New graduate hiring · Resource hub
One graduate per award pathway, followed from February 2027 to mid-2030 in wages and super; the hour each profession can bill on the schemes that set its price; the two calculators; and every article we have published on hiring and paying a graduate. Physiotherapy, exercise physiology, occupational therapy, speech pathology, osteopathy and chiropractic.
The starting wage is the number you negotiate. It is not the number to build the clinic around. The six challenges around the number, from the first rise to the Level 2 claim, are worked through in Hiring a new grad: six challenges by profession.
Culture of One · Last updated 5 October 2026
Full-time, 38 hours, wages plus 12% super, no promotion in any column, rounded to the nearest $100. The February 2027 row rests on the Level 1 rate in the award now. Every later row adds the Commission's published stage rate for that date, which still needs its own determination, plus an annual wage review of 4% a year that is our assumption, not a determination.
| When | Experience band | AQF 7 | AQF 8 | AQF 9 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2027 | 1st year | $76,200 | $77,900 | $84,200 | Determined |
| Late June/July 2027 | 1st year | $83,200 | $85,300 | $91,800 | Projected |
| February 2028 | 2nd to 3rd year | $89,100 | $91,400 | $97,700 | Projected |
| Late June/July 2028 | 2nd to 3rd year | $96,500 | $99,200 | $106,000 | Projected |
| February 2029 | 2nd to 3rd year | $96,500 | $99,200 | $106,000 | Projected |
| Late June/July 2029 | 2nd to 3rd year | $104,400 | $107,400 | $114,700 | Projected |
| February 2030 | 4th to 6th year | $114,100 | $117,100 | $121,000 | Projected |
| Late June/July 2030 | 4th to 6th year | $122,700 | $126,400 | $130,100 | Projected |
Source: Fair Work Commission determination PR814029 (Level 1 rates from 1 October 2026, Schedule B qualification levels) and the [2026] FWCFB 216 appendix (stage rates to 30 June 2030). The 4% review is our planning assumption.
| Award level applied | Professions |
|---|---|
| AQF 7 | Physiotherapy, exercise physiology, occupational therapy, speech pathology (bachelor) |
| AQF 8 | Speech pathology (honours) |
| AQF 9 | Osteopathy, chiropractic, speech pathology (master's) |
Physiotherapy, exercise physiology, occupational therapy, osteopathy and chiropractic are each listed at one level, so that level applies whatever the graduate holds (cl B.2(a)), subject to cl B.2(d) below. Speech pathology is listed at three, so the qualification held decides (cl B.2(b)(i)). Where an employer requires a higher qualification for the role, that qualification's level applies (cl B.2(d)). AQF levels by profession sets out every listing.
The award prices seniority: the wage floor rises with every experience band in every profession. A scheme price does not move because the clinician is more experienced. A private book can. Which challenge bites hardest depends on where each profession's prices are set.
AQF 7
What does a new grad physio cost a clinic? · New Graduate Cost Calculator · New Grad Progression Calculator
AQF 7
What does a new grad exercise physiologist cost a clinic? · New Graduate Cost Calculator · New Grad Progression Calculator
AQF 7
What does a new grad occupational therapist cost a clinic? · New Graduate Cost Calculator · New Grad Progression Calculator
AQF 7, 8 or 9
What does a new grad speech pathologist cost a clinic? · The three pathway tables are on the article
AQF 9
What does a new grad osteopath cost a clinic? · New Graduate Cost Calculator
AQF 9
What does a new grad chiropractor cost a clinic? · New Graduate Cost Calculator
NDIS limits are the national direct-service hourly maximums in the Pricing Schedule 2026-27, effective 24 September 2026. Medicare is the 85% benefit on MBS items 10953 to 10970 from 1 July 2026, a maximum of five services a year shared across allied health. DVA fees are the schedules effective 1 July 2026. Workers compensation and motor accident fees are set state by state and are not shown.
First-year cost with super for an AQF 7 or AQF 9 graduate, and the billings the role has to produce at the ratio you choose, on your fee.
The AQF 7 path year by year, with the stage rates and the review percentage as inputs. Built for physiotherapy, exercise physiology and occupational therapy graduates.
The tables on this page as a one-page PDF, with the costs that sit on top of the wage. Free, emailed.
For the year-two conversation: the four roles the award names at Level 2, clause by clause.
Newest first. All of it is free and open.
A new graduate is the clean case: one qualification, one start date, one clock. Everyone already on the payroll under this award translated into the new structure on 1 October 2026 under the award's transition rules, and each person's minimum is the higher of the translated classification's rate and the rate they held on 30 September (cl J.4.3). The Health Professionals Award hub holds the dated changes and every source; How exposed is your clinic to the 2026 award changes? is the margin question for the whole team; REBUILD is the course that works the translation one person at a time.
For owner-led clinics doing $1M to $3M
What each clinician actually earns you, what the award does to that as each stage lands, and what has to change so it still works. Built on your own payroll and diary data, with a graduate's ramp and rise schedule inside the same model.
Between $76,200 and $84,200 a year in wages and 12% super for a full-time graduate starting in February 2027, depending on the profession. Physiotherapy, exercise physiology and occupational therapy graduates are AQF 7 at $76,200; osteopathy and chiropractic graduates are AQF 9 at $84,200; speech pathology follows the degree held, at $76,200, $77,900 or $84,200. These rest on the award rate in force from 1 October 2026.
The Health Professionals and Support Services Award sets each profession's starting rate by the AQF level it applies, which is not always the level of the degree the graduate holds. Physiotherapy, exercise physiology and occupational therapy are listed at AQF 7 whatever is held. Osteopathy and chiropractic are listed at AQF 9. Speech pathology is listed at AQF 7, 8 and 9, so the qualification held decides.
On the Commission's published stage rates for 30 June 2027 to 2030 and an assumed 4% annual wage review, about $122,700 with super for an AQF 7 graduate and about $130,100 for an AQF 9 graduate by mid-2030, with no promotion. Every figure after June 2027 is a projection: the stage rates still need their own determinations and the 4% is an assumption.
In the first full pay period starting on or after 30 June 2027, when the award's second stage takes effect, with the annual wage review stacking on from the first full pay period on or after 1 July. For a February 2027 starter that is about five months in. The experience band then moves on the graduate's own anniversary of starting in the profession.
On our planning rule that wages and super sit under 45% of billings, an AQF 7 graduate needs about $169,400 of billings in the February 2027 year and about $272,700 by mid-2030; an AQF 9 graduate about $187,000 and $289,000. Per billable hour on 44 revenue-generating weeks of 25 billable hours, that is $154 rising to $248 for AQF 7, and $170 rising to $263 for AQF 9.
Yes, and that is where the professions differ most. The NDIS pays $193.99 an hour for occupational therapy and speech pathology, $183.99 for physiotherapy, $161.99 for exercise physiology, and has no item for osteopathy or chiropractic. The Medicare chronic condition rebate is $63.40 a service for all six. DVA pays $77.10 a consultation for physiotherapy, exercise physiology, osteopathy and chiropractic, $134.30 for occupational therapy and $128.80 an hour for speech pathology, all from 1 July 2026.
This page is a planning model for hiring a graduate. It assumes the award covers the employment and no enterprise agreement applies. Every figure after June 2027 depends on an assumed 4% annual wage review and on stage rates the Commission has published but not yet put into the award. Nothing here assesses any individual employee's classification or entitlements, and nothing in it is legal advice.