Disability support work is one of the fastest-growing industries in Australia. In fact, Jobs and Skills Australia estimates that in the next five to ten years, the Health Care and Social Assistance industry will experience more than twice the growth of any other industry. This makes professions such as support worker particularly appealing to many, as there’s plenty of work on offer. But before making a move into the industry, it’s important to do the numbers and ask – will you be able to pay the bills on a disability support worker salary?
The simple answer is “probably, yes”. Currently in mid-2024, according to Jobs and Skills Australia (and seek.com), the average disability support worker salary is around $39 an hour – which translates to around $1,500 for a week of full-time work. That puts it at roughly the same level of pay as carpenters and bartenders, and makes it a very respectable salary.
But do many disability support workers actually work full-time? What could I realistically expect in the bank each week? Would it require lots of out-of-hours work that would add extra challenges to the week? And will I really be better off than I am now if I make a move into the industry? Let’s take a quick look at some of the facts of disability support work.
Key Takeaways
- Disability Support worker salaries vary, but the average hourly rate is currently around $39 an hour.
- The pay rate is on par with many professional roles, and only slightly below the average wage for a university graduate with a bachelor’s degree.
- This is around $81,000 a year full-time – but most disability support workers don’t work full-time. The average is currently around 22.6 hours a week.
- Independent contractors can potentially earn more, but generally only once they’re established in the industry and understand the paperwork.
- Statistically, most people training into disability support end up better off financially. But salary should not be the deciding factor for an industry focused on improving quality of life for people living with disability.
So what is a normal disability support worker salary?
The hourly rates for a disability support worker vary from around $30 an hour to well above $70, depending on the specific role and the worker’s experience. But overall, the average gross wage is a little under $40 an hour – Jobs and Skills Australia says $39, or $1,564 a week. Seek.com gives a slightly more loose estimate of $35-$40 an hour.
Now, if you were working a full 40 hours a week at that rate, that would work out to around $81,000 a year. In Australia, that would be taxed at around 22.7%, so in theory you’d be looking at seeing just over $1200 a week in the bank.
Of course, in practice, things are never that simple. In reality, the majority of disability support workers don’t work full time, and working out tax is rarely that simple. But knowing that the general pay rate is around the $40 level lets you know what you could expect to earn and think about how you can make ends meet.
How does disability support worker salary compare to other industries?
Generally speaking, disability support work does pretty well against other industries in terms of pay rate. $40 a week puts it in a similar category to high-end service workers and the lower end of professional trades – roughly on par with carpenters and chefs. Let’s have a look at where it fits relative to some common careers.
Average Incomes of common jobs
| Job | Average Annual Income | Average Hourly Income |
|---|---|---|
|
Cleaner |
$55,000 - $65,000 |
$25 - $30 |
|
Barista |
$60,000 - $65,000 |
$25 - $35 |
|
Bartender |
$65,000 - $70,000 |
$30 - $35 |
|
Disability Support Worker |
$65,000 - $75,000 |
$35 - $40 |
|
Carpenter |
$65,000 - $85,000 |
$30 - $50 |
|
Chef |
$70,000 - $80,000 |
$30 - $35 |
|
Accountant |
$70,000 - $90,000
|
$35 - $45
|
|
Electrician |
$90,000 - $110,000
|
$45 - $50
|
|
Lawyer |
$90,000 - $110,000 |
$35 - $50 |
|
Dentist |
$195,000 - $215,000 |
$85 - $105 |
Data collected from seek.com
Of course, looking purely at hourly and annual pay rates is just one way to compare the job to other careers. Another way is to compare support work against jobs with an equivalent level of training.
Nowadays, disability support workers are normally trained at a Certificate III or IV level – generally having done a Certificate III in Individual Support (Disability) or a Certificate IV in Disability Support.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the average income for someone with Certificate III or IV level qualifications is $1,342 a week.
At a full-time weekly rate of $1,564 a week, that means disability support worker salary is only slightly below the ABS average for people with bachelor’s degree level qualifications – $1,578. So not only does it rank with some pretty well-respected careers in terms of pay rate, but it’s hitting well above its weight class compared to jobs with a similar level of training.
But again – that’s only looking at a full-time workload.
How many hours a week would a disability support worker generally work?
The reality is that most disability support workers are not full-time. In fact, a recent report by the NDIS estimated that in 2023, the average time worked by disability support workers had now reached 22.6 hours a week. This is actually an improvement over previous years when COVID-19 caused a severe dip in average weekly hours (like it did in many industries).
Although these numbers didn’t account for carers working with more than one employer (increasing their hours by working multiple jobs), it does show pretty clearly that the usual standard for support workers is part-time work, averaging around three days a week.
So how do the numbers look in that light?
Well… if you’re working 22½ hours at $39 an hour, that’s $877.50 per week, or around $45,500 a year. If that’s all you’re earning, you’d be taxed at around 13.6%, and you’d be looking at just under $40,000 per year after tax – or around $760 in the bank each week.
Now obviously that’s a very rough estimate. There are a lot of averages included in that figure, and in reality, each person’s work hours, specific pay rate, and general financial situation will be different (there are a lot of things that can affect your tax rate, for example). But for weighing up whether you’ll be able to pay the bills on a disability support worker salary, it’s not a bad figure to start with.
Are independent support worker pay rates any different?
They can be, although it’s not guaranteed that you’ll be better off. You’ll likely earn more dollars per hour as an independent support worker, but whether you end up with more in your pocket at the end of the day is another question.
If you’re new to it all, it’s worth knowing that while many disability support workers work through agencies, many also work as independent contractors – effectively working for themselves. There are some advantages to doing that, including more flexibility and control over where you work and when, and the chance to negotiate your rates directly with a client. But there are some challenges as well – you normally need to handle all the admin, insurance, reporting and finances (including tax and superannuation) yourself.
As such, if a disability worker knows the job well, understands the admin, and has a good reputation with a base of clients, they can potentially charge a good rate and earn more by working independently.
But if you’re just starting in the care industry, it may be harder to get clients unless you make your rates affordable. And even if this rate looks better than what you may earn working with an agency, once you’ve factored in things like superannuation and leave you might end up doing a lot more work without being any better off financially.
As such, it’s often a lot simpler for new disability support workers to start off working for an agency. But as with many things in the care industry, it depends on both the person and the situation.
Is disability support work a 9-5 job?
Not normally, no. Disability support work is normally based around when the clients need support rather than normal working hours, so it can involve work at some unusual times. Shift work is normal, work on weekends and in the evenings is common, and there are often times when a client needs extra support at an unusual time – so flexibility is important for a support worker.
Although there are individual support worker jobs out there that do fit into a regular workweek and don’t involve a lot of out-of-hours work, they’re hard to come by. If you’re just starting out in the industry, you should be ready to move into the crazy world of shift work and prepared to sacrifice some weekend time to support your clients. And while it might not be a regular thing, you should expect that there will be times when you’re asked to go above and beyond the call of duty, and work more hours than normal or help out in the evening for a special event or outing.
That’s part of the nature of the job. Ultimately, this job is about supporting people with disability in their everyday challenges and helping them improve their quality of life. That’s not something that fits neatly into a 9am – 5pm time slot.
Will becoming a disability support worker leave me worse off financially?
Generally, no. This very much depends on your situation, but as a rule, most people moving into disability support work end up better off financially.
We’ve already discussed the fact that support worker pay ranks pretty well against other jobs, and above average for the amount of training required. But training into Disability Support – either through a certificate 3 in individual support or a certificate 4 in disability support – also has a very good track record of improving people’s career prospects.
In 2022, a report by Jobs and Skills Australia found that students doing the Certificate III in Individual Support increased a graduate’s average odds of employment by a whopping 34.5% – the highest employment improvement rate of any VET course in Australia.
Doing a Certificate IV in Disability was also great for your future prospects – it was in the top 20 courses in Australia for percentage of students employed after training, with 93.74% finding a job. It was also in the top 20 for highest change in median income, boosting the annual salary of graduates by a whopping $17,756 a year on average.
So yes… the odds are pretty good that making a move into disability care isn’t going to hurt your bottom line.
Should the pay rate be a factor?
Realistically, the pay rate shouldn’t be the deciding issue when considering a move into the disability industry. The pay is certainly decent, but if you’re just looking for a job to keep food on the table, then this might not be the ideal choice.
Being an individual support worker is about making a lasting difference to others it’s a job that takes compassion, patience, and good communication to do well. It’s a job with new and different challenges each day, which you need to meet with enthusiasm and good humour. It’s a job about people.
There’s nothing wrong with doing the numbers and working out how to make ends meet as you consider a new career, but it’s worth remembering that the money won’t be what keeps you going in this job. When a range of disability support workers were asked about what makes their job satisfying, 4 out of 5 answered that it was seeing the impact of their work on the lives of clients. The pay barely rated a mention.
This is a job about making a difference for people living with disability, and helping them towards greater independence and quality of life. That’s the mission – and that’s what keeps people working in the industry long term.
If that’s not something you care about… well… there are probably other ways to pay the bills.
Weighing up the pros and cons
There are lots of questions to weigh up when considering a move into disability care. You should understand what support work looks like on a day-to-day basis, what gifts and skills you’ll need to do the job well, whether there are many jobs available in the field, and what you’d need to do to get started in the industry.
While the pay rate shouldn’t be the deciding factor, part of counting the cost of such a move is to look at the finances involved and see if such a career change would leave you better or worse off. And the good news is that the average disability support worker salary is pretty respectable.
Even working part-time, the hourly rate for a support worker is similar to that of a bachelor’s degree university graduate. So unless you’re moving into disability support from a high-end professional job, you shouldn’t be taking a massive cut in pay, hour for hour. In fact, you may well be improving your bottom line!
Of course, it’s not unheard of for people to move into the industry from a more high-paying job. Many people move out of high-end careers to seek out work with more purpose or social impact – wanting to make a positive change. And in those cases, it’s not unusual for the person to take a pay cut in the process. But it’s good to know that you don’t need to work for minimum wage to be able to change lives for the better.