Aged Care Blog

Aged care manager salary guide

Aged care manager salary guide

First published: June 2025

Are you wanting to step into an aged care management role? These jobs offer a fulfilling career where you can make a meaningful impact while earning a competitive salary.

In this blog, we’ll look at the aged care manager salary you’ll receive, taking into consideration factors that can influence your pay and salaries to expect in different managerial roles. By fully understanding the financial landscape ahead, you can make the most informed decisions about your career. 

What can I expect an aged care manager salary to be?

The average aged care manager salary in Australia is $125,000 per year, with typical earnings ranging from $110,000 – $130,000. Pay can vary based on your experience, location and employer. 

Aged care manager salary by role type

Aged care management includes a broad spectrum of roles and responsibilities, with pathways for clinical and non-clinical professionals. Each role comes with a different salary range, which we have explored below: 

Clinical care coordinator

As a clinical care coordinator, you can expect an average annual salary of around $106,000. 

Clinical care coordinators are responsible for: 

  • Overseeing teams of aged care workers and registered nurses, providing clinical leadership and guidance 
  • Reviewing resident care plans to ensure compliance against standards of care 
  • Liaising with resident families, healthcare professionals and upper management to devise the best outcome for residents 
  • Delivering complex resident care 
  • Assisting with the training of staff member 

Care manager

An aged care manager’s salary is around $125,000 a year. 

Leading clinical leadership teams, care managers work with the facility manager and nursing professionals to drive quality patient care. Typical duties and responsibilities include:  

  • Ensuring all clinical practices are in line with standards, regulations and guidelines 
  • Advocating for patient care and quality of life 
  • Providing and defining staff training programs and overseeing the upskilling and hiring of nurses 
  • Reviewing resident care plans and subsequent documentation 
  • Managing incidents and minimising risks 
  • Seeking continuous feedback and implementing improvement measures 

Facility manager

A facility manager’s salary is around $145,000 a year. 

Facility managers run aged care residences, meet financial targets and uphold processes and standards. Working closely with the care manager, they coordinate every aspect of their care home, ensuring that the delivery of aged care services remains smooth and proper procedures are implemented. Key duties are: 

  • Managing finances and budgeting, ensuring a good return on investment 
  • Meeting deadlines and requirements set out by head office 
  • Ensuring documentation is accurate and updates are provided at sufficient intervals 
  • Striving to meet accreditation requirements 
  • Contributing to employee training and development 
  • Completing successful home audits 
  • Being aware of aged care standards and regulations, safeguarding homes so they fulfil legal requirements 

Quality and education manager

A quality and education manager can expect to earn $135,000 a year on average. 

Quality and education managers can be assigned to work in one aged care home or for multiple homes within an organisation. Their focus is on mentorship, aged care standards and enhancing residents’ quality of life. In this role, you can expect to: 

  • Support managers to implement continuous improvement via processes
  • Improve quality and reporting systems 
  • Ensure staff are aware of risks and identify solutions 
  • Assess care services against industry standards 
  • Mentor other staff when needed 
  • Create audit tools 

Find out more on aged care worker salaries in 2025

I’d like to earn an aged care manager salary. What do I do to get there?

Aged care management is an exciting part of the industry. If you have the following skills and characteristics, aged care management could be the career path for you: 

  • Empathetic where you put resident care first 
  • Proactive when making tough decisions 
  • Great at working as part of a team 
  • Able to juggle multiple tasks at once 
  • Motivated by seeing immediate results of your action 
  • Excited to interact with residents every day by getting to know those in your care 

When looking to move into management, start by thinking about what aged care qualifications will help you to get there. Relevant work experience can also give you the opportunity to progress, along with strong leadership, communication and problem-solving abilities. 

How do I increase my aged care manager salary earning potential?

To strengthen your earning potential as an aged care manager, there are many steps you can take. 

  • Expand your experience – carry out research and look at job adverts to see what experience employers want. It is important to remember that some organisations may prefer individuals with clinical backgrounds 
  • Gain further education and qualifications – alongside nursing credentials, management and leadership certificates may work in your favour 
  • Look into alternative employers – the aged care industry in Australia has private and not-for-profit providers. Often, those in the private sector will offer higher salary packages than not-for-profit businesses, however, you will receive additional benefits with NFPs such as salary sacrificing 
  • Research different aged care homes – if you work in a home that is on a large scale (over 100 beds), you may receive a higher package due to the intense level of work involved

Secure an aged care manager salary with Sanctuary Recruitment?

Want guidance on developing your career in the aged care sector? View our available aged care management jobs or get in contact with our team today to see what possibilities are in store for you. 

Register with us

Looking for a new opportunity
in the aged care sector?

Expert staffing solutions

Need staffing support on a temporary, contract or permanent basis?

Subscribe Here!

Subscribe to our blog!
Aged care blog
How to become an aged care worker

First published: November 2023, revised April 2024 The aged care industry encompasses the services provided and delivered to care for the elderly population. The Department of Health and Aged Care governs the quality of these services and focuses on continuous improvement and development, with the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission in charge of government…

Certificate IV in Aged Care pay rate guide

First published: June 2025 Certificate IV in Aged Care pay rates are set by the Aged Care Award. Recent reforms in the aged care sector have led to aged care workers in Australia receiving multiple pay rises in the past few years due to an investigation into workforce attraction and retention via the Royal Commission…

Aged care bill passes parliament

First published: November 2024 In line with the Once in a Generation aged care reform that was announced in September, on the 25th November 2024, the Albanese government has passed the aged care bill allowing for elderly Australians to have access to better aged care services and delivery. The Royal Commission into Aged Care and…

Why Sanctuary is one of Australia’s best nursing agencies

Over the past decade, Sanctuary has built longstanding relationships with aged care professionals and service providers, establishing ourselves as one of the best nursing agencies in Australia. With a focus on aged care nursing and leadership roles, we connect experienced candidates with reputable not-for-profit and private aged care organisations across the country. At Sanctuary, people…

A guide to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) and AN-ACC

First published: Demember 2024 For those receiving aged care services in residential aged care homes, the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) was used by the Australian Government to allocate subsidy amounts of residential aged care providers. Payments were based on the ongoing needs of residents and included a variety of factors such as activities of…

What is aged care?

First published: January 2025 Aged care is a collection of services delivered to older people (usually aged 65 and over), both inside and outside of their home, that allows them to live a full, normal life. Aged care is provided on a variety of different levels, depending on the needs of the client. In Australia,…

Journeying through care: insights from a travel nurse exploring Western Australia

First published: February 2025 In the ever-evolving world of healthcare, travel nursing offers a unique opportunity for nursing professionals to expand their horizons while making a significant impact on patient and resident care across different regions of the country. Our contract team oversees short and long-term assignments in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia,…

Shining a spotlight on female leadership in aged care

First published: March 2024 A background to women in leadership The aged care industry is dominated by female workers, with 86% of the RAC workforce (direct care workers) identifying as female. Despite this overwhelming percentage, female leadership positions are still low in comparison to men, with women CEOs making up 19% across all industries. Females…

Touchdown for our PALM Scheme class of 2024!

First published: March 2025 On Tuesday 4th March our PALM Scheme Class of 2024 arrived in Melbourne, Victoria, marking the start of their four year journey in Australia, making a difference in residential aged care homes in Mildura and Port Macquarie for Regis Aged Care. Under the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme, 40 participants…

Duties and responsibilities of an aged care worker

First published: July 2024 Aged care workers working in the Australian aged care industry are responsible for more than just fundamental duties and responsibilities. They are expected to provide personal, emotional, and holistic support to their residents, playing a key part in a resident’s twilight years. Working in aged care is an admirable profession, one…