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Employment Outlook

Personal Care Worker

A Personal Care Worker follows the patient's care plan, looking after them and making sure they stay fit and healthy. This may include managing various mental and physical conditions. They may also need help with a range of everyday tasks, from washing and housekeeping to shopping and helping with medication.

 

Average wage for

Employment Levels

Around 89,800 people are currently employed as Personal Care Workers in Australia. This is set to increase slightly to 103,300 people by 2019, according to the Department of Employment.

Employment by State

34.6% of all Personal Care Workers are employed in NSW. The area with the lowest number of Personal Care Workers is NT, with only 0.9%.

Gender Split

This is a very female dominated industry with 23% of Personal Care Workers being male and 77% female.

Age Brackets

The most popular age for people working as Personal Care Workers is 45-54 years old, with 24.6%. A small percentage (7.8%) of people get into this career path older, aged 60-64. There is also a number of people who enjoy a career as Personal Care Workers, with 12% aged 55-59.

Hours Worked

Personal Care Workers work an average of 35.7 hours a week which is 5.2 hours lower than the average for all occupations.

Education Level

The majority of Personal Care Workers have a Certificate III/IV qualification (40.9%) or are at a Year 12 level (15.2%). 69.7% of people have a Cert III or higher, whilst 30.3% have a qualification which is Year 12 or lower.

Personal Care Worker Duties & Tasks

  • Follow patients personal care plan
  • Help with a range of everyday tasks, from washing and housekeeping, to shopping
  • Create a medication schedule
  • Go with client to doctor's appointments

 

 

*The information provided on this page is from the Department of Employment’s Job Outlook website. All salary ranges are from Payscale. Where jobs are not exact matches, job areas have been used. This information is to be used as a guide only.