Becoming a Child Care Worker: Everything You Need to Know

Childcare workers have one of the most essential — yet underappreciated — jobs in Australia. The early years of a child’s life are the most important: this is when they develop motor, sensory and social skills, and start to learn about the world. Childcare workers go to work every day knowing that they are planting the seeds for the next generation to bloom into good human beings.

If you’re kind and patient, and you want a stable job that’s also fulfilling, flexible, and even fun, childcare could be the perfect fit for you. This is a fast-growing industry with accessible entry through VET and traineeship study options. Depending on the course you choose, you could complete your Certificate III in a few months.

And don’t be scared to dream bigger! If you then want to pursue further training, you’ll find opportunities to progress into a career in early learning and teaching.

What does a childcare worker do?

Childcare workers are qualified professionals who take care of young children while their parents are busy, working or otherwise. They work in childcare centres, early learning centres, after-school programs, nurseries, creches, and in people’s homes as nannies. They provide children with a consistent daily routine, as well as supervising educational and recreational activities to help children in their development.

Alternate job titles include child caregivers or childcarers.

There’s a perception that childcare is an easy and fun role, but the critical work that childcare workers do often goes unnoticed. There’s so much more involved than just playing with children all day.

Roles and responsibilities of childcare workers include:

• Caring for toddlers and young children in various environments and providing educational, social, physical and intellectual support to aid appropriate development.
• Preparing materials, activities, games and meals.
• You will often be directly involved with children (e.g. playing games with them) and you sometimes might be required to take on a more supervisory role while they interact with other kids.
• You will also need to be willing to accept legal responsibility for the health and safety of children in your care; you should be familiar with Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics.
• Most child care work involves working as part of a small team, so the ability to work intimately with other carers is essential.

Child care salary and job prospects

Most childcare workers are paid hourly, at an average of $23/hr. The typical salary for a full-time childcare worker is $40,657 and ranges from $29,000 – $54,000. Pay tends to increase with experience and higher qualifications and jumps significantly when people move into more senior roles.

Childcare is a huge industry, employing over 150,000 Australians, and growing at an incredible rate of 17% over the last five years. Before the pandemic hit, the Australian government estimated that a whopping 30,100 jobs would open up over the next five years. This is most likely due to Australia’s growing population, and increasing demand for both parents to return to work after maternity leave.

This is also a career with flexible working hours, with just over half of workers being part-time. This makes it a great choice for people who are returning to work after starting their own family, or if you are planning to start a family in the next few years.

What is the child care subsidy?

The child care subsidy is a system the Australian government uses to help families pay for their childcare fees. You can receive the subsidy if:

• You care for your child at least 2 nights a fortnight.
• You’re a liable candidate for reduced fees at an approved childcare service.
• You meet the residency requirements
• Your child meets the immunisation requirements
• You earn below a certain salary

The childcare benefit is super helpful for any parents looking to reduce child care costs as the cost of childcare can be incredibly expensive. Some parents may even be liable to childcare rebates under the Australian government initiative.

How to become a childcare worker in Australia

What qualifications do I need to become a childcare worker in Australia?

At a minimum, child care workers in Australia will need to complete a Certificate III in Early Childhood Care and/or Children’s services. If you wish to take on the role of manager or coordinator, you will need to also obtain a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care. You must have a Certificate III before you can study the Diploma. Courses can be taken through a VET provider, TAFE, or through an on-the-job traineeship.

Qualification options include:

• Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC30113)
• Certificate IV in School Age Education and Care (CHC40113)
• Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care (CHC50113)

During your course, you’ll be required to learn about children’s emotional, physical, mental and social development, as well as how to plan and carry out activities for children, and the code of ethics in childcare. With a childcare qualification, you can work anywhere in Australia, whether that’s Melbourne, Sydney or Adelaide — all you need is a qualification.

It’s also worth noting that you can undertake courses in early childhood education and education support if you wish to upskill and become a teacher or assistant in early learning.

Childcare worker requirements

In addition to your qualification, you will also need to fulfil the following requirements:

• Police checks
• Working with children check
• First aid certificate, updated annually

Depending on where you’re applying to work you may also need to register with the Department of Human Services, which can be a long and thorough process.

If you need more information surrounding the rules and regulations in childcare, it’s a good idea to check out the ACECQA (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority) which assists governments in administering the National Quality Framework for children’s education and care.

Is being a child care worker right for you?

Does this sound like you? Then look into getting qualified with a childcare course that can lead to a diploma or certificate in early childhood education and education support.

There are even courses available that can qualify you in teaching children with disabilities, education psychology and first aid. Being a childcare professional can be a rewarding and enriching experience, but it’s not for everyone.

By taking the time to ask yourself these questions before you commence your studies and career in childcare, you can greatly increase your chances of having a successful experience.

What will your workplace be like?

Childcare workers are employed in a range of different environments where childcare providers can be found, including:

• Childcare centres
• Schools
• Hospitals
• Offices
• Outside school hours care
• Kindergarten programs
• Early learning centres creches

Outside of formal childcare facilities, you can be employed privately for in-home care as a nanny in which you may only be required to take care of a few children. In the long run, you may even be able to run your own home daycare.

As a childcare worker, you will also work irregular hours. Shift work is common in childcare as they need people who are available to take care of children both before and after school times as well as during.

Childcare centres are extremely noisy and busy places, but if you love children it shouldn’t be an issue. You’ll need to be very fit and healthy, with plenty of energy, to thrive in this environment. You’ll be on your feet all day, there is heavy lifting involved, and the environment is fast-paced.

What skills do you need to become a childcare worker?

To work in childcare, there’s a range of skills you will need to both learn and develop before pursuing childcare as a career. Whether you wish to pursue childcare or early childhood education, these range of skills below are extremely important to any child caring role:

• A passion for working with and relating to children
• Lots of patience and compassion
• Flexibility in relation to working hours
• A willingness to take on a range of activities and tasks as required
• Plenty of energy and enthusiasm on a daily basis
• A good level of health and fitness
• Qualifications in childcare
• A valid and up-to-date working with children check
• An understanding of the code of ethics in childcare
• Ability to provide a high quality service

Equipped with these skills and qualities, and a qualification in childcare, you can expect a wonderful career as a childcare worker.

What careers can a child care course lead to?

A qualification in childcare can open a range of opportunities for anyone looking to expand their horizons beyond a career as a childcare worker.

Once you become qualified in childcare, you can even look at early learning as a career option and progress into early childhood education. Or you can choose to up-skill and move up further up the ranks in a child-caring role.

For example, a child care qualification can lead to a career as:

• Child carer
• Day care worker
• Child care centre manager
• Nanny
• Education aide
• After school care
• Early childhood teacher
• Primary school teacher
• Home daycare business

Check out some child care courses or even education courses and find one that suits you. With plenty of flexible learning options such as the ability to complete your childcare course online, getting a qualification has never been more simple.

How to become a teacher’s aide

The role of a teacher’s aide is to assist students, do tasks such as grading, supervising field trips and being there for any students who need extra help.

Job openings for a teacher’s aide have expanded by 20% over the last 5 years. Although the COVID-19 pandemic makes it difficult to estimate future job growth, previous government predictions indicated very strong growth over the next five years.

If you wish to become a teacher’s aide, you first need to become qualified. You can undertake a course in Education Support and specialise in teacher’s aide work specifically.

There’s also a range of courses to specialise in becoming a special needs teacher’s aide, a language or literacy worker and even a home tutor.

Although it’s a tough and sometimes testing role, childcare is an incredibly rewarding and fast-growing industry that’s perfect for anyone with a love of children and a good ability to multitask.

You can begin building the starting blocks to your career in childcare by becoming qualified, continually upskilling and gaining hands-on experience in a child-caring role. Become a part of children’s development and help them both learn and grow by diving into a childcare career.