The Aged Care Association says a looming government surplus means the Government can afford to lift funding for the aged care sector.
The Court of Appeal is set to consider a preliminary Employment Court ruling in favour of a worker who claims that the low pay of women in aged care is gender discrimination.
Aged Care Association chief executive Martin Taylor says the Government should boost aged care funding by $140 million - $160 million a year so employers can pay their workers more.
He says funding for public hospitals allows caregiver pay rates of more than $17 a hour, compared with $15 an hour in private care homes.
Mr Taylor says the Government is set to post $1 billion surplus by the middle of the year, and the country's 30,000 caregivers in aged care deserve some of that money.
The Employment Court case was brought by a worker at the Lower Hutt care facility, Terranova.
