In November 2022 the Fair Work Commission announced that some aged care workers will be receiving a 15% pay increase in July 2023. It was decided upon that the 15% increase wouldn’t be happening in increments but will be increased in full come July 2023. This is the largest increase that the industry has ever seen, with the industry slowly growing, improving and listening, there is no better time to dive in head first into a rewarding career change without compromising pay.
What Is A Home Care Support Worker?
A home care support worker is someone who is often paid to support another person with their daily living activities, encouraging independence, improvement and support by offering Domestic Assistance, Professional cleaning, Personal Care, Community access, transportation, food and meal support, social support and medical equipment and medication support. The support worker is booked through a service provider or privately for a period of time with specifical services or tasks to be performed during that time of the booking.
What Kind Of Tasks Will I Be Doing As A Support Worker?
Most support worker roles will break up the service tasks into categories. The most common categories are below with a brief outline of what task you may do when performing that service (please keep in mind this is a general overview of tasks each service provider may have a more detailed list of specific tasks that they offer their clients):
Personal Care: Showering, bathing, dressing, shaving, oral hygiene, nail care, skin care and toileting assistance.
Community Access: Assisting and supporting with access to the
community such as grocery shops, doctor appointments, social outings, therapy, classes and exercise.
Transportation: Assisting in using and transporting a client to where has been requested.
Food and Meal Support: Assistance in feeding, managing special diets, food preparation and cooking.
Social Support: Social outing/activity/company to the clients interests
e.g. going to the movies, having coffee, board games or an activity together.
Medical equipment and medication support: Assistance stoma care and support, medication promotion and reminding and in some cases with speciality trained support workers, medication administration.
Domestic Assistance:
Kitchen: Clean and wipe sink area, wash dishes, throw out expired/old food, wipe and clean fridge, dust surfaces, sweep, mop and take out rubbish.
Bedroom: Put away clothes, change sheets, make the bed, sweep & mop/vacuum, take out rubbish and dust surfaces.
Bathroom: Wipe and clean toilet, wipe and clean shower screen/bath area, wipe and clean sink area, sweep and mop, wipe down surfaces and take out rubbish.
Laundry: Put clothes in the washing machine, hang clothes out to dry, ironing and put clothes away, sweep and mop, wipe down surfaces and take out rubbish.
What Are The Perks Of Becoming A Home Care Support worker?
The biggest perk to becoming a support worker would be that you get to support someone and improve their quality of life by maintaining independence in the comfort of their own home. You get to celebrate the wins, encourage someone to reach their goal and support them in living better. Another big perk of the role is that every day is different! When you are working with people no two days are the exact same. The role creates a sense of excitement and engagement as you will often be doing different tasks or seeing different clients each day. Not only do you get to do one of the most rewarding jobs, you get to choose when you want to do the rewarding job. Some clients need around the clock care which means you can find that perfect work life balance that suits you and your life.
Another advantage to working in the aged care industry as a support worker, as previously mentioned, is that most support workers in the aged care industry just received a 15% pay increase in July 2023. This is the biggest increase in pay that the industry has seen!
What do I need to become a support worker?
Every business has slightly different requirements for obtaining a Support Worker Role and Support Workers can be paid at a different rate according to the qualifications, certificates, training and experience. The more qualifications and skills you have, the more you can get paid. These are some of the documentation that are generally requested when applying to become a Support Worker:
A current Police Check
NDIS Workers Check and Module (Only if providing NDIS services)
CPR + First Aid Certificate
Industry relevant tertiary qualifications (Preferred but not essential)
References
Industry relevant experience that is verifiable (Preferred but not essential)
COVID 19 Vaccinations
Working with Children’s Check (Only if providing services to a child or when a child is present at a service of a client)
Evidence of working rights
100 points of identification
If you are interested in finding out more about the role of a support worker or are interested in working for us here at Gold Care Home Services please get in touch by emailing talent@goldcarehomeservices.com
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