How do I know if my support workers are qualified?

How do I know if my support workers are qualified?

Ask your provider what qualifications, training, screening and experience each worker has for the tasks they will perform.

Not every home support worker needs a university qualification. The appropriate standard depends on the service being delivered.

A worker helping with cleaning or shopping has different requirements from someone providing personal care, medication support, nursing or physiotherapy.

Personal care and general support workers

There is no single nationally mandated qualification that every personal care or home support worker must hold.

However, many personal care workers hold qualifications such as:

• Certificate III in Individual Support

• Certificate III in Aged Care

• Certificate IV in Ageing Support

• equivalent disability, community services or nursing qualifications.

A qualification alone does not prove that a worker is suitable. The provider should also ensure the worker has the practical skills, training and supervision required for the person’s needs.

Relevant training may include:

• safe showering and personal care

• manual handling and transfers

• medication assistance

• infection prevention

• first aid and CPR

• dementia support

• falls prevention

• continence care

• recognising and reporting changes in health

• responding to emergencies

• food safety.

Ask whether the worker has experience with needs similar to yours, rather than asking only whether they are “qualified.”

Nurses and registered health professionals

Some services must be delivered by appropriately registered health professionals.

For example:

• registered or enrolled nursing should be provided by a nurse with current registration

• physiotherapy should be provided by a registered physiotherapist

• occupational therapy should be provided by a registered occupational therapist

• podiatry should be provided by a registered podiatrist

• psychology should be provided by a registered psychologist.

You can check these professions through the public register maintained by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, or Ahpra. The register shows whether the person is currently registered and whether any conditions apply to their registration.

Some allied health professions, such as speech pathology, dietetics and exercise physiology, are not regulated through Ahpra in the same way. For these professions, ask whether the person holds an appropriate recognised qualification and belongs to the relevant professional association.

What screening should workers have?

Registered aged care providers must ensure workers meet applicable worker-screening requirements.

This will generally involve:

• a suitable police certificate, or

• an acceptable NDIS worker screening clearance where applicable

• checking that the person is not subject to a banning order preventing them from working in aged care.

A person who does not meet the required screening standards cannot be allowed to work in aged care.

Screening is important, but it is not the same as training or competency. A police check does not prove that someone can safely assist with showering, transfers, medication or dementia-related needs.

What is the provider responsible for?

Your registered provider remains responsible for making sure workers are:

• suitable for their role

• appropriately trained

• competent to perform assigned tasks

• working within their qualifications and scope of practice

• properly supervised

• familiar with your care plan, risks and preferences.

This responsibility also applies where the provider uses contractors, labour-hire workers or another organisation to deliver the service. The registered provider remains accountable for the quality and safety of care delivered on its behalf.

You should not be expected to personally verify every certificate. The provider should have systems for checking qualifications, registrations, screening and ongoing competency.

Questions to ask your provider

Useful questions include:

• What qualification does this worker hold?

• Is that qualification required for the service they are delivering?

• Does the worker have experience with my particular needs?

• What dementia, medication or manual-handling training have they completed?

• Are their first-aid and CPR certificates current?

• Have their police or worker-screening checks been completed?

• How do you assess workers before allowing them to work alone?

• How often is their competency reviewed?

• Who supervises them?

• What happens if they are asked to perform a task outside their training?

• Are they employed directly by you or supplied through another organisation?

• Can I request a more experienced or appropriately qualified worker?

For clinical services, you can also ask for the practitioner’s full name and registration details so you can check them through Ahpra.

Medication assistance requires particular care

The level of qualification needed depends on what the worker is actually doing.

A support worker may be trained to:

• remind someone to take medication

• bring medication to them

• assist with medication from a prepared dose-administration aid

• record that assistance was provided.

Tasks involving clinical judgement, medication changes, injections, wound care or complex medication administration may need to be performed by a nurse or another appropriately authorised health professional.

Ask the provider to explain exactly what the worker is permitted and trained to do.

What if my needs are complex?

A worker may require additional training, competency assessment or clinical supervision when supporting someone with:

• complex manual transfers

• swallowing difficulties

• diabetes

• wounds

• seizures

• behaviours associated with dementia

• continence equipment

• enteral feeding

• oxygen or other clinical equipment

• significant medication risks.

The provider should not simply send a general support worker and expect them to learn during the visit.

Ask for written confirmation of:

• who will perform each task

• what qualification or competency they hold

• who provides clinical oversight

• what happens if the usual worker is unavailable.

Warning signs

Be cautious if a provider:

• refuses to explain worker qualifications

• says all workers are qualified without giving details

• repeatedly sends inexperienced workers for complex tasks

• asks workers to perform duties outside their role

• provides no supervision or clinical contact

• cannot explain its screening process

• cannot confirm whether a clinician is currently registered

• expects you or your family to train workers in essential safety procedures.

You have the right to ask for a different worker if you do not believe the person has the skills, experience or suitability required.

The practical rule is:

The worker does not need the highest possible qualification—they need the right qualification, training, experience and supervision for the specific tasks they are performing. Your provider is responsible for making sure that standard is met.

What should I do next?

Confirm the details with My Aged Care or the relevant provider, write down your questions and ask for important information in writing before making a decision.

Helpful Local Home Help resources

• Start with Liz

• Find your home care style

• How to choose a home help provider

• Find home care providers