The Australian Government is moving forward with plans to introduce a national worker registration scheme for personal care workers in aged care. This initiative forms part of the ongoing response to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, which recommended the scheme to promote safer and higher quality care for older Australians.
The scheme aims to professionalise the personal care workforce, expand development opportunities and provide protections for those receiving aged care services. It will adopt a staged approach to implementation, allowing time for workers and the sector to prepare.
Consultation process and stakeholder input
Between 18 February and 17 April 2025, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing conducted public consultation on the scheme’s design, including training and skills requirements. Stakeholders could respond via an online survey on the department’s Consultation Hub or through written submissions, guided by a consultation paper.
The department received 585 survey responses and 48 written submissions. Survey participants included personal care workers, aged care providers, jurisdictions and peak bodies, with about a quarter identifying as personal care workers in aged care. Written submissions came from aged care and disability support organisations, vocational education representatives, unions, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged care groups, jurisdictions, research organisations and universities. Submissions varied from two to 37 pages in length.
The consultation drew on recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, and the National Disability Insurance Scheme Provider and Worker Registration Taskforce. It also considered broader reforms, such as mandatory care minutes in residential aged care and the Aged Care Act 2024.
While focused on aged care, the consultation addressed alignment with disability support and veterans’ care sectors to enhance workforce mobility, reduce regulatory burdens and improve care quality across these areas. In 2023, around 40 per cent of registered aged care providers also delivered National Disability Insurance Scheme or veterans’ care services.
Profile of personal care workers
Personal care workers, also known as personal care assistants, attendants, assistants in nursing, community care workers, home support workers or home care employees, form the majority of the direct aged care workforce. The 2023 Aged Care Provider Workforce Survey estimated 310,000 such workers across all aged care services. They comprise 72 per cent of direct care roles in residential aged care and nearly 90 per cent in the Home Care Packages Program.
The workforce is predominantly women, with a high proportion from migrant backgrounds. These workers provide daily care, including personal hygiene, social and emotional support, household tasks such as cooking and cleaning, shopping, and assistance with recreational activities and appointments, in both residential and in-home settings.
Key themes from consultation
Stakeholders expressed strong support for several elements of the scheme.
Scheme design
There was a clear preference for a public register of personal care workers, modelled on systems for professionalised workforces such as nurses and allied health professionals. Respondents valued the transparency but raised privacy concerns, suggesting safeguards like restricted access for workers, employers and regulators, and plain language information with visual aids for accessibility.
Most agreed on harmonised requirements across aged care, disability support and veterans’ care, including shared digital platforms, baseline standards and mutual recognition of qualifications. This would address regulatory fragmentation and support cross-sector mobility.
Feedback favoured workers taking responsibility for registration, similar to other professions, though providers should assist with training. Suggestions for oversight included expanding the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency with a dedicated board, creating a new authority for care economy workers or broadening the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission’s role.
Support was widespread for registration categories, such as provisional registration for those in training or addressing shortages, with conditions like supervision and timelines. Some proposed specialisations for advanced skills.
Skills and qualifications
Respondents strongly backed a mandatory minimum qualification, with the Certificate III in Individual Support as the preferred option. This would establish consistent foundational knowledge, with pathways for Recognition of Prior Learning to credit existing experience.
Additional mandatory skills highlighted included risk management, person-centred care, clinical and restorative care, palliative and dementia care, cultural competency, trauma-informed practice and English language proficiency. The latter was seen as essential for safety and communication, though some noted potential barriers for diverse workers and called for accessible training.
Workers should attain qualifications while employed, with timelines of three to six months for enrolment and six to 24 months for completion. Supports proposed included government-funded training, provisional registration, mentoring, paid study leave and traineeships. Consistent core requirements across sectors were favoured, with sector-specific additions.
Training requirements
A continuing professional development model, around 10 hours annually, was the preferred approach for ongoing training. Some suggested specific skill sets or non-accredited modules, potentially within a national skills framework aligned with qualifications.
Training should include core competencies like communication and safety, plus setting-specific elements for residential, in-home and community care. Harmonisation across sectors was supported, with flexible pathways.
Implementation supports emphasised government funding, online and in-person options, multilingual resources, compensated time and devices for training. Transition periods of one to three years were suggested, with clear communication to avoid disruption.
Key training areas included cultural safety, trauma-informed practice, dementia and palliative care, first aid, infection control and English skills.
Supports for diverse workers
The consultation identified barriers for specific groups and proposed targeted supports.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers: Involve communities in design; provide culturally safe supports, mentorship, local training, flexible pathways and low fees.
Migrant and culturally and linguistically diverse workers: Recognise overseas qualifications; offer translated materials, funded flexible learning and navigation advice.
Workers with disability: Ensure accessible systems, flexible options, subsidies and mentoring.
Workers from low socioeconomic backgrounds: Provide literacy assistance, free training and subsidies.
Regional, rural and remote workers: Offer mobile training, prior learning recognition and local mentoring.
Other suggestions included electronic passports for skills portability, professional networks, indemnity insurance considerations and partnerships with training organisations.
Next steps and government commitment
The Government will use these insights to refine policy, with further consultations planned. The phased rollout will ensure readiness, including clear definitions of roles, scope of practice and career pathways.
Minister for Aged Care and Seniors, the Hon Sam Rae MP, said:
“Personal care workers are at the frontline of the aged care system and deserve to be valued and supported for the important role they perform every day in caring for our loved ones. A national registration scheme will help professionalise the personal care workforce and ensure every older Australian receives the world-class care they deserve.”
The full consultation summary report is available on the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.
Does this article imply there will be seperate worker registers for Age Care, NDIS, DVA, Child Care, Out of Home Care, After School Care, Sports Coaches and Staff, Scouts, Guides, State owned Care Facilities, Personal Care Workers in Rehabilitation facilities, Religious organisations, Cadets etc etc etc
Each Register recognises the other.
Surely not possible, completely ineffective, inefficient and will lead to some people travelling silently through the cracks to continue harming vulnerable people.
A single National Register to Work With Vulnerable people is essential, anything less is nonsense and proves Governments always protect special interests instead of special people.
If the at home support persons are going to have an effect on their clients, then the subjects of enablement, and preventive measure, balance, strength and mobility must be included in training.
All the current care is just delaying admission to residential care. The goal of at home care must be to reduce residential admission due to improvement and enablement and re-enablement. Training is very much needed in all the mention areas and the additional areas. Communication must not just be in English. There must be room for other language competence for non english speaking clients, and communication for hearing and visual impairment clients.
Many years ago there was a very effective recognition of prior learning for level 111 AIN that would easily be adapted for current use without reinventing the wheel.
Having seen under skilled workers handing out medications in aged and community care settings with little if any knowledge, I believe mandatory minimum accredited medication training such as HLTHPS006 be implemented as a matter of urgency. Also, there needs to be clear government set limits adopted as to what medication related tasks such workers can complete on the job. At present you can chase down a rabbit hole of legislation that does not seem to clear identify the exact role when it comes to care workers and medication. The limits seems to vary wildly across the sector at present depending on location and organisation.