Start your career in aged care or disability support.
Care and support workers help people live with dignity and independence every day. These nationally recognised short courses are the lowest-risk way to build job-ready skills and test the field, then credit straight into the full Certificate III in Individual Support.
Two short courses, two ways into a care career.
Both are built from real CHC33021 units and lead to a Statement of Attainment. Start with the area that interests you, then move into the full Certificate III when you're ready.
From short course to a career in care.
Complete a short course, then step up to the Certificate III in Individual Support. Your units credit across, so the short course reduces your remaining study load.
Short Course in Aged Care
Short Course in Disability Support
Step up to the Certificate III
Cert III in Individual Support (Ageing)
The aged care pathway. The full qualification employers look for in residential and in-home aged care support roles.
Explore Ageing →Cert III in Individual Support (Ageing & Disability)
Two specialisations in one qualification. Opens the widest range of roles across both aged care and disability support, and the best value if you want to keep your options open.
Explore Ageing & Disability →Cert III in Individual Support (Disability)
The disability pathway. The qualification employers and NDIS providers increasingly look for in disability support worker roles.
Explore Disability →Care work is in demand across Australia
Aged care and disability support sit within Australia's health and community services workforce, one of the largest and fastest-growing parts of the economy.
Health Care and Social Assistance is Australia's biggest employing industry, reflecting the scale of care and support work.
Strong forecast growth across aged care and disability support roles, driven by an ageing population and the NDIS.
New NDIS registration requirements for some providers are lifting demand for formally trained disability support workers.
Figures are indicative and sourced from Jobs and Skills Australia and the ABS. A short course is a foundation; most ongoing care roles expect the full Certificate III in Individual Support.
Aged care & disability short course FAQs
Common questions about the aged care short course, the disability support short course, and studying online with Upskilled.
There are two nationally recognised online short courses: the Short Course in Aged Care and the Short Course in Disability Support. Each short course comprises three units from the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support and leads to a Statement of Attainment.
Yes. Both the aged care short course and the disability support short course use CHC33021 units of competency and lead to a nationally recognised Statement of Attainment issued by Upskilled (RTO 40374).
Yes. The units in each short course are taken directly from CHC33021, so they credit into the full Certificate III in Individual Support and reduce your remaining study load.
No. The short courses have no work placement and no exams. Work placement applies to the full Certificate III qualification, not the short course.
Each online short course is self-paced with up to four months of access, so you can fit study around work and family. Motivated learners often finish sooner.
A short course is a strong foundation and a low-risk way to test the field. Most ongoing care roles, and NDIS-related work, expect the full CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support, which the short course credits into.
Choose the aged care short course to focus on supporting older people, or the disability support short course to focus on supporting people with disability. Both lead into the Certificate III, including the combined Ageing and Disability stream if you want the widest options.
Travis Hackett
Head of Vocational Education — CHC, Upskilled
Travis leads the CHC Community Services stream at Upskilled and brings more than 28 years of frontline and leadership experience across the sector. His career spans disability services, child protection casework with FaCS, youth services, harm minimisation programs with NSW Health, youth justice conferencing, and counselling. Travis is also a registered Family Dispute Resolution Practitioner with the Attorney-General's Department. He reviews Upskilled's CHC course content to ensure it reflects current sector practice and prepares students for meaningful, impactful work in Community Services roles.
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