People ask me this every week: do I need a Certificate III to do this work?
The honest answer is: it depends which door you're walking through. And almost nobody explains that there are two doors at all.
Two different things are being sold in this industry
One is a qualification. The other is a business.
The Certificate III in Individual Support is vocational training. It's a TAFE or registered-training qualification, and it is built for people who want to be employed in care — an aged care home, a disability provider, a nursing agency. It's the right qualification for that path, and it's a good one.
What I teach is the other thing: how to run your own small business doing everyday support — cleaning, gardening, meals, shopping, transport, company. Sole trader. Your own clients. Your own hours, part-time around your family. Non-clinical work.
What the work actually requires
Everyday support doesn't require the qualification. What it requires is a set of practical things:
- an ABN
- a National Police Check
- an NDIS Worker Screening Check (in Tasmania, that comes through your RWVP card)
- public liability insurance
- first aid (worth doing — often expected, and it makes you look professional)
- the online training the schemes ask for, like the NDIS Worker Orientation Module
That's the setup. There's no vocational qualification in that list.
Where the Cert III genuinely wins — and I'd tell you to do it
I'm not going to pretend training doesn't matter, because in three cases it matters a lot:
Personal care. Showering, dressing, helping someone move safely. That is trained work, it needs a transfer plan and manual-handling training, and it pays more. If that's the lane you want, do the Cert III.
Working for an employer. Most provider job ads ask for it. If your plan is a job rather than a business, the qualification is your first step.
Registering as a provider for government-funded aged care (Support at Home). That's a much bigger business, with registration and audit behind it.
The short version
- Certificate III — vocational training, for employment and personal care. Months of study, and a fee.
- Your own everyday support business — a setup list and your first client. Weeks, not years.
Two doors. Different rooms. I'll show you the one I walked through.
This is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rates, fees and rules change — check the official sources (ndis.gov.au, myagedcare.gov.au, TasTAFE) and see your accountant.
If you'd like the honest picture first — what this work really is, what it pays, and what it takes to start — the free training is at cathys.care.