Starting a career in disability services: your essential guide
If you’re thinking about starting a career in disability services and are keen to learn more about the industry, job specifics and your training options, you’ve come to the right place! In this blog post, we cover all the essential information you need to make an informed choice to enter this fulfilling and in-demand profession.
You may be surprised to learn that over 4 million people in Australia (1 in 5) have a disability. Of those people, 2.4 million need assistance with at least one area of activity. As a result, it makes disability services a fast-growing sector offering plenty of job opportunities.
Providing a range of support across personal care, mobility, medication management and social activities, disability support workers are dedicated to promoting inclusion and supporting individuals with diverse abilities to reach their goals and engage with the community.
Wondering what it takes to start a career in disability services? Keep reading to find out!
What’s involved in being a disability support worker?
There is a wide range of disabilities, both visible and non visible, that affect people of all ages in Australia. Movement-based disabilities are generally the easiest for others to see, whereas disabilities such as some neurological conditions are not as simple to spot. You’ve likely interacted with people who face such challenges in their daily lives and may wish to assist them in leading an enriching life, by providing community access and daily support.
Disability can take many forms, and can be broadly categorised as follows:
Intellectual disabilities
Physical disabilities
Speech disabilities
Hearing disabilities
Vision disabilities
Psychiatric disabilities
Before we look at the day-to-day responsibilities of a disability support worker, let’s define what disability support work is. It involves direct contact with a person with disability, and is specifically provided to that person for the principal purpose of caring or supporting them to manage their lifestyle by undertaking daily or community-based activities. A disability support worker can be employed in private homes, group homes, day programs and supported employment.
A disability support worker is among the main frontline supports for people with a disability. The daily responsibilities of disability support workers may include:
Helping individuals with daily tasks
Assisting with personal hygiene and dressing
Managing home duties like cooking and cleaning
Offering access to activities for them to look forward to, such as the movies, bowling, catching up with friends, etc.
Handling errands and shopping outside the home
Organising opportunities for social activities and community engagement
In contrast, a support coordinator serves to organise and coordinate different services and funding supports available to people with a disability, and may help establish a person’s National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) plan to ensure understanding and services to engage and access.
In the field of disability, your responsibility is to ensure the safety of disabled individuals while they perform daily tasks, but another big part of your job is empowering them to maximise their abilities and engage in the community, whether it’s in social or employment settings. A deep understanding of your clients’ needs and building a solid rapport with them are key elements to your success and their welfare.
What is the NDIS?
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) is Australia’s first national scheme for people with disability that supports over 500,000 recipients. It provides funding directly to eligible individuals and connects eligible individuals to disability services in their community.
Registration with the NDIS is not mandatory for disability support services. Disability providers who choose not to register can still operate and provide services to self-managed or plan-managed NDIS participants. Some people with a disability are not eligible for NDIS planning and they will pay for services themselves.
Am I suited to disability work?
Assessing your personality and values is an important step before beginning a career in disability services. It will increase your likelihood of job satisfaction while ensuring disability clients receive high-quality support. It may feel like a ‘calling’ for you to help others, you may have experience with disabled friends or family and wish to extend that caregiving, or you may simply be intrigued by the career opportunities in this field.
Key characteristics of disability workers:
Empathy and Compassion: Do you have a genuine desire to understand and support individuals with disabilities? Disability work often requires a deep sense of empathy and compassion.
Communication skills: Do you have strong communication skills, including the ability to listen actively and convey information clearly? Effective communication is crucial for understanding clients' needs and working collaboratively.
Problem-solving skills: Are you good at identifying and addressing challenges? Disability work often involves finding solutions to barriers that clients may encounter in their daily lives.
Professionalism and boundaries: Can you maintain professionalism while building meaningful relationships with clients? It's important to balance empathy with maintaining appropriate boundaries.
Committed to empowerment: Are you committed to helping clients achieve greater independence and lead fulfilling lives? A key aspect of disability work is empowering individuals to reach their full potential.
In addition to these qualities, there are other factors affecting your suitability for disability services. For starters, you must have at least moderate physical health and strength due to the bending, twisting or reaching often involved in a caregiver role. You must follow safety procedures and safeguard your own physical health, in order to last in the industry.
Furthermore, you’ll need resilience to protect yourself emotionally when confronted with the frustration and confusion that may be experienced by clients. Expect to spend a great deal of time listening and building relationships; finding ways to support and reassure them without sacrificing your own mental health is key. Given the vulnerabilities of those receiving disability care, it takes a special kind of person for whom helping comes naturally, to offer the empathy needed to ensure a safe and dignified existence for people with a disability.
If this sounds like something you’re willing to take on, great news! You’re well on your way to making an informed choice on becoming a carer who is able to thrive in disability services.
What qualifications do you need to work in disability services in Australia?
There are currently no minimum standard qualifications for entry-level disability support workers in Australia. That being said, most organisations and roles will require a formal qualification for you to gain employment. In the NDS Workforce Census 2023 report, large disability providers reported ‘lack of qualified staff’ as a key challenge they face.
The CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support is the entry qualification needed for disability professionals; a pathway to caregiving jobs including those in the aged care and disability sectors. It will give you the foundational skills to thrive in support services and offer you greater employability from the very start. In fact, it’s extremely rare for an organisation to take on someone who doesn’t hold this qualification.
Looking ahead, once you’ve had some experience in the industry, you can enrol in the CHC43115 Certificate IV in Disability Support to build on your skills further and learn leadership and advanced care techniques. The Certificate IV in Disability is also your ticket to better salary prospects.
Key skills you’ll gain from the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support:
Supporting independence and wellbeing
Communication
Working with diverse people
Legal and ethical work practices
Recognising healthy body systems
Safe work practices for direct client care.
(Source: Victorian Skills Gateway)
An important factor for successful completion of the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support is practical placement, which allows students to gain exposure to a real workplace and put the skills and knowledge learnt in the classroom into action. You’ll need to undertake a minimum number of work hours (120 hours) during the placement to demonstrate the required course outcomes.
And before you enter employment or begin study, you’ll need to undergo an NDIS Worker Screening Check, a Police Check and a Working with Children Check to verify your industry eligibility. By picking the right training provider, they can assist you with this process and secure a favourable work placement for you.
Training costs can often be a barrier to entry for prospective students, but the good news is that the CHC330121 Certificate III in Individual Support is eligible for government funding. In fact, the course fees can be much lower than you may think.
Why should I work in disability services and what are my career prospects?
Most would agree that a passion for the job you do must also factor in job availability and security. Thankfully, with a career in disability services, you can have the best of both worlds; do rewarding work and be in demand by employers.
Did you know that disabilities in Australia have increased between 2018 and 2022 for all age groups below 70 years of age? According to Australian Census data, this has been linked to a growing awareness of disability in Australia, a general increase in the frequency of some long-term health conditions, an ageing population, and better self-reporting methods for people with a disability.
As such, more workers are needed to support people with disability, and a 2023 NDIS report titled ‘Building a more responsive and supportive workforce’ projected that about 128,000 more workers are likely to be needed by June 2025. Looking further ahead, it is predicted that by 2049-50, almost 1 in 20 jobs in Australia will be in the care and support sector. As such, you can be assured that this is not a temporary need, but rather, a sustained, long-term demand for the employment of disability workers.
With your employment prospects secured, let’s look at why a career in disability services is so rewarding. In a research study by GoodHuman and DSC, when asking disability support professionals across all job functions what their top motivation was, 80% of all respondents selected ‘seeing how my work impacts clients’ lives’ as their primary motivator, followed by a connection with clients (48%) and appreciation from clients (25%).
Perhaps the biggest takeaway here is the benefit of caregiving for people with a disability. In 2018, 44% or 4 in 9 people aged 15–64 with disability said they had avoided situations in the previous year because of their disability. Fast forward to 2022-23, and 46% of complaints received by the Australian Human Rights Commission were about disability discrimination. By working in disability services, you can be an advocate for the disabled, promoting their participation and sense of belonging, thereby making a real difference to their quality of life.
Where can I work in disability services?
Due to the diverse nature of disabilities and levels of care required, there’s a variety of settings in which disability support workers can operate. Your clients may require round-the-clock care and live in a group environment to support those needs, or have more moderate care needs and live in their own home where they receive a tailored care plan matched to their abilities and degree of independence.
Here are the most common disability support work settings:
Group care facilities: Support individuals living in group homes or specialised housing, assisting with daily living activities and personal care.
Day programs and activity centres: Facilitate educational and recreational activities, helping clients develop skills and engage in social interactions.
At-home support: Provide in-home assistance, including personal care, household tasks, and support for daily living activities tailored to individual needs.
Community support services: Work with community organisations to help individuals access services, participate in community activities, and achieve greater independence.
Healthcare settings: Collaborate with healthcare professionals in hospitals, clinics, or rehabilitation centres to provide integrated care and support for individuals with disabilities.
Home care affords greater independence to disability support workers to have input into the clients’ plans, whereas group care has a more structured environment where processes and routines are already well established and you look after the daily needs and also long-term goals of clients. You’ll get the opportunity to work alongside other professionals in group care, whereas home care requires you to work far more autonomously.
As you can see, becoming qualified in disability support work offers a great deal of flexibility in the working environment to align with your caregiving and career goals.
How to pick the right disability training provider
Your choice of course and disability training provider is the key to setting you up for success in the industry. A reputable and student-focused provider can help you: develop relevant, job-ready skills, sustain your motivation to complete your study, provide a better work placement experience and even find post-training employment. On the flip side, a course or provider that is not aligned to your needs could delay or derail your disability services journey, by making you feel under-valued and left on your own.
Here are some questions you ought to consider before enrolling with a provider:
Are they upfront about costs or do they have hidden fees?
Are their courses informed by close, ongoing connections with industry?
Is the training practical and hands-on for superior job readiness?
Do they offer personalised support?
Are the trainers experienced in the industry, reliable and invested in your growth?
Do they have a range of industry relationships to help you source practical placement?
Will they assist with resume development and networking towards employment?
Nepean Edge Industry Training (NIET) offers both the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support and the CHC43115 Certificate IV in Disability in Melbourne, and takes a student-centred approach where learning is supportive and practical. For starters, we’ll conduct a pre-training review to ensure the intended course is a good fit for your skill level, career expectations, and answer any questions you may have. From there, you’ll receive end-to-end support in your training and workplace transition, including one-on-one study sessions, assistance with practical placement, and resume writing to secure employment in disability services.
The NIET industry edge consists of:
Strong Industry Relationships – our courses are designed with robust input from industry experts, delivering job-ready skills
Flexible Training – students favour the ongoing support received with in-person training, with on- or off-site customised training options for employers.
Passionate People – our professional, accredited facilitators bring learning content to life, empowering students to succeed.
Value for Money – with government funding and low administrative fees, our courses are often more cost-effective than TAFE.
Beginning a career in disability services might seem challenging, but with the right motivation and quality training, the road ahead is full of opportunities for you to thrive in a caregiving role and make a positive impact in the disability community. Ready to take the next step with NIET?
Hear from our satisfied past students on why they love NIET
