Careers in Aged Care: 8 Things to Know in 2024

Taking care of older people in the aged care services industry may be one of the most demanding and challenging jobs in the health care sector. It also comes with plentiful rewards and opportunities that can lead to a gratifying career. If you’re passionate about helping people, moving into aged care is your chance to make a genuine difference in people’s lives.

As an aged care worker, you’d be able to dedicate your career to supporting those living out the later chapters in their lives. It’s a deeply rewarding career. But making the decision to become an aged care worker isn’t always straightforward.

You’ll want to consider factors like:

• What area of aged care should you pursue?
• Which specialisation are you most passionate about?
• Will the job really suit you?
• What aged care qualifications should you study?

That’s why this aged care resource library exists. To help you find the answers to these questions and understand how to become an aged care worker.

On top of being dedicated, passionate and caring, there’s a vast range of critical aged care worker skills. These include:

These skills come into play every day as an aged care worker. They’ll allow you to perform a vast and varied range of responsibilities in the role.

Role and responsibilities of individual workers in aged care 

There are many positions within the aged care industry to suit a variety of skills and personalities. There are careers in frontline support, administration, human resources, and catering as well as managerial and corporate roles. There are also a variety of situations you as a support worker can work within.

You may work as a personal carer with elderly persons or families with people who receive aged care. Career opportunities abound in community care where you can offer in-home care and services.

Alternately, you might work at a residential aged care facility, providing continuous nursing support. Or you might choose to work at a community-based aged care provider, or in respite care services for those at the end of their lives.

Whether they work in community care, residential care or respite care, a support worker will report to the registered nurse or supervisor and work under their direction. With the appropriate professional development and career development opportunities, you can progress to supervisory roles and oversee other team members, or behind the scenes managing the overall operation of care facilities and support services.

Working in aged care, your duties will be varied, and you’ll follow an individual treatment plan for each client. But the crux of the role is about providing support to help your clients maintain their physical, emotional, and social wellbeing.

Aged care careers are widely regarded as demanding roles. But the rewards and job satisfaction of helping one of Australia’s most vulnerable populations far outweighs the challenges.

Keen to learn more about aged care worker duties and skills?

Aged care is actually a large umbrella field covering a vast number of roles. The duties, responsibilities and salaries of the various types of aged care workers differ. It’s a good idea to compare the types of aged care jobs to get a good understanding of where your passion lies, and where you want to make a difference.

Want to discover the key responsibilities for each of these roles, as well as more salary information?

Aged care in Australia is starting down a path towards massive change.

Despite being one of the largest industries — one Australia is increasingly dependent on — it’s also one of the most understaffed, underskilled and underfunded.

These facts are baffling. The number of Australians over the age of 85 is expected to rise over 50% by 2058, to 1.5 million. Along with the increased frailty of our elderly population, this is the reason that qualified, caring aged care professionals are in demand.

Qualified and caring are the operative words in that statement.

The Royal Commission inquiry into Australia’s aged care industry revealed that these two things are shockingly absent from the industry.

The path towards change in aged care requires many more dedicated, passionate and caring workers to enter the industry and make an impact. However, these traits aren’t inherent in everyone, and finding people with an innate capacity to care is rare. If you possess these traits, you’re exactly the kind of person this industry is crying out for.

What this means for you is that once qualified, you’ll have plentiful job opportunities. Carers are in demand across the country, so whether you’re based in NSW, Queensland, Victoria or Western Australia, you can get employment in the sector quickly and get started building a successful, fulfilling aged care career. And it’s doubtful that you’ll have to worry about unemployment with this kind of demand, making aged care a future-proof career.

Without a doubt, working in the aged care sector can become an extremely rewarding and fulfilling career. However, it does come with its challenges both physically and emotionally. Caring for an aged person or one with a disability can have its physical demands. For example, if you are in a support role where you are required to provide hands-on assistance.

You may also be in a situation where you are required to manage someone with difficult behaviours or health issues, you may be working in an environment where you will experience grief and loss and you may be exposed to the emotion of friends and family throughout your career as a support worker.

Occupational therapist, Julia Caplan, has a wealth of experience working in the aged care sector and knows exactly what this feels like.

While this is one of the most distressing realities of working in aged care, Julia says there are also some incredible rewards of working with the elderly.

Want to read the five insights she’s gleaned from her experience in the aged care sector?

So you’re ready to begin your career journey as an aged care worker, and now you’re looking for a guide on how to actually get started.

Here are two comprehensive overviews on how to get started as an aged care worker, and how to get started as an aged care nurse:

If you’re wondering how to become an aged carer, there are two main paths. You can study aged care, or take on a traineeship or apprenticeship.

In addition to your qualification, aged carers also need a first aid certificate. Some employers will require you to hold a driver’s license, a national police check, and manual handling training.

If you are planning to explore a career in aged care services, you might be wondering: what qualifications do I need to work in aged care services? There is a vast range of carer courses available to suit your needs.

What qualifications do I need to work in aged care?

While a qualification isn’t strictly required to work in aged care, gaining one will prepare you for working in the sector and enable you to begin working straight away. Many employers prefer workers with a qualification since they need less training and supervision to start with.

Whether you have the time to study full-time in class, or part-time via an aged care course online, there’s an option for you.

Whether you have the time to study full-time in class, or part-time via an aged care course online, there’s an option for you.

Available qualification types for aged care that can be studied at TAFE:

• Certificate III in Aged Care
• Certificate IV in Aged Care
• Nursing Courses

The aged care industry is crying out for passionate and dedicated workers. But this doesn’t mean you can just walk into the industry. Once you’ve finished your aged care course and are ready to apply your knowledge and skills in a real world setting, you’ll have to interview for the job you want.

Since this is an aged care interview, there’ll be specific questions that relate directly to your course. Here are some interview tips that can show potential employers that you’re the right person for their aged care facility: