Employment Outlook
Disability Support Worker
Average wage for
Employment Levels
Around 141,000 people are currently employed as Disability Support Workers in Australia. This is set to increase slightly to 167,100 people by 2019, according to the Department of Employment.
Employment by State
25.6% of all Disability Support Workers are employed in NSW. The area with the lowest number of Disability Support Workers is NT, with only 1.1%.
Gender Split
This is a very female dominated industry with 18.8% of Disability Support Workers being male and 81.2% female.
Age Brackets
The most popular age for people working as Disability Support Workers is 45-54 years old, with 26.1%. A small percentage (6.2%) of people get into this career path younger, aged 20-24. There is also a number of people who enjoy a career as Disability Support Workers, with 15.4% aged 55-59.
Hours Worked
Disability Support Workers work an average of 37.5 hours a week which is 3.4 hours lower than the average for all occupations.
Education Level
The majority of Disability Support Workers have a Certificate III/IV qualification (48.8%) or are at a Year 12 level (12.8%). 72% of people have a Cert III or higher, whilst 28% have a qualification which is Year 12 or lower.
Disability Support Worker Duties & Tasks
- Work with people who are living with a disability within the community
- Help them with personal care, health and personal hygiene.
- Develop programs to help clients develop their skills and abilities
- Encourage clients to join clubs, take part in activities for example, to make relationships with others
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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