This page provides information and data on the Direct Client Care and Support sector and its related occupations.
The Direct Client Care and Support sector includes a range of multi-skilled and multi-levelled job roles in diverse health care and social assistance sub-sectors. People working in these job roles are involved in undertaking administrative, assistant, operating (i.e. technician), direct personal care and/or supervisory activities in the following sub-sectors:
Nationally recognised qualifications for occupations related to Direct Client Care and Support are delivered under the CHC – Community Services Training Package and the HLT – Health Training Package.
For more information on Children’s Education and Care, Client Services and Community Sector and Development please visit the respective pages.
For more information on other community services related industries, please visit the pages for Community Sector and Development, Client Services and Children’s Education and Care.
Information sourced from the most recently available Skills Forecast, the Direct Client Care and Support IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast.
All data sources are available at the end of the page.
The Direct Client Care and Support IRC was not required to submit an annual update to their 2019 Skills Forecast during 2020. As such, the version published in 2019 remains the most recently published Skills Forecast for this industry.
Direct Client Care IRC
Please note: any employment projections outlined below were calculated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics prior to COVID-19.
The Health Care and Social Assistance industry is the largest employing industry in Australia. In 2020 over 1.7 million were people employed in this industry, which is projected to increase to more than 1.9 million by 2024. While it is difficult to quantify how many people work in Direct Client Care and Support, it does form a significant part of the Health Care and Social Assistance industry.
Within this industry, and relevant to Direct Client Care and Support, is that the employment numbers for Aged and Disabled Carers are expected to grow from over 214,100 in 2020 to 222,300 by 2024. All other occupations within this sector are also projected to grow by 2024, with Counsellors expected to grow to 38,900 and Welfare Support Workers expected to grow to 80,500.
Media Release – Community and Personal Service Workers on the Rise from the 2016 Census indicates that in terms of absolute growth Aged and Disabled Carers was the third highest ‘largest growth’ occupation between 2011 and 2016.
There were almost 157,410 program enrolments in Direct Client Care and Support-related qualifications in 2019 and around 50,660 program completions. Both enrolments and completions declined between 2015 and 2017, before rising in 2018 and 2019.
About 59% of enrolments were at the certificate III level, with a further 34% at the certificate IV level. Close to half of all enrolments in 2019 were in the area of Individual Support (almost 76,930). Other large qualification clusters included Aged Care and Ageing Support (20,760 enrolments) and Disability (just under 14,200 enrolments).
The intended occupation for qualifications in Individual Support was Personal Care Assistant. Intended occupations for other qualification clusters included Aged or Disabled Carer, Disabilities Services Officer, and Hospital Orderly.
Close to 64% of training was delivered by private training providers, 23% by TAFE institutes and 9% by community education providers. The majority of subjects were funded by government (69%) and by domestic fee for service (26%).
Of all program enrolments in Direct Client Care and Support-related qualifications, approximately 27% of students were located in New South Wales, 26% in Victoria and about 22% in Queensland. Just under a third (32%) of training was delivered in New South Wales, followed by approximately 30% in Victoria and 21% in Queensland.
Apprenticeship and traineeship commencements have dropped significantly from 2012 when criteria for Commonwealth employer incentives were tightened around skills in demand and areas of skills shortage. There were nearly 3,080 commencements in 2019. Completions have similarly fallen since 2013 to about 1,840 in 2019. The apprenticeships and traineeships were aimed at a variety of intended occupations, the largest of which was Personal Care Assistant. Other intended occupations included Disabilities Services Officer, Hospital Orderly, Therapy Aide, and Aged or Disabled Carer. About 37% of the apprenticeships and traineeships were reported by New South Wales, followed by Victoria (18%), and Queensland and Western Australia (both 12%).
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The Direct Client Care and Support IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast identifies the top priority skills for the sector as mainly soft skills, ranging from emotional intelligence, teamwork and communication, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility, through to problem solving and self-management, followed by technical / job specific skills. The top five identified generic skills are:
According to the job vacancy data, the top requested skills by employers in the sector were communication skills and planning. The top employers were the New South Wales Government and the Government of Victoria.
The Direct Client Care and Support IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast highlights several key challenges and opportunities for the sector, including:
The sector’s client base has changed over time, as the prevalence of mental health and alcohol and other drug-related conditions, as well as other chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, obesity and arthritis, increases. In addition to increased demand for skills relating to the care of individuals with chronic health conditions and alcohol and other drugs, there are also deficiencies in skills related to dementia care, palliative care, technological and interpersonal skills (such as communication), most noticeably in the aged and disability care sectors. A focus on updating the workforce skills mix is therefore of high priority. However, there are a multitude of challenges influencing skills shortages across all direct client care and support workforces, such as:
Locality is also an issue, which can be compounded by greater need for aged care services as older people in rural and remote areas have lower incomes, experience greater levels of disability, and reside in poorer quality housing. Further, there are higher proportions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in rural and remote areas. However, the use of aged care places is much lower outside major cities and people living outside major cities often wait considerably longer to move into residential high care even after being approved a place. Authors of Addressing Aged Care Workforce Issues in Rural and Remote Australia state the contributing factor to this inequity in access is workforce shortages and the absence of a national strategy is a critical aspect impeding a strategic approach to recruitment and retention in rural and remote areas. Recommendations are provided relating to the age care workforce generally, the rural and remote setting more specifically, and remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, which have their own unique circumstances and needs.
Findings in Exploring Aboriginal Aged Care Residents’ Cultural and Spiritual Needs in South Australia suggest that carers and residents believe cultural inclusion in general care practices may enrich Aboriginal residents’ daily life, health and well-being in residential aged care facilities. However, Profiling Capacity to Support Older People in Remote Communities to Age in Place, finds that hands on Indigenous care workers, especially women, are squeezed between their employment in health care training and service delivery, and their more traditional roles and cultural responsibilities. Hence, there is a high turnover of people through these service positions.
Many of the matters raised above may also be examined in the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety’s final report, which must be finalised by the end of February 2021.
According to the Direct Client Care and Support IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast many of the opportunities and challenges relating government policy/legislation changes are associated with the NDIS and aged care.
The NDIS provides an individualised approach to funding and connecting individuals who have a permanent and significant disability to services that will support them in their daily lives and help them to achieve their goals. A challenge to the implementation of NDIS is an insufficient number of staff employed to create NDIS plans (i.e. individualised care plans), which is a critical component of the Scheme. Significant labour shortages in this area have resulted in employers hiring people regardless of their level of skills and experience.
Despite additional recruitment of staff external to the public sector workforce, the volume of demand has resulted in a pressurised process and, as a result, a significant number of NDIS plans are unsatisfactory, in that they are not reflective of clients' wishes or situations. Specialised skills are required for conducting assessments in order to understand the complexity of clients' needs, and in order to put together NDIS plans that best meet their requirements. With a certain portion of NDIS plans not catering to the full breadth of client concerns, it is possible the disability support workforce may face flow-on difficulties in providing holistic care to clients.
Furthermore, the new workforce in NDIS-funded services provision results in even greater workload and work intensity for experienced staff, who are required to support and compensate for the limited capacities of newer workers according to Precarity and Job Instability on the Frontlines of NDIS Support Work. The authors’ find the NDIS does not provide adequate funds within the unit price structure for regular training of staff. Hence, in most agencies, training opportunities for newly hired staff range from minimal to non-existent. The authors state that the departure of many long-time, more experienced workers will only exacerbate the problems of skill and capacity faced under the NDIS.
Issues around pricing are also raised in State of the Disability Sector Report 2019, along with sustainability, regulations among other challenges, and in Regional Australia Institute’s review of key policy approaches in Building the NDIS in Regional Australia: a Review of Key Policy Approaches.
The Australian Government’s strategy, Growing the NDIS Market and Workforce: Supporting the Market to Deliver Innovative, People-Centred Services so that Participants can Achieve Their Goals, outlines its key priorities to help an efficient and effective NDIS market. The Government is also working with state and territory governments to support the development of the NDIS market and workforce. For example, education and skills services are being refined to improve formal qualifications and training pathways for current and potential NDIS workers. Recently published state and territory NDIS workforce insight reports and plans include: Disability Workforce Insights by the South Australian Training and Skills Commission; Keeping our Sector Strong: Victoria’s Workforce Plan for the NDIS; and Queensland’s suite of work NDIS Training and Skills Support Strategy. The Australian Parliament is also examining the NDIS workforce, through an inquiry by the Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme. A total of 52 submissions are publicly available and a report will be published in due course.
To support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment across the sector, the National Disability Service has released Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Guide and Toolkit.
Specific occupations within the Direct Client Care and Support sector have also released workforce plans and assessments such as: Western Australia’s Social Assistance and Allied Health Workforce Strategy; Northern Territory PHN Primary Health care Workforce Needs Assessment: Year 2: Allied Primary Health Workforce; Strategy for the Family Carer Mental Health Workforce in Victoria; Northern Territory’s 2018-2019 Mental Health Peer Support Workforce Assessment Needs; Tasmania’s Peer Workforce Development Strategy; and Victoria's Alcohol and Other Drugs Workforce Strategy 2018–2022.
Navigating the Maze: An Overview of Australia's Current Aged Care System reiterates longstanding concerns around workforce numbers and skills mix, attraction, retention and career paths, remuneration, and the levels of skills and qualifications in the sector. The aged care workforce will need to expand considerably, to around 980,000 by 2050 according to the Productivity Commission, as the population ages and adopt new models of care and scopes of practice to meet changing expectations across Australia.
As such, A Matter of Care: Australia's Aged Care Workforce Strategy, developed with the aged care sector, outlines 14 areas for action to support Australia's aged care workforce. The actions identified in the strategy aim to support the sector to invest in better workforce planning, implement better job pathways to allow for career progression, build leadership across the sector at all levels, foster the next generation of leaders, implement practical strategies for attracting and retaining the right people with the right fit, and keep valued skills and talented people. This strategy can be executed in one to three years and in doing so will then position the sector for the next four to seven years.
Meeting the Social and Emotional Support Needs of Older People using Aged Care Services considers older people’s aspirations for quality caregiving relationships and for decent social and emotional care. These aspirations feature in Australia’s quality standards, which emphasise person-centredness as an effective means of supporting wellbeing among older people, according to the authors. They argue that thin industrial regulation, individualised funding and consumer-directed care, and an increasing share of profit motivated provision are converging to promote fragmented, task-orientated models of care, rather than holistic person-centred models consistent with quality.
Turning to the challenge of an ageing workforce, the Direct Client Care and Support IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast reports the share of people aged ’65 or over’ will increase in coming decades, as will the labour force participation rate. The implications of an ageing workforce mean the sector is likely to experience high levels of staff leaving the workforce. This presents challenges, in adapting the workplace arrangements to encourage mature-age workers to remain, and advantages, such as retaining extensive work experience.
The study Improving the Health of Older Aged Care Workers considers pushes to extend the working lives and participation of older ‘pink collar workers’ (those in care-related roles requiring less than a bachelor’s degree qualification) in the labour force. It also considers two other policy concerns: the effects on workers when aged care is conceptualised as a marketplace in which consumers make informed decisions about the care they wish to receive; and, the crisis in the aged care workforce. The report states that maintaining and developing this workforce is critical and requires a focus on job quality and employment conditions.
According to the Direct Client Care and Support IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast, DCCS employees experience limited career progression opportunities, but career progression is a necessary consideration for the sector’s workforce and overall quality client care. It also points to the casualisation of the workforce. According to the Disability Services Market Report 2019 there is a continuing shift towards part-time employment and casualisation. This trend means opportunities to establish long-term careers and progress are limited. Further, issues around working time arrangements contributes to much concern for workers, according to Working in New Disability Markets: a Survey of Australia’s Disability Workforce. Over half of workers surveyed work less than full time across multiple jobs, most reported doing vital tasks in unpaid time and many report constant shift changes and unstable rostering arrangements.
The following consider the impact of COVID-19 on Direct Client Care and Support sector. For further information please refer to government departments and industry bodies listed below in the Links and resources section below.
The Communicable Diseases Network of Australia’s National Guidelines for the Prevention, Control and Public Health Management of COVID-19 Outbreak in Residential Care Facilities in Australia was developed to help public health authorities, residential care services, healthcare workers and carers by providing best practice information for the prevention and management of COVID-19 outbreaks in Residential Care Facilities (RCF). The Guidelines also include information about education, workforce management, staff education and training.
The Australian Parliamentary Library’s COVID-19 and Aged Care: a Quick Guide presents statistics on COVID-19 in aged care in Australia and overseas. It outlines the responsibilities of the Australian and state and territory governments and aged care providers in responding to COVID-19. It focuses on key measures taken at a national level to support the aged care response, and avenues for scrutiny of the response, including the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety. Since the publication of the Quick guide, the Royal Commission has published Aged Care and COVID-19: a special report. It identifies four areas for immediate action, including funding providers to deal with external visitors, create Medicare Benefits Schedule items to increase the provision of allied health and mental health services, publish a national aged care plan for COVID-19 and require providers to appoint infection control officers.
The report Disability Support Workers: the Forgotten Workforce in COVID-19, published by the University of Melbourne presents findings from an online survey of disability support workers between late May and June 2020. The survey explored physical distancing, purchase of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), COVID-19 testing, support provided, financial and psychological stresses experienced by workers. The report includes recommendations arising from the findings. The experiences of disability workers in the initial stages of the outbreak in Australia (March 2020) is also explored separately in a University of New South Wales study. Access to PPE, workplace safety protocols, barriers to social distancing and self-isolation and the need for further industrial responses and workforce supports were examined.
Below is a list of industry-relevant research, organisations and associations. Hyperlinks have been included where available.
A Matter of Care: Australia's Aged Care Workforce Strategy – Aged Care Workforce Strategy Taskforce
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment Guide and Toolkit – National Disability Services
Aged Care and COVID-19: A Special Report – Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
Building the NDIS in Regional Australia – Regional Australia Institute
COVID-19 and Aged Care: a Quick Guide – Australian Parliamentary Library
Disability Services Market Report 2018 – D. J. Gilchrist and P. A. Knight
Disability Support Workers: the Forgotten Workforce in COVID-19 – A. Kavanagh, S. Dimov, M. Shields, A. McAllister, H. Dickinson and M. Kavenagh
Disability Workforce Insights – Training and Skills Commission
Exploring Aboriginal Aged Care Residents’ Cultural and Spiritual Needs in South Australia – N. Sivertsen, A. Harrington and M. Hamiduzzaman
Growing the NDIS Market and Workforce: Supporting the Market to Deliver Innovative, People-Centred Services so that Participants can Achieve Their Goals – Australian Government Department of Social Services
Improving the Health of Older Aged Care Workers – Aaron Hart, Dina Bowman and Shelley Mallett
Joint Standing Committee on the National Disability Insurance Scheme: NDIS workforce
Keeping our Sector Strong: Victoria’s Workforce Plan for the NDIS – State Government of Victoria
Meeting the Social and Emotional Support Needs of Older People Using Aged Care Services – G. Meacher, N. Cortis, S. Charlesworth and W. Taylor
National Guidelines for the Prevention, Control and Public Health Management of COVID-19 Outbreak in Residential Care Facilities in Australia – Communicable Diseases Network of Australia
Navigating the Maze: An Overview of Australia's Current Aged Care System – Carolyn Smith and the Office of the Royal Commission for the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety
NDIS Training and Skills Support Strategy (NTSSS) – Workability Queensland
Northern Territory’s 2018-2019 Mental Health Peer Support Workforce Assessment Needs – Northern Territory Mental Health Coalition
Northern Territory PHN Primary Health Care Workforce Needs Assessment: Year 2: Allied Primary Health Workforce – Northern Territory PHN and Rural Workforce Agency NT
Peer Workforce Development Strategy – Mental Health Council of Tasmania
Precarity and Job Instability on the Frontlines of NDIS Support Work – Donna Baines, Fiona Macdonald, Jim Stanford and Jessie Moore
Profiling Capacity to Support Older People in Remote Communities to Age in Place – Heather Gibb and Dean Dempsey
Social Assistance and Allied Health Workforce Strategy – State Training Board (Western Australia)
State of the Disability Sector Report 2019 – National Disability Services
Strategy for the Family Carer Mental Health Workforce in Victoria – Centre for Mental Health Learning Victoria
The Disability Workforce and COVID-19: Initial Experiences of the Outbreak – N. Cortis and G. Van Toorn
Victoria's Alcohol and Other Drugs Workforce Strategy 2018–2022 – Victorian Government Department of Health and Human Services
Working in New Disability Markets: a Survey of Australia’s Disability Workforce – N. Cortis and G. Van Toorn
Aged and Community Services Australia (ACSA)
Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA)
Australian Community Workers Association (ACWA)
Community Mental Health Australia (CMHA)
Diversional and Recreation Therapy Australia (DRTA)
Leading Age Services Australia (LASA)
National Disability Services (NDS)
Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drug Association ACT (ATODA)
Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Council Tasmania (ATDC)
Association of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies NT (AADANT)
Network of Alcohol and Other Drugs Agencies (NSW) (NADA)
Queensland Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (QNADA)
South Australian Network of Drug and Alcohol Services (SANDAS)
Victorian Alcohol and Drug Association (VAADA)
Western Australian Network of Alcohol and Other Drug Agencies (WANADA)
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF)
Australian Services Union (ASU)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia
Australian Government Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission
Department of Employment 2020, Employment Projections, available from the Labour Market Information Portal
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020, Employed persons by Industry group of main job (ANZSIC), Sex, State and Territory, November 1984 onwards, 6291.0.55.003 - EQ06, viewed 1 August 2020 https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003May%202020?OpenDocument
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2020, Employed persons by Occupation unit group of main job (ANZSCO), Sex, State and Territory, August 1986 onwards, 6291.0.55.003 - EQ08, viewed 1 August 2020 https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6291.0.55.003May%202020?OpenDocument
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2017, 2016 Census – employment, income and unpaid work, TableBuilder. Findings based on use of ABS TableBuilder data.
Training data has been extracted from the National VET Provider Collection, Total VET Students and Courses from the following training packages or qualifications:
This includes superseded qualifications and training packages.
Data covers a range of selected student and training characteristics in the following categories and years:
Total VET students and courses data is reported for the calendar year. Program enrolments are the qualifications, courses and skill-sets in which students are enrolled in a given period. For students enrolled in multiple programs, all programs are counted. Program completion indicates that a student has completed a structured and integrated program of education or training. Location data uses student residence. Subject enrolment is registration of a student at a training delivery location for the purpose of undertaking a module, unit of competency or subject. For more information on the terms and definitions, please refer to the Total VET students and courses: terms and definitions document.
Low counts (less than 5) are not reported to protect client confidentiality.
Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. This can lead to situations where the total sum of proportions in a chart may not add up to exactly 100%.
Community Services training package apprentice and trainee data has been extracted from the National Apprentice and Trainee Collection, including:
Priority skills data have been extracted from the Direct Client Care and Support IRC's 2019 Skills Forecast.
Job vacancy data have been extracted from Burning Glass Technologies 2020, Labor Insight Real-time Labor Market Information Tool, Burning Glass Technologies, Boston, viewed July 2020, https://www.burning-glass.com.
Data shown represent most requested generic skills, occupations and employers according to internet job postings in Australia between July 2017 and June 2020 filtered by ANZSIC and ANZSCO classification levels listed below.
