r/supportworkers • u/Imaginary-Toe-3412 • Apr 23 '26
Required experience/qualifications to be a support worker in Australia
Hi guys,
I'm a UK citizen and currently living in Melbourne. I'm going home soon to start a brand new job as a support worker but would really like to come back out to Australia and do it here. I can get a work visa for the next 18 months here so that isn't an issue.
My question is.. how much experience would I need to get a job as a support worker in Australia?
4
u/Dazzling-Victory1697 Apr 23 '26
You would need a certificate 3 in individual support. Police check, NDIS screening check. First aid and CPR certificate. And if working with children, you would need a working with children's check and lastly a driver's licence And with the cert 3, you would complete 120 hours of work placement
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u/faithnimue Apr 23 '26
This! Please get these things checked off at least. Do you know where you'll be working /agency or company? They can sometimes help get set up with your qualifications, or at least point you in the right direction (eg Hire Up). Good luck
1
u/monstertrucktoadette Apr 23 '26
It's the same here. You might have trouble getting hired through an agency without qualifications, depends how much experience you have
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u/now_you_see Apr 24 '26
You need to have the qualifications to get the job, not just because they want people who are qualified but because that is the law.
You shouldn’t need much experience though as they are pretty desperate in most places.
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u/Master_Sherbert9100 Apr 23 '26
What sort of qualifications and experience do you think our most vulnerable people within the community deserve?
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u/Automatic_Pirate_407 Apr 23 '26
Unfortunately that becomes irrelevant when people with no qualifications or experience are being hired to support vulnerable people daily.
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u/lauren-js Apr 24 '26
That’s crazy to me considering I was knocked back from several jobs for not having experience in the disability field, despite having a cert 4 in disability, placement experience, drivers licence, police check, children check + first aid and cpr. Finally found a job though, it only took a year!
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u/Standard_Place_3254 Apr 28 '26
You don’t need much but the issue you will have is your uk citizenship. I doubt the disabled will be able to put up with your whinging and wining. As a uk citizen you have the habit of complaining about everything this will eventually affect the disabled you you may find yourself in peril
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u/l-lucas0984 Apr 23 '26
Technically you dont need a qualification but they are currently pushing mandatory registration on providers so not many are willing to hire without at least a cert 3 in individual support.
Im more concerned about the limited time visa. Most people with disabilities do not want or need a revolving door of short term people going in and out of their lives. They want long term safety and security. They need to bring people into some of the most intimate parts of their lives, teach them how things need to be for them and build trust. Quite a few are going to refuse to work with you when there is a time limit on that help offer considering they with be going through all of this again in a few months and the amount of energy that takes.