and transitional. The Commission's decision of 11 September 2026 ([2026] FWCFB 232) settled the Schedule E first phase: its determination (PR814259) moved the interim increase from the provisional 1 October date to the first full pay period on or after 1 December 2026. The full integrated structure, with each old classification and pay point mapped to a new level, applies from 1 October 2027; the Commission will publish that determination closer to its start date, updated for the 2027 Annual Wage Review.
The practical risk is misclassification during the transition — staff being mapped to the wrong new level, or the interim increase being applied inconsistently across a workforce.
What providers should do before 1 December 2026
- Identify your Schedule E workforce now. Know exactly which employees are covered by Schedule E (Home Care — Disability Care) so none are missed when the increase applies.
- Budget for the increase. Model the ~15% interim rise against your Schedule E wage bill and factor it into NDIS pricing and rostering decisions.
- Prepare your classification mapping. Before the final structure starts on 1 October 2027, you will need to re-map each Schedule E employee to the new integrated structure. Get your current classifications clean and documented first.
- Use the September determination, not the June figures. The Commission's 11 September 2026 decision and its Schedule E determination (PR814259) moved the start date to 1 December. Set your payroll to the determination's rates and the new effective date rather than anything configured from the June interim material.
Payroll and rostering teams who want a structured walk-through of the Schedule E timetable can join our SCHADS Award 2026 training, and the guide to the 2026 SCHADS Award changes sets out every change in one place.
How CrossVault helps
Reclassification is where underpayment and overpayment both creep in — a worker left on an old level, or the new rate applied to the wrong pay point. CrossVault's Timesheet Validator checks each timesheet against the rates that should apply to an employee's classification, so when the Schedule E changes land you can confirm every worker is being paid at the correct new level — not just trust that the payroll mapping was right.