The median full-time aged and disabled carer earns $1,761 a week, which is about $92,000 a year or $46 an hour. That is the number you will see quoted. It is only part of the story.
The median is the middle: half of full-time workers earn less. And about six in ten people in this group work part-time, so many take home less than the full-time figure over a year.
$1,761
a week is the median full-time pay for aged and disabled carers. About 60% of the group work part-time.
Source: ABS · JSA
Pay: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), ANZSCO 4231 (Aged and Disabled Carers). Part-time share: ABS Labour Force via JSA, February 2026. More about our sources: How we check our facts
What the headline number hides
Three things sit behind it. It counts full-time workers only. It is a middle value, so new starters often sit below it. And it covers the whole official group, which includes disability support as well as aged care.
Because of the part-time share, the number that matters for your own plans is the weekly figure multiplied by the share of full-time hours you expect to work. If you work half of full-time hours, expect roughly half of the weekly figure, before any penalty rates or allowances.
Source: ABS · JSA
Pay: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), ANZSCO 4231 (Aged and Disabled Carers). More about our sources: How we check our facts
How that compares across jobs
Across the 201 occupation groups on this site that have a pay figure, the middle full-time weekly pay is $1,779. Aged and disabled carers, at $1,761, sit close to that middle: 97 of the 201 groups pay less and the rest pay more or the same.
Source: ABS · JSA
Median full-time weekly pay for every occupation group in this directory that has one: ABS Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, via JSA. More about our sources: How we check our facts
Aged care and disability support share these numbers
The official group is Aged and Disabled Carers, so the figures cover aged care, home care and disability support together. Our pages for home care and NDIS support work show the same numbers for that reason. If you are weighing aged care against disability work, the data cannot separate them, so ask each employer about its own rates.
The hourly figure of $46 is the median for full-time workers in the group. It is useful for comparing with an offer, as long as you compare like with like: the same shifts, the same hours and the same employer type.
Source: ABS · JSA
Pay: ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), ANZSCO 4231 (Aged and Disabled Carers). More about our sources: How we check our facts
We do not average these numbers or adjust them. Each one is quoted from the official release named under it, so you can follow it back to its source.
What moves your own pay
Several things change what you earn in this work: how many hours you work, whether you take evening, weekend or overnight shifts, whether your employer pays under an award or an enterprise agreement, where you live, and how long you have been in the role. The official median cannot show any of these. Your offer and your payslip can.
Pay rates are also reviewed each year, and the figures here are a snapshot from May 2025. Treat them as a guide to where the middle sits, not as an offer.
How many people do this work
376,300 people work in this group today. The workforce grew 7.8% in the year to February 2026, adding about 27,100 workers. Official projections see it growing from 370,200 in 2025 to 437,200 by 2035, which is room for 67,000 more people.
Source: ABS · JSA
Employment: ABS Labour Force via JSA, February 2026. Projections: JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 4231. More about our sources: How we check our facts
Jobs are concentrated in NSW (about 102,600 people) and VIC (about 91,800), with QLD in third place (about 85,900).
Source: ABS · JSA
State employment: ABS Labour Force via JSA, February 2026. ANZSCO 4231. More about our sources: How we check our facts
What the work asks of you
About 37% of people in this group hold a Certificate III or IV as their main qualification, and about 13% hold a bachelor degree. One entry step is the Certificate III in Individual Support, and you can see how the role works day to day on the aged care support worker page.
Source: JSA · ABS
Education split: JSA occupation profile, using ABS Census data, ANZSCO 4231. More about our sources: How we check our facts
At interview, ask which award or agreement the role sits under, what classification level you would start at, how many hours are guaranteed each week, how shift loadings are paid, and whether travel time between clients is paid. Those five answers tell you far more than any national median.
Check your rate
Pay rates for this work are set by awards and agreements. The Fair Work Ombudsman publishes the current minimum rates in its summary of the Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award. Check it against any offer.
Key takeaways
- The median full-time pay is the middle value, so half of full-time workers earn less.
- About six in ten people in this group work part-time, so annual earnings are often lower than the full-time figure.
- Check the Fair Work Ombudsman's award rates against any job offer.