Employment Outlook
Patient Care Assistant
Average wage for
Employment Levels
Around 89,800 people are currently employed as Patient Care Assistants 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 Patient Care Assistants are employed in NSW. The area with the lowest number of Patient Care Assistants is NT, with only 0.9%.
Gender Split
This is a very female dominated industry with 23% of Patient Care Assistants being male and 77% female.
Age Brackets
The most popular age for people working as Patient Care Assistants 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 Patient Care Assistants, with 12% aged 55-59.
Hours Worked
Patient Care Assistants 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 Patient Care Assistants 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.
Patient Care Assistant Duties & Tasks
- Assist patients with their personal care needs such as showering, dressing and eating
- Assist patients with their mobility and communication needs
- Participate in planning patient care
- Follow therapy plans to assist those with dementia and behavioural problems
- Report changes in a patients conditions, as well as any feedback about care
- Assist with rehabilitation exercises, basic treatment and delivering medications
- Provide direct support to therapists
Professional Associations & Groups
*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.
Get a Free Course Guide
Enter your details below to receive a free course guide and a consultation with an Education Advisor.
Australia's leader in online learning
We offer over 50 flexible online courses
Open Colleges Pty Ltd ABN 61 000 011 692 Provider Number 90796 | Integrated Care & Management Training Pty Ltd ABN 82 003 899 527 Provider Number 90197 | College of Fashion Design Pty Ltd ABN 19 023 237 244 Provider Number 3798 | YourLife Health & Learning Inc t/a Open Colleges School of Health Provider number 40049 | Open Colleges delivers training and courses online on behalf of: Protector AlSafe, Provider Number 21897