The nurses’ union says Opal HealthCare logged cleaning and laundry tasks as ‘direct care’ minutes to meet mandatory minimum care targets.
Opal HealthCare is facing legal action over claims it breached workplace law by misreporting tasks such as such as washing dishes, folding laundry, and leading group activities as direct patient care.
Australia’s largest aged care provider could face fines of more than $200,000 per breach if the Federal Court ruled that the company contravened workplace law.
The NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association (NSWNMA/ANMF NSW) filed an application in the Federal Court of Australia last week seeking civil penalties for serious breaches of a state enterprise agreement.
The dispute centred on the amount of direct care minutes that aged care residents received from a registered nurse, enrolled nurse, personal care worker, or assistant in nursing.
The union said Opal HealthCare breached clause 58 of the Opal HealthCare (NSW) Enterprise Agreement 2023, which mandated minimum direct care minutes per day.
The NSWNMA said aged care union members reported that they were regularly asked to perform non-care duties such as washing dishes, folding laundry, and leading group activities, but those duties were logged as direct nursing care minutes with the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DoHDA).
The civil penalty for serious contraventions of workplace law carried a maximum penalty of $218,000 per breach, according to the Fair Work Ombudsman.
An Opal HealthCare spokesperson told HSD: “As the matter is before the court, Opal HealthCare is not able to provide any comment.”
The required number of daily care minutes in aged care facilities was based on a sector-wide average of 215 minutes per resident per day, including 44 minutes of direct care from a registered nurse.
The NSWNMA said it was calling for full transparency in care minute reporting in all Opal facilities and an immediate end to the misclassification of non-care duties.
“Understaffing is one of the biggest issues in the health sector and the implementation and enforcement of direct care minutes is key to improving staffing in aged care,” the union said in a statement.
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The union first notified a dispute with Opal HealthCare early last year and then referred the matter to the Fair Work Commission in June last year.
DoHDA updated its Care Minutes Responsibility Guide in May this year to clarify that tasks such as preparing and serving meals, laundry, cleaning, running group activities and decorating rooms could not be counted as direct care.
But the union said Opal HealthCare “has done little to rectify the issue, which impacts staffing and the levels of care being afforded to residents”.
The NSWNMA said it had reported concerns over misreporting at Opal HealthCare’s aged care facilities for more than a year.
The union said Opal HealthCare adjusted and resubmitted its care minute data during that period “to exclude previously counted non-direct care duties”.
Data from DoHDA showed that half of Opal HealthCare’s aged care facilities failed to meet care minute requirements, and more than 95% of Opal facilities were given either one- or two-star ratings, the NSWNMA said.
Opal HealthCare was owned by the Australian private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners and the Singaporean investment group G.K. Goh Holdings, which each owning a 50% stake.
In 2025, Opal HealthCare earned $2.5 billion in revenue.
Opal HealthCare CEO Rachel Argaman (Herman) was appointed to the board of Ageing Australia this month.
HSD contacted Ageing Australia for comment but did not receive a response before deadline.