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.
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