Nursing Support Workers

ANZSCO ID 423312

Overview

Snapshot

Employed
36,200
Future Growth
N/A
Weekly Earnings
N/A
Full-Time Share
35%
Female Share
85%
Average age
39

Summary

Nursing Support Workers provide limited patient care under the direction of nursing staff.

Also known as: Assistant in Nursing.

Specialisations: Paramedical Aide.

Extensive experience or a formal qualification in health services assistance is needed to work as a Nursing Support Worker. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.

Tasks

  • Assists patients with their personal care needs such as showering, dressing and eating.

  • Assists patients with their mobility and communication needs.

  • Participates in planning the care of individuals.

  • Follows therapy plans such as interventions to assist those with dementia and behavioural problems.

  • Observes and reports changes in patients' conditions, and reports complaints about care.

  • Assists with rehabilitation exercises.

  • Provides basic treatment and delivery of medications.

Characteristics

Job Type
Community And Personal Service Workers
Skill Level
Lower skill
ANZSCO Occupation group
Unemployment Rate
n/a
Industries
Pathway(s)
  • Vocational Education and Training (VET)
  • Informal or on-the-job
Interests
  • Practical
  • Administrative
  • Helping
Physical Demand
  • Medium
  • Heavy
  • Very Heavy

Outlook

Employment Outlook

JSA produces employment projections to show where likely future job opportunities may be. Employment projections data are only produced for occupations at the broad four digit Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) level. While data are not available for this occupation, projections data are available for the parent occupation, Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers, under the outlook section.


Earnings and hours

Working arrangements

  • Around 35% of people employed as Nursing Support Workers work full-time hours, in all their jobs combined. This is 31 percentage points below the all jobs average (66%).

    Full-time workers work an average of 43 hours per week in their main job. This is similar to the all jobs average (44 hours per week).

    Sources:Full-time share and full-time hours: ABS, 2016 Census, customised report. Compared to the all jobs average.


Industries

Main industries

1
Health Care and Social Assistance
94.5%
2
Administrative and Support Services
2.4%
3
Public Administration and Safety
0.8%
4
Other Services
0.4%
5
Other industries
0.7%

Regions

Employment across Australia

NSW

54.0% All occupations: 31.6%

VIC

3.3% All occupations: 25.6%

QLD

32.1% All occupations: 20.0%

SA

1.1% All occupations: 7.0%

WA

7.6% All occupations: 10.8%

TAS

0.5% All occupations: 2.0%

NT

0.1% All occupations: 1.0%

ACT

1.2% All occupations: 1.9%

Employment by State and Territory (% Share)

State Nursing Support Workers All Jobs Average
NSW 54.0 31.6
VIC 3.3 25.6
QLD 32.1 20.0
SA 1.1 7.0
WA 7.6 10.8
TAS 0.5 2.0
NT 0.1 1.0
ACT 1.2 1.9


  • Around 51% of Nursing Support Workers live outside of capital cities, compared with the all jobs average of 38%.

    New South Wales and Queensland have a large share of employment relative to their population size.

    The regions with the largest share of workers are:

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Share of workers across Australian states, territories and regions, in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Worker profile

Age and gender

Age In Years
39
All Jobs Average is 40
Female Share
85%
All Jobs Average is 48%
  • The median age of Nursing Support Workers is 39 years. This is similar to the all jobs average of 40 years.

    A large share of workers are aged 25 to 34 years.

    Females make up 85% of the workforce. This is 37 percentage points above the all jobs average of 48%.

    Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile and gender share compared to the all jobs average.

Age Profile (% Share)

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.
Age Bracket Nursing Support Workers All Jobs Average
15-19 2.7 5.0
20-24 12.8 9.3
25-34 25.4 22.9
35-44 19.5 22.0
45-54 21.5 21.6
55-59 9.6 9.0
60-64 6.1 6.0
65 and Over 2.4 4.2
Median Age 39 40

Source: Based on ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Age profile of workers in this job compared to the all jobs average.


Employment Pathways

Education, training and experience

Extensive experience or a formal qualification in health services assistance is needed to work as a Nursing Support Worker. Vocational Education and Training (VET) and university are both common study pathways.

Visit

  • My Skills to compare Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses, providers and student outcomes.
  • AAPathways website to explore Health Industry and Community Services VET training pathways.

Highest Level of Education (% Share)

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.
Type of Qualification Nursing Support Workers All Jobs Average
Post Graduate/Graduate Diploma or Graduate Certificate 3.5 10.1
Bachelor degree 16.0 21.8
Advanced Diploma/Diploma 16.2 11.6
Certificate III/IV 42.0 21.1
Year 12 14.0 18.1
Year 11 1.4 4.8
Year 10 and below 6.8 12.5

Source: ABS Census 2016, Customised Report. Highest qualification completed by workers in this job (in any field of study). Qualifications needed by new workers might be different from the qualifications of workers already in the job.


Skills and Knowledge

Employers look for Nursing Support and Personal Care Workers who are caring, compassionate, empathetic and physically fit with good people skills.

Skills

Skills can be improved through training or experience.

  • 50%

    Serving others

    Looking for ways to help people.

  • 46%

    Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • 45%

    Social perceptiveness

    Understanding why people react the way they do.

  • 45%

    Reading comprehension

    Reading work related information.

  • 43%

    Active listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • 43%

    Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well work is progressing so you can make changes or improvements.

  • 43%

    Critical thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • 41%

    Coordination with others

    Being adaptable and coordinating work with other people.

  • 39%

    Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • 36%

    Judgment and decision making

    Figuring out the pros and cons of different options and choosing the best one.

  • 36%

    Active learning

    Being able to use what you have learnt to solve problems now and again in the future.

  • 36%

    Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • 34%

    Complex problem solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • 32%

    Time management

    Managing your own and other peoples' time to get work done.

  • 32%

    Learning strategies

    Figuring out the best way to teach or learn something new.

  • 30%

    Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behaviour.

  • 29%

    Negotiation

    Bringing people together and trying to sort out their differences.

  • 29%

    Management of personnel resources

    Motivating, developing, and directing people as they work, and choosing the best people for the job.

  • 25%

    Mathematics

    Using maths to solve problems.

  • 23%

    Operation monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.


Knowledge

These are important topics, subjects or knowledge areas.

  • 68%

    Customer and personal service

    Understanding customer needs, providing good quality service, and measuring customer satisfaction.

  • 62%

    Psychology

    Human behaviour; differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; research methods; assessing and treating disorders.

  • 48%

    English language

    English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • 46%

    Medicine and dentistry

    Diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities, including preventive health-care measures.

  • 43%

    Education and training

    Curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • 37%

    Public safety and security

    Use of equipment, rules and ideas to protect people, data, property, and institutions.

  • 35%

    Therapy and counselling

    Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and career counselling and guidance.

  • 31%

    Computers and electronics

    Circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

  • 30%

    Clerical

    Word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and other office work.

  • 28%

    Personnel and human resources

    Recruiting and training people, managing pay and other entitlements (like sick leave), and negotiating pay and conditions.

  • 27%

    Administration and management

    Business principles involved in strategic planning, leadership, and coordinating people and resources.

  • 27%

    Food production

    Planting, growing, and harvesting food (both plant and animal), including storage and handling.

  • 25%

    Transportation

    Moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road.

  • 24%

    Mathematics

    Arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, or statistics.

  • 24%

    Sales and marketing

    Showing, promoting, and selling including marketing strategy, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • 22%

    Communications and media

    Media production, communication, and dissemination. Includes written, spoken, and visual media.

  • 22%

    Sociology and anthropology

    Group behaviour and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures and their history and origins.

  • 20%

    Chemistry

    Chemical composition, structure, and properties. How chemicals are made, used, mixed, and can change.

  • 19%

    Law and government

    How our laws and courts work. Government rules and regulations, and the political system.

  • 19%

    Telecommunications

    Transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.


Abilities

Workers use these physical and mental abilities..

  • 52%

    Oral comprehension

    Listen to and understand what people say.

  • 52%

    Oral expression

    Communicate by speaking.

  • 48%

    Problem spotting

    Notice when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong, even if you can't solve the problem.

  • 48%

    Static strength

    Lift, push, pull, or carry things.

  • 46%

    Near vision

    See details that are up-close (within a few feet).

  • 46%

    Speech recognition

    Identify and understand the speech of another person.

  • 43%

    Speech clarity

    Speak clearly so others can understand you.

  • 43%

    Deductive reasoning

    Use general rules to find answers or solve problems logically.

  • 43%

    Trunk strength

    Use your abdominal and lower back muscles a number of times without 'giving out' or fatiguing.

  • 41%

    Written comprehension

    Read and understand written information.

  • 41%

    Arm-hand steadiness

    Keep your hand or arm steady.

  • 41%

    Inductive reasoning

    Use lots of detailed information to come up with answers or make general rules.

  • 41%

    Sorting or ordering

    Order or arrange things in a pattern or sequence (e.g., numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

  • 39%

    Categorising

    Come up with different ways of grouping things.

  • 39%

    Extent flexibility

    Bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • 39%

    Finger dexterity

    Put together small parts with your fingers.

  • 39%

    Far vision

    See details that are far away.

  • 37%

    Stamina

    Exercise for a long time without getting winded or out of breath.

  • 36%

    Written expression

    Write in a way that people can understand.

  • 36%

    Manual dexterity

    Quickly move your hand to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.


Activities

These are kinds of activities workers regularly do in this job.

  • 75%

    Looking for changes over time

    Comparing objects, actions, or events. Looking for differences between them or changes over time.

  • 71%

    Monitoring people, processes and things

    Checking objects, actions, or events, and keeping an eye out for problems.

  • 63%

    Helping and caring for others

    Providing personal assistance, medical attention, or emotional support.

  • 62%

    Building good relationships

    Building good working relationships and keeping them over time.

  • 56%

    Communicating within a team

    Giving information to co-workers by telephone, in writing, or in person.

  • 56%

    Planning and prioritising work

    Deciding on goals and putting together a detailed plan to get the work done.

  • 52%

    Handling and moving objects

    Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, moving and manipulating objects.

  • 49%

    Making decisions and solving problems

    Using information to work out the best solution and solve problems.

  • 48%

    Researching and investigating

    Looking for, getting and understanding different kinds of information.

  • 46%

    Checking compliance with standards

    Deciding whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.

  • 45%

    Assessing and evaluating things

    Working out the value, importance, or quality of things, services or people.

  • 43%

    Doing physically active work

    Use your arms, legs and whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling objects.

  • 42%

    Negotiating and resolving conflicts

    Handling complaints and disagreements, and negotiating with people.

  • 42%

    Training and teaching others

    Understanding the needs of others, developing training programs, and teaching or instructing.

  • 42%

    Coaching and developing others

    Working out the needs of others and coaching, mentoring, or helping them to improve.

  • 42%

    Documenting or recording information

    Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

  • 40%

    Checking for errors or defects

    Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials for errors, problems or defects.

  • 39%

    Coordinating the work of a team

    Getting members of a group to work together to finish a task.

  • 38%

    Explaining things to people

    Helping people to understand and use information.

  • 29%

    Leading and encouraging a team

    Encouraging and building trust, respect, and cooperation among team members.


Interests and demands

Learn about the daily activities, and physical and social demands faced by workers. Explore the values and work styles that workers rate as most important.

Interests

Interests are the style or type of work we prefer to do. All interest areas are shown below.

  • 95%

    Helping

    Working with people. Helping or providing service to others.

  • 81%

    Administrative

    Following set procedures and routines. Working with numbers and details more than with ideas, usually following rules.

  • 62%

    Practical

    Practical, hands-on work. Often with plants and animals, or materials like wood, tools, and machinery.

  • 24%

    Analytical

    Ideas and thinking. Searching for facts and figuring out problems in your head.

  • 24%

    Enterprising

    Starting up and carrying out projects. Leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes require risk taking and often deal with business.

  • 19%

    Creative

    Working with forms, designs and patterns. Often need self-expression and can be done without following rules.


Values

Work values are important to a person’s feeling of satisfaction. All six values are shown below.
  • 81%

    Relationships

    Serve and work with others. Workers usually get along well with each other, do things to help other people, and are rarely pressured to do things that go against their sense of right and wrong.

  • 67%

    Support

    Supportive management that stands behind employees. Workers are treated fairly by their company, they are supported by management, and have supervisors who train them well.

  • 45%

    Working conditions

    Job security and good working conditions. There is usually a steady flow of interesting work, and the pay and conditions are generally good.

  • 43%

    Achievement

    Results oriented. Workers are able to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment.

  • 33%

    Independence

    Work alone and make decisions. Workers are able to try out their own ideas, make decisions on their own, and work with little or no supervision.

  • 33%

    Recognition

    Advancement and the potential to lead. Workers are recognised for the work that they do, they may give directions and instructions to others, and they are looked up to in their company and their community.


Demands

The physical and social demands that workers face most often are shown below:
  • 94%

    Face-to-face discussions

    Talk with people face-to-face.

  • 93%

    Physically close to people

    Work physically close to other people.

  • 91%

    Contact with people

    Have contact with people by telephone, face-to-face, or any other way.

  • 90%

    Teamwork

    Work with people in a group or team.

  • 88%

    Walking and running

    Spend time walking and running.

  • 88%

    Wear common protective or safety equipment

    Wear equipment like safety shoes, glasses, gloves, hard hats or life jackets.

  • 86%

    Disease or infection

    Be exposed to disease or infections.

  • 86%

    Spend time standing

    Spend time standing at work.

  • 83%

    Health and safety of others

    Take responsibility for the health and safety of others.

  • 82%

    Indoors, heat controlled

    Work indoors with access to heating or cooling.

  • 80%

    Telephone

    Talk on the telephone.

  • 78%

    Frequent decision making

    Frequently make decisions that impact other people.

  • 77%

    Being exact or accurate

    Be very exact or highly accurate.

  • 76%

    Bending or twisting your body

    Spend time bending or twisting your body.

  • 76%

    Impact of decisions

    Make decisions that have a large impact on other people.

  • 76%

    Unstructured work

    Have freedom to decide on tasks, priorities, and goals.

  • 75%

    Letters and memos

    Write letters and memos.

  • 74%

    Lead or coordinate a team

    Lead others to do work activities.

  • 72%

    Time pressure

    Work to strict deadlines.

  • 70%

    Making repetitive motions

    Spend time making repetitive motions.

Occupational Information Network
O*NET is a trademark of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration.
The skills and importance ratings on this page are derived from the US Department of Labor O*NET Database Version 21.2, 31-1014.00 - Nursing Assistants.


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