What Support Workers Actually Do
If you've never had a Support Worker visit before, it's completely normal to wonder exactly what they will and won't do. Here's an honest picture.
A typical visit might include:
- Help with personal care — showering, dressing, grooming — delivered with dignity and at your pace
- Light housekeeping — laundry, tidying, vacuuming, changing bed linen
- Meal preparation — cooking or helping prepare a meal together
- Transport and errands — appointments, grocery shopping, banking
- Companionship — genuinely, this matters as much as the practical tasks. Many clients say the conversation and connection is what they look forward to most
What Support Workers are trained for
In Australia, most Support Workers hold (or are working toward) a Certificate III in Individual Support, along with mandatory checks — a national police check, first aid certification, and relevant screening checks. They work under a documented care plan, which sets out exactly what's agreed for each visit.
What Support Workers generally can't do
Anything requiring a clinical qualification — like wound care, medication administration beyond simple prompting, or complex health monitoring — sits with registered nurses or allied health professionals, not a Support Worker. If your needs include clinical care, that's usually arranged as a separate, specifically qualified part of your care plan.
What good practice looks like
Consistency matters more than almost anything else. Seeing a familiar face, rather than a different person every visit, tends to make the biggest difference to how comfortable clients feel — which is part of why we prioritise matching clients with consistent Support Workers wherever possible, rather than rotating staff for scheduling convenience.
