What should you include in an aged care resume?

Aged care work in Australia spans home care, residential aged care facilities, and community support, helping older people with personal care, mobility, medication reminders, meals, and the everyday activities of daily living they can no longer manage alone. A new or junior worker is usually rostered alongside a more senior carer or nurse and builds up to working independently, while an experienced direct care worker often manages a caseload or a group of residents largely on their own, reporting in to a registered nurse or care coordinator for anything clinical. Shifts commonly run across days, evenings, and weekends, and the work is hands-on and client-facing for most of a shift rather than deskbound.

The Fair Work Aged Care Award sets a minimum rate of $36.23 an hour for a Certificate III-qualified direct care worker; that is the award floor, not typical pay, and most employers pay above it. Nationally, aged and disabled carers earn a full-time median of ~$91,600 a year before tax, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A large share of this workforce works part-time rather than full-time, so that figure describes full-time pay specifically, not what every aged care worker takes home. Where you sit depends heavily on your state, setting, and shift pattern, and weekend or night penalty rates can add a meaningful amount on top of base pay.

• Lead with your qualification and its status. The Certificate III in Individual Support (CHC33021) is the standard entry qualification for this work, so state it near the top of the resume, including whether it is complete or in progress, rather than letting a hiring manager hunt for it under education.
• State your worker screening status plainly. You will need a police check or an NDIS Worker Screening Check, depending on who you are supporting and who you work for, so say which one you hold and that it is current, the same way a nursing resume states AHPRA registration.
• Name your first aid certificate if you hold one. Most employers expect a current first aid certificate, commonly HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, either on its own or bundled into Certificate III training. List it by name rather than just "current tickets", so a reader can see exactly what you are cleared for.
• Keep personal details off the credentials line. State the qualification and screening check by name and status; the certificate or licence number itself is personal information the resume does not need to carry.

• Name the setting, not just "aged care". Home care, residential, or community support are the terms a hiring manager is scanning for, so say which one you worked in rather than describing the work generally.
• Describe the level of support you actually gave. Personal care, mobility assistance, medication reminders, or dementia-specific support tell a reader more than "helped residents with daily tasks", and they are checkable in a way a vague phrase is not.
• Say whether you worked independently or under supervision. A caseload you managed largely on your own reads differently to a shift where you worked alongside a senior carer or nurse, and an employer wants to know which one describes you.
• Quantify where you genuinely can. The number of clients or residents in your regular caseload, or the size of the shift team you worked within, is concrete and checkable. Do not estimate a number you cannot stand behind if asked about it.

None of the above changes the shape of the document. An Australian aged care resume still runs two to three pages, in reverse chronological order, with referees listed or marked as available on request, no photo, and Australian spelling throughout. See the Australian resume format for the full detail.