Personal Care Assistant

What does a Personal Care Assistant do? 

A personal care assistant provides help, support and care to patients in their daily activities directly in each client’s homes or in hospitals, aged care or healthcare organisations. Most staff work part time due to the physical and mental demands of the job. 

Read more about the Community Services industry.

What are the key skills of a Personal Care Assistant?

A personal care assistant provides care for patients who are ill, aged or disabled by helping with daily activities like feeding, bathing, dressing, running errands and routine housekeeping.

• A caring, empathetic and perceptive personality
• Good time management and organisation skills
• Physically fit to be able to do manual labour
• Ability to make sound decisions and work under pressure
• Good communication skills

How to become a Personal Care Assistant 

If you're interested in pursuing the career of Personal Care Assistant, employers typically need you to have a qualification in individual support. This can be done through a traineeship.

We recommend studying a CHC33015 - Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability) or CHC33015 - Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing, Home and Community) as these qualifications can give you the skills and knowledge to pursue the career as Personal Care Assistant - either working with elderly clients or those with disabilities.