How To Become A Support Worker In Australia?

Are you an optimistic and sympathetic person devoted to ensuring a high quality of life for disabled people? Then becoming a support worker/ disability support worker could be the perfect career for you.

Support workers provide care and support to vulnerable individuals and families in different ways and settings. They offer practical help by carrying out various domestic and personal care tasks.

No mandatory qualifications are needed to become a disability support worker in Australia. However, completing a vocational qualification in Individual Support and Certificate IV in Disability will improve your job chances for this role.

If you are passionate about improving the well-being of people and want to know how to become a support worker in Australia, then keep reading this article.

You will learn about the duties, personal requirements, courses, degrees, NDIS support worker qualifications, salary, what they do, and steps to pursue this enriching career in Australia.

1. What Is A Support Worker In Australia?

Support workers provide physical, emotional, and social assistance to old, injured, physically challenged, or unhealthy individuals. These people lack physical or emotional capacity and seek external support to perform their daily tasks independently.

Support workers care for their hygiene, paperwork, medication, errands, socialisation, transport, nourishment, and housekeeping activities. It improves their well-being and quality of life.

Disability Support Workers provide personalised care, physical assistance, emotional support, and supervision for individuals and families who suffer from intellectual and physical incapacities.

These workers reduce physical discomfort and promote general health, emotional well-being, comfort, social enrichment, independence, improved mobility, and social connectedness.

The typical workplaces of disability support workers include clients' homes and residential facilities, clinics, hospitals, specialised care settings, and other types of care environments.

2. What Is A NDIS Support Worker?

The NDIS stands for National Disability Insurance Scheme.

An NDIS carer is engaged in helping disabled people by caring for them, overseeing them, and supporting them inside and outside their homes to meet their operational and emotional needs.

These workers can work as volunteers, self-employed contractors, employees, and consultants on a free or chargeable basis.

National resources for NDIS are as follows:

• NDIS.gov.au

• NDIS Commission

3. Reasons To Become A Support Worker

Do you look for a career with no formal education, good earning potential, job stability, and flexible work hours? Then a career as a support worker could be the perfect job for you.

Job Stability

The stable demand for individualised care and support for disabled people translates to future career opportunities for skilled support workers.

Varied And Interesting Job

A typical day for a disability support worker has various activities, including building meaningful relationships, sharing companionship, completing daily chores, listening to their stories, aiding with physical therapy, shopping, socialising, communicating with their family, and more.

A support worker accompanies their client to beach trips, community festivals, and other socialising activities. All this makes the job interesting.

Inner Satisfaction

Support workers take complete responsibility for their client's health and safety in their living environment.

The job may not be easy, but it is sure to bring out the best within you. While working as a support worker, you learn to become flexible, optimistic, and adaptable in whatever situation life puts you in.

Suppose you are a homely person and love serving people in need. In that case, this profession could give you much emotional fulfilment and satisfaction.

Flexibility

The critical benefit of being a disability worker is that you can work either as a full-time employee for an agency or as a self-employed independent worker. Although it is a full-time profession in most cases, you can also find part-time work.

Excellent Job Outlook

This is another attractive feature of pursuing this profession. In addition to job stability, care workers have brilliant opportunities to advance their careers in the disability support and aged care sector.

Considering the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme, thousands of disabled people can now access support services, leading to a rapid increase in the demand for care workers.

Qualified care workers also have good scope for specialisation. Further qualification in a related area opens the doorway to exciting job opportunities such as community case managers, activity officers, respite coordinators, and more.

4. Healthcare Support Worker Roles And Responsibilities

A support worker assists people who are old, have an intellectual disability or a physical disability and live in a group accommodation or their private homes.

Based on the individual needs of the client, a disability worker may have to perform a wide range of tasks, such as:

• Assist clients with household tasks and chores such as cleaning, bathing, washing laundry, dressing, grooming, shopping, budgeting, cooking, serving meals, feeding, self-administering medication, etc.

• Provide companionship and emotional support. 

• Help with health care and personal hygiene.

• Administer medicines and physical therapy (as needed).

• Help clients build confidence and cultivate new interests and hobbies. 

• Shop for groceries and prepare meals.

• Work closely with family members, doctors, and therapists to provide the best support.

• Ensure that the clients are washed and fed before accompanying clients to walks, appointments, social activities, or outings.

• Facilitate transport and movement for clients.

• Plan daily itineraries and personalised care programs.

• Encourage clients to build personal, social, and community relationships.

5. Required Skills For Support Workers In Australia

A disability support worker develops and upholds the safety, independence, health care, and hygiene of disabled individuals. It can sometimes become physically and emotionally challenging. 

To do justice with the role and perform the duties in the best way possible, a support worker needs to have the following skills:

• A genuine interest in helping people with disability

• Good communication and listening skills

• Good social awareness

• Calm and composed

• Compassion

• Resourceful

• Honesty

• Optimism

• Reliable

• Responsible

• Patience and perseverance

• Personable demeanour

• Dedication to helping others live the best lives

• to develop and maintain good relationships

• Flexible to work in shifts

• Supportive and Caring

• Understanding

• Physical fitness

6. Qualifications To Work As A Disability Support Worker In Australia

Though you don't need formal qualifications to pursue a job as a disability support worker, however, gaining higher education can strengthen your job application.

Though the Australian state differs based on minimum requirements for an NDIS carer, the general conditions are as follows:

Complete A Certificate III or IV In The Related Field

Suppose you are presently studying to become a social worker, a nurse, a physiotherapist, or a healthcare professional. In that case, you don't need to complete the above certificates as the skills required for a support worker job are transferable from your current study.

• A valid Australian Driver's license

• A Working with Children Check (WCC)

• A current First-Aid certificate

• A National Background Check

7. Steps To Become A Support Worker In Australia

Supporting people with a physical or intellectual disability can be a challenging but rewarding experience. 

The best part of this profession is that it doesn't require formal qualifications or work experience.

Completing a certification course will boost your resume and enhance your employability. Keep reading to learn more about becoming a disability support worker without experience.

Step 1: Learn About The Industry

The first step to becoming a support worker is to gain a good understanding of the industry and the desirable skills to work in this role.

Step 2: Strengthen Your Skills

You can work in the care sector without qualifications. Still, it is beneficial to possess qualifications to prove your competency, to abide by the rules and regulations, and to provide high-quality individualistic care to the client.

Certification is an excellent way to develop confidence, gain practical experience to work in diverse settings, and strengthen your job application boosting your career prospects.

• Certificate IV in Disability 

• Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability) 

• Certificate II in Community Services

These are the recommended support worker courses to get your foot in this profession. Most of them are of less than a year duration and offer government assistance and payment plans that make them easily achievable. 

The successful completion of these courses qualifies you to work as a disability support worker, residential care worker, and personal care worker.

Step 3: Apply For A Traineeship Program

A traineeship program in disability allows you to work and study concurrently for several hours per week.

A traineeship program lets your employer know that you have the necessary experience and capabilities to work with a disability and manage challenging situations that may arise while working in this role.

Step 4: Build Your Resume

Take time to understand what skills and personal attributes you should list in the resume that can make you the ideal candidate for the role. Mention related work experience and achievements that could show your competency in this role.

It could be VET training or working in a private care centre, or a school taking care of incapacitated people, etc.

Make a cover letter as per the job description and apply for jobs.

Step 5: Meet Industry Requirements

After getting adequate qualifications and experience, the next step is to learn about state-specific requirements for support workers. The general industry requirement is to have the following:

• Working with children, check

• Working with vulnerable people, check

• A national police check

• A valid driving license in Australia 

• A first Aid certificate

Step 6: Find Work

On fulfilling the mandatory industry requirements, you are ready for a professional head start in the care sector. 

Register on prominent job sites such as Seek, LinkedIn, and Indeed to find support worker jobs in your area. Personally visit support care agencies and check any current vacancies.

Here are a few national Resources for disability support workers:

• National Disability Services

• Department of Social Services

8. Steps To Become A NDIS Support Worker In Australia

An NDIS worker provides support and services to people living with a disability. 

If you want to become an NDIS worker and help others in the community, then here are the steps to follow to pursue this profession:

Step 1: Receive Nationally-Recognised Qualifications

Understanding the client's unique preferences, personalities, and needs is essential. This is important to offer domestic assistance and social support.

Undertake the below courses to learn how to provide different support types, including case note writing, manual handling, nursing services, wheelchair positioning, and personal hygiene and medication assistance.

• Certificate IV in Disability 

• Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability) 

• Certificate II in Community Services

Learning about the language of Auslan, dementia care, person-centred active support, mental health support, and possessing hoist and lift certifications are also beneficial to market your support services to a broader segment of clients.

Step 2: Complete Necessary Industry Checks

The next step is to complete the industry checks required to validate your identity and ensure the safety of your clients.

• A valid Working with Children Check and Police Check is required if assisting clients below 18 years.

• Some employers need clients to provide at least two professional or personal references.

• A First aid certificate is required to provide timely medical care to clients in emergencies. 

• A valid Australian driving license allows you to transport the client to different places as a part of the job.

NDIS Commission mandates all NDIS workers to complete a Worker Orientation Module as 'Quality, Safety and You' to offer improved assistance to people with disability. 

The module helps workers understand the role of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission and their work responsibilities under the Code of Conduct, including client and worker rights, dignity, and hazard.

9. Support Worker Relevant Certifications In Australia

Certification courses in disability prepare you to take the first step to build a rewarding career in assisting individuals with a disability.

The courses offer practical and theory sessions to provide person-centred and individualised support to people having a disability and enable working in a support facility or as a home disability support.

TAFE and private training organisations offer on-campus and online care worker courses to students throughout Australia.

Certificate III in Individual Support

The following Australian universities, training schools, and institutions offer the course:

• TAFE QLD

• Chisholm TAFE

• Tasmania College

• Victoria University

Certificate IV in Disability

This is a course for those already working in the disability sector and who wish to advance their career.

The course provides specialised training, helping students improvise their skills and increase competency in disability support. It enables them to take up a supervisory or more technical role, such as senior personal care assistant or disability officer.

Interested students can attend this course at any of the below universities and training institutions in Australia:

• RMIT University

• Chisholm TAFE

• Swinburne

• TAFE VIC

10. Work Conditions Of Support Workers In Australia

Type of work

A typical day for support workers in Australia involves providing their clients with emotional support, companionship, and physical assistance.

Nature of Employment

The profession allows them to work as full-time staff for a facility, an agency, or as a self-employed independent worker.

Work Hours

The regular work hours for support workers are 43 hours per week. However, based on the type of assistance the client requires, the duty can also involve overnight and weekend work.

Workplace

Care workers often work in many care settings, including clients' homes, community care sectors, residential facilities, hospitals, and clinics.

11. Employment Opportunities For A Support Worker In Australia

Around 18% of the total Australian population is living with a disability. 

With the growing number of Australians with a disability condition, the industry needs skilled professionals more than ever.

The relatively low unemployment rate, reliable and stable growth, and scope for growth, make the care industry a hot sector for the youth. There are projections that thousand more Aussies will pursue jobs requiring "human skills" in the coming years.

Around 88% of Support workers work in the Health Care and Social Assistance sector, 6.4% in Public Administration and Safety, and only 2.5% work in Administrative Support Services in Australia.

Care workers can pursue further studies and take on specialised roles within disability services, such as:

• Community Case Manager

• Disability Services Instructor 

• Disability Team Leader

• Nurse

• Respite Coordinator

• Activity Officers

• Home Care Worker

• Behavioural Support Officer

• Attendant Care Worker

• Special Needs Teacher

12. Job Outlook For Support And Disability Support Workers In Australia

The rapid rise in the 65+ population leads to a substantial demand and expansion of career opportunities for support and disability support workers. Many Australian families and organisations have sought more carers even with the coronavirus pandemic.

There are plenty of job openings for NDIS carers to provide care to vulnerable community members in Australia. Population growth, the increasing aging population, and the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme are some factors boosting support-related occupations.

Based on the job outlook website, by 2023, approx. Two hundred forty-five thousand people will work in the disabled and aged support industry. The number of disability support and aged care carers will increase by almost 40%.

13. How Much Does A Support Worker Earn In Australia?

The exact support worker's salary is determined based on the qualification, experience, area of work, type of employer/organisation, and client's family. 

Based on the last six months' data, Australia's average support worker salary ranges from $60k to $80k.

On the other hand, the national annual disability support worker salary falls between $55k and $65k. The average weekly wage for disability support workers is $1265 in Australia.

An NDIS support worker's average salary is $30 an hour. However, experienced and qualified carers earn up to $49.20 per hour.

14. Conclusion

Working as a support worker contributes positively to the lives of people. The satisfaction one gets by empowering and supporting people and helping them live independently makes the job worth considering.

So, if you are motivated to serve the incapacitated people, don't wait. Follow the above steps, and fulfil your dream.

Useful Links to Explore:

• English Language Requirements for Australia
• Cultural differences you may experience in Australia
• How to find Part-Time work as a Student in Australia
• Seven Tips for Students on a Budget in Australia
• How to get a Scholarship to Study in Australia
• Driving in Australia as an International Student
• How to change your Course or Institute in Australia
• The Benefits of a Professional Year Program (PYP)
• A Complete Guide to Study in Australia
• Types of Education in Australia
• What to Study in Australia?