Shorten 'thinking' on aged care pay rises

Labor leader Bill Shorten has signalled his party could act to lift aged care workers' pay, after already committing to boosting wages in the childcare sector.

Bill Shorten says Labor is considering whether workers in the aged care sector should get a pay rise (AAP)

Aged care workers could be next in line for a taxpayer-aided pay rise if Labor wins power.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has already promised to lift the wages of childcare workers by $11,000 over eight years if he becomes prime minister at the May 18 election.

His reasoning is the workforce in the childcare sector is overwhelmingly women who are in the 92nd lowest paid profession out of 96 in Australia.

But this pledge has led to calls for a similar wage boost for workers in aged care, which is similarly feminised and underpaid.

"We're thinking about what to do in aged care too," Mr Shorten told ABC's Q&A on Monday night.

"The fact that we look after early childhood educators now does not mean that we won't work to help aged care workforce in the future."

He pointed to the royal commission into aged care now under way, saying its findings would factor into any future decisions.