More than half a million Australians working in female-dominated industries are in line for pay rises following a “landmark” ruling by the Fair Work Commission. Pay rises of up to 35 per cent have been recommended to try to fix gendered pay imbalances.

The Fair Work Commission found workers covered by five awards, including childcare workers, health professionals, dental assistants and pathology collectors, had been the subject of “gender-based undervaluation” and should receive pay rises.

The “game-changing” ruling would see pharmacists receive a 14.1 per cent pay rise over the next three years, starting from June 30, 2025.

Workers covered by the remaining four awards would have their exact pay rises determined at a later date.

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However, the Commission has proposed phased pay rises of up to 35 per cent for some health professionals, 27.8 per cent for early childhood workers, and up to 10.9 per cent for pathology collectors.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) said the changes would directly increase the wages of 175,000 workers paid under the awards and indirectly help 335,000 whose wages were underpinned by the awards.

“Unions welcome [the] landmark ruling by the Fair Work Commission, which recognises that working Australians should not be undervalued and underpaid because of their gender,” ACTU President Michele O’Neil said.

“For too long, jobs where the majority of workers are women have been paid less.

“Discounting women’s work has contributed to the gender pay gap and worsened cost-of-living pressures for households.”

While it's a win for workers, business groups have said it would present difficulties for employers.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said the decision would have a “profound impact on employers” and many would struggle to meet the increased costs.

"If the provisional views are maintained, there will be a dramatic increase in costs for affected employers, many of which are small not-for-profit organisations in mostly government-funded sectors that lack any capacity to meet additional costs,” he said.

The Fair Work Commission noted there was the possibility parents could face higher childcare costs if the government doesn’t commit to funding further pay increases.

The government has committed to delivering a 15 per cent increase for early childhood education and care workers, with $3.6 billion in funding set aside.