What does a support worker do?

Support workers provide social, physical and emotional support to a wide variety of clients who require assistance, usually due to their physical or mental health conditions. These include clients who are elderly, are recovering from surgery, have a physical or intellectual disability, illness, mental health condition, addiction or have experienced abuse. Depending on the client’s needs, support workers generally provide their services in people’s homes and in the community, in specialist care facilities or in hospitals.

Support worker skills and qualifications

A great support worker is empathetic, personable and patient. They are able to build positive relationships with their clients that are built on trust. Support workers must also possess a range of other essential skills and qualifications, including:

• strong interpersonal skills
• good written and verbal communication skills
• an ability to adapt to unexpected situations or the changing wants and needs of clients
• good organisational and time management skills
• relevant certificates, if required, such as a first aid certificate, a police check, NDIS Worker Screening Check or Working with Children Check

Support worker experience requirements

Support workers are required to have varying levels of experience depending on their role and responsibilities. Those who provide social support and domestic assistance do not need to have formal qualifications, as employers provide on-the-job training. For roles that require a more advanced skill set, such as mental health support work, experience is generally required. Some employers may be willing to take on mental health support workers with a qualification but limited or no practical experience, however, most employers require at least some previous experience working with people experiencing mental health issues.

Support worker education and training requirements

Education and training requirements for support workers also vary depending on the position. Support workers who mainly assist clients with domestic duties, personal hygiene and social activities generally do not require formal qualifications. However, some support workers in these roles hold a vocational qualification, such as a Certificate III in Individual Support. In contrast, specialists such as mental health support workers are usually required to hold a bachelor’s degree in psychology, social work or a related field or a vocational qualification, for example, a Certificate IV in Mental Health.

Support worker salary expectations

According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a support worker job in Australia is $32.09 per hour. This rate of pay may vary depending on the employee ’s previous work experience, level of education and training, or where they are located.

Job description samples for similar positions

If this support worker job description template doesn’t quite match the position you would like to advertise, you might like to look at these job description templates for similar roles:

• Care assistant
• Social worker
• Aged care worker

Support worker job description FAQs

What are the different types of support worker?

Support workers work with a wide range of people. The main types of support worker roles include:

• Disability support worker: Supports people with varying degrees of physical or intellectual disability.
• Mental health support worker: Assists people experiencing mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Youth support worker: Works with young people who are facing educational, social, emotional or behavioural problems.
• Welfare support worker: Provides support, information and advice on a range of social welfare matters to individuals or families experiencing emotional, financial or social difficulties.

What qualities make a good support worker?

A good support worker has a positive and supportive attitude. They know when it’s necessary to step in and provide support and when it’s better to step back and let their clients do things for themselves. They are respectful of people with diverse life experiences and passionate about making a positive difference in people’s lives. Other important qualities to have include patience, reliability and trustworthiness.

What is the difference between a carer and a support worker?

The terms ‘carer’ and ‘support worker’ are often used interchangeably, however, there are some important differences. They perform similar duties, but carers can be paid or unpaid, whereas support workers are paid employees. An unpaid carer could be a partner, friend, family member or neighbour of someone who needs care. Carers may also work with people in need of care who they haven’t met before as volunteers for charitable organisations. The term ‘carer’ is sometimes used to describe professionals, such as aged care workers or disability support workers. However, many organisations prefer to use job titles with the word ‘support’, as it has connotations of empowerment and facilitating independence, whereas ‘carer’ may imply a dependent relationship.