How to become an aged care worker in Australia
Most guides to getting into aged care tell you to do a Certificate III and then stop, which leaves out the two things that actually determine whether you finish: a paperwork deadline in your first two months, and 120 hours you have to arrange yourself.
Here is the whole sequence, in the order you will live it.
Step one: the qualification
The entry qualification for aged care work is the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing). It is 15 units, delivered online, with no exams, and most students take 12 to 18 months around work or family.
The units are the job rather than the theory of the job: working with diverse people, communicating in health or community services, working legally and ethically, safe work practices for direct client care, recognising healthy body systems, identifying and reporting abuse, working with people with mental health issues, working effectively in aged care, delivering care using a palliative approach, supporting relationships with carers and family, providing individualised support, supporting people living with dementia, infection prevention and control, facilitating empowerment, and supporting independence and wellbeing.
There are no formal entry requirements. A consultant checks the course suits you, and you complete a short language, literacy and numeracy assessment at enrolment.
Step two: the clearance checks, and the deadline nobody mentions
This is the step that catches people, so do it early. The checks you need depend on where you live.
| Where you live | What you need |
|---|---|
| NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, NT and WA | Working with Children Check, National Police Check, a cover letter and a curriculum vitae |
| ACT and TAS | Working with Vulnerable People Check, National Police Check, a cover letter and a curriculum vitae |
Two things to know. Some of these checks carry a charge, and it is a mandatory requirement to apply for them and submit the approved checks through MyUpskilled within the first two months of your course start date. Upskilled reserves the right to move you to a course without a placement requirement, or to cancel your enrolment, if you have not. That sounds harsh until you realise the alternative is a student reaching the end of the theory with no way to do the practical half.
Start the applications in your first fortnight. Processing times vary by state and none of them are in a hurry.
Step three: 120 hours, and you are the one who finds the host
Work placement is where the qualification becomes real, and it is also the part people most often misunderstand.
You complete at least 120 hours of direct support work in an aged care, home and community, disability or community service organisation, focused on the activities in the unit on supporting independence and wellbeing. If you are not already working in aged care, you complete an additional 10 hours on top of that, which exist to give you practice with the specific skills the disability sector asks for. Depending on the setting, you may need to split your hours across two organisations so you see both residential aged care and community care.
Sourcing a suitable host organisation is your responsibility, and the course page is blunt that it can take several weeks, so start looking well before you finish the theory. If you cannot find one, Upskilled's Work Placement Officer can assist, and you will need to provide the list of organisations that declined you through MyUpskilled. Once a host says yes, a Work Placement Agreement Form goes to Upskilled for approval before you start.
If you already work in the industry, you may be able to complete the placement requirements inside your own workplace, with your employer and workplace supervisor named on the same form.
What the work asks of you physically
Worth knowing before you enrol rather than after. To complete the placement you need to be reasonably fit for a range of tasks that can involve manual lifting, kneeling on the floor and other physical activity. Aged care is hands-on work, and the assessment reflects that.
An Upskilled assessor liaises with your host organisation's workplace supervisor to review and validate your practical skills. Some tasks you demonstrate through video recordings, and some through simulated activities when that is the sensible way to do it.
Step four: the job
With the qualification and the placement behind you, the roles to look at are aged care worker, personal care assistant, home care worker and support worker, across residential facilities, home and community care providers and disability services.
Placement does more here than tick an assessment box. It is 120 hours inside a real organisation with a supervisor who watches you work, which in a sector that hires on attitude and reliability is the closest thing to an extended interview. Treat it accordingly. For what the work pays, we have a sourced breakdown in our aged care worker salary guide.
Should you do the ageing qualification or the combined one?
Both exist and the distinction is worth five minutes of your time, because changing later means changing courses.
The Ageing version is built for residential aged care and home care, and that is where most of its content sits: dementia support, palliative approaches, working effectively in aged care. The combined Ageing and Disability version covers both sectors, which keeps more doors open in exchange for going slightly less deep into either. If you already know you want to work with older people, take the Ageing one. If you are not sure, or the jobs near you are a mix, the combined qualification is the safer bet.
If what draws you is the broader social support side rather than personal care, that is a different qualification again, and our guide to what a community services worker does covers it.
The Upskilled route
The CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) is nationally recognised, delivered online and self-paced, with 15 units, no exams and work placement support. Upskilled is a Registered Training Organisation, RTO No. 40374. You can see the rest of the level on the Certificate III courses page.
Career information here is general and indicative. Completing a qualification does not guarantee a job or a particular salary.
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