Lending your compassion to healthcare support services is incredibly rewarding and admirable. Becoming a support worker and enhancing the daily life of your client will undoubtedly, required unfaltering hard work and dedication.
To recognise your dedication to the community, it’s essential for you to earn a fair salary and receive appropriate financial benefits.
At AXIS Institute, we’re committed to offering our students with excellent educative training and practical skills training. Our carefully designed courses not only help our students secure their dream careers, but they also enhance their practical skills, ensuring they are well-compensated.
In this blog, we’ll explore the responsibilities of an individual support worker and break down the different salaries across different sectors, and outline the benefits you can expect. This will provide you with a clear understanding of your entitlements and allowances.
What is an individual support worker?
An individual support worker plays a crucial role in aged care and disability care sectors.
The primary goal of an individual support worker is to create an environment that supports the emotional and physical well-being of their clients. While this may involve helping with household tasks, support workers contribute much more.
They encourage their clients’ independence and integration into both family and community life. In addition to providing warmth and compassion, support workers may also assist with medication and collaborate with other healthcare providers to ensure their clients maintain good health.
What do individual support workers do?
In order to understand what you can earn while being an individual support worker, you must understand why you should earn an individual support worker’s average salary.
Here’s an ensemble of the typical duties of an individual support worker.
- Planning and preparation of nutritious meals
- Providing assistance concerning household tasks like cleaning and laundry
- Collecting groceries for clients
- Maintaining the personal hygiene of clients
- Communicating any concerns to a team of doctors, therapists, and physicians
- Promoting the independence of clients
- Encouraging participation in social activities
- Administering scheduled medications
- Becoming a friendly companion to clients
How much does a Disability Support Workers earn in Australia?
If you’re interested in becoming a disability support worker, you must know what to expect regarding your salary.
In Australia, disability support workers earn an average of $69,000 per year, which breaks down to approximately $39.37 per hour based on a 38-hour work week.
What is an NDIS Support Worker?
An NDIS support worker assists clients with disabilities under the National Disability Insurance Scheme. This role involves providing personalised support to help individuals spend more time with family, gain independence, develop skills, and pursue meaningful careers.
On average, NDIS support workers earn slightly less at $67,184 per year, equivalent to about $34.45 per hour for a standard 38-hour work week.
How much does Aged Care Workers earn in Australia?
In Australia, aged care workers earn an average salary of $87,496 per year. This equates to approximately $44.87 per hour based on their typical 43-hour work week.
You will have noticed that aged care workers receive substantially higher salaries than those of disability support workers.
Historically, disability support workers have earned wages that were 25% higher than those of an aged care worker. However, starting from 2023, there has been a growing demand for aged care support workers, driven by increased political attention to the aged care sector.
This momentum underscores the need for a well-trained workforce to meet the evolving political and social demands for reform in aged care.
The SCHADS Award
The Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Industry Award covers employers/employees who are eligible and work in the following sectors:
- The crisis assistance and supported housing sector
- The social and community services sector
- The home care sector
- The family day care scheme sector
The SCHADS award applies to full-time, part-time, and casual employees.
Note: as casual employees aren’t given the same entitlements as other types of employees, they are paid a loading rate of 25% in addition to their base rate of pay. This is to compensate for their lack of paid annual and personal leave entitlements.
Carer’s allowances
Providing support for the most vulnerable members of a community is undeniably challenging and time-intensive. Fortunately, there are benefits available to support workers, notably the carer’s allowance.
In essence, the carer’s allowance is a fortnightly benefit provided to individuals who regularly care for disabled clients, those with medical conditions, or elderly individuals needing care in their daily lives.
Eligibility extends to those caring for clients requiring ongoing daily assistance or who are terminally ill. If you meet the eligibility and residence criteria, you can expect to receive $153.50.
Read more here
Carer’s supplements
A carer’s supplement is an annual payment of up to $600 that you will automatically receive if you get:
- Carer’s allowance
- Carer’s payments
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs Partner Service Pension
- Department of Veterans’ Affairs Carer Service Pension
Read more here
Carer’s payments
A carer’s payment is provided to individuals who offer ongoing care to elderly or disabled clients requiring consistent support. This payment is intended for those who have been caring for a vulnerable individual for at least six months. When you apply for this benefit, you’ll need to provide details about your client and the care you provide.
Different payment rates for carers exist, so it’s important to familiarise yourself with these variations.
Read more here
Start a career in aged care with AXIS Institute
AXIS Institute is one of Australia’s leading providers of nationally recognised VET courses in childcare, aged care, hospitality and management.
To begin a career as an individual support worker, consider our CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (CRICOS Course Code: 114863E).
Our entry-level course features an accessible hybrid learning format covering essential topics such as providing individualised support, understand healthy body systems, and effectively communicating with diverse populations.
At AXIS Institute, we equip you not only to empower and enhance the lives of individual clients but also to positively impact entire communities with your adaptable and innovative skills.
Enrol with AXIS Institute
Now that you have a clear understanding of what you can earn as an individual support worker, take the next step and enrol at AXIS Institute!
Start a rewarding career in the aged care or disability care sector with our CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (CRICOS Course Code: 114863E) course!
Expand your skill with essential theoretical knowledge and proficient practical skills, and learn how to apply them to a range of unique experiences and clients. Your dream career (and dream pay!) is within reach. All you need to do is get in touch!