Getting Started: What You Need to Work in Aged Care, Dementia Care & Disability Support

The Working with Children Check is a national network of state and territory schemes that screen people before they work with children. It’s state/territory based — each jurisdiction runs its own scheme under its own name (Victoria calls it the Working with Children Check, Queensland the Blue Card, Tasmania the Registration to Work with Vulnerable People, and the ACT the Working with Vulnerable People registration), and only ONE official screening unit per state or territory is legally able to issue it. Beware of lookalike third-party websites offering to “lodge” your application for an extra fee — always apply through the official unit.

Why it matters in aged care and disability support: many disability support roles involve NDIS participants under 18, and some aged care roles and volunteer programs involve contact with visiting children. Your employer will tell you if the role requires one.

Apply through your state or territory’s official screening unit:

If you’ll be working with NDIS participants, you’ll usually need an NDIS Worker Screening Check. It’s run by your state or territory’s Worker Screening Unit on behalf of the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission — so you apply through your own state’s screening unit, not a private company.

Key facts: it’s valid for up to 5 years (it can end sooner if it is cancelled or revoked) and recognised Australia-wide once issued — if you move states, you generally don’t need to start again. And importantly for aged care workers: under the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s official screening requirements, a current NDIS worker screening clearance is accepted in place of a separate police certificate for aged care work (Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, n.d.) — so one check often covers both sectors.

A National Police Certificate is a summary of your disclosable offender history. You’ll generally need one for aged care work if you don’t hold a current NDIS Worker Screening Check (which covers the requirement for most people) — always confirm which one your employer wants before paying for anything.

Certificates are issued by the police service of your state or territory, and by the Australian Federal Police. The AFP only handles requests for Commonwealth or ACT purposes — so if you live in another state or territory, apply through your own police service instead. The AFP fee is $57 ($114 if fingerprints are required); state and territory fees differ, so check before you pay. Be wary of reseller websites charging much more for the same certificate.

Since 1 November 2025, aged care workers must hold either an NDIS worker screening clearance or a police certificate no older than three years. An older certificate will not be accepted, even if you have held it continuously.

Apply through your state or territory police service:

A First Aid Certificate isn’t issued directly by the government, but it is a formal requirement for most care roles — and any legitimate course must be delivered by a Registered Training Organisation (RTO). Most employers ask for the standard Provide First Aid qualification, often with an annual CPR refresher.

Before you pay anyone, verify the provider is genuinely accredited on training.gov.au — the Australian Government’s official national register of every RTO and the courses they’re approved to deliver. If a training provider doesn’t appear there, walk away.

Before starting work with an NDIS provider, you’ll complete the NDIS Worker Orientation Module, Quality, Safety and You. It’s free, mandatory for NDIS providers and their workers, and takes 60–90 minutes online at your own pace — you can pause and come back. It covers how the NDIS works, the NDIS Code of Conduct, and your responsibilities as a worker.

The NDIS Commission also publishes New worker: NDIS induction modules (eight modules for people new to the disability sector), plus separate modules on supporting effective communication and supporting safe and enjoyable meals. Your employer will tell you which ones apply to your role.

This is not a requirement placed on you personally — no Australian government instrument compels an aged care worker to be vaccinated. The legal obligation sits with the provider: residential aged care providers must run a flu and COVID-19 vaccination program and offer vaccination to their workers, under the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (Standard 2.9 human resource management, 4.2 infection prevention and control, and 5.2 clinical care).

In practice, employers commonly require — or strongly encourage — up-to-date immunisation, particularly annual influenza and COVID-19, and some roles or facilities ask for it as a condition of entry. The Australian Government does not mandate COVID-19 vaccination for aged care workers, and rules vary by state, employer and setting. Check the job advertisement or ask the employer directly.

For official vaccination information, see the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing’s immunisation pages. For proof of your immunisation history, use the Australian Immunisation Register through your myGov account linked to Medicare — it produces an official Immunisation History Statement you can give to an employer.