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Child Carers

Child Carers provide care and supervision for children in residential homes and non-residential childcare centres.

Education & trainingLicensed workANZSCO 4211
$1,341/wkMedian full-time pay
185kPeople employed
+5% ▲Growth to 2035
47%Work full time
33Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 4211.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

assisting in the preparation of materials and equipment for children's education and recreational activitiesmanaging children's behaviour and guiding children's social developmentpreparing and conducting activities for childrenentertaining children by reading and playing gamessupervising children in recreational activitiessupervising the daily routine of children
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 4211 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

Room for 7,800 more people in child carers by 2035 ▲

The field grew 6.1% in the year to February 2026, adding about 10,700 workers. Most of the jobs are in NSW and QLD, with VIC third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 4211.More about our sources: How we check our facts
172.4k2025
174.1k2030 PROJ.
180.2k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

There is no single way in. 49% trained through VET, 30% hold a degree.

Both paths are common in this field. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 4211. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

CHC30125Certificate III

Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care

Community Services · licensed work.

See 334 providers
CHC50125Diploma

Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

Community Services · licensed work.

See 318 providers
CHC50225Diploma

Diploma of School Age Education and Care

Community Services · licensed work.

See 30 providers

Licensed work: several of these courses lead to work that also needs a state or territory licence. Training is the first step; licensing rules are set by each state.

See all 8 mapped courses
CHC30125Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care · 334 providers
CHC50125Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care · 318 providers
CHC50225Diploma of School Age Education and Care · 30 providers
10983NATCertificate III in Outside School Hours Care · 5 providers
52928WADiploma of International Children's Services · 2 providers
11024NATCertificate III in Montessori Early Childhood Education · 1 provider
11206NATDiploma of Montessori Early Childhood Education · 1 provider
11470NATDiploma of Teaching in Montessori Education · 0 providers

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

185k Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

Each link opens seek.com.au in a new tab, showing ads posted in the last month. SEEK is a job site; we link there because that is where most Australian jobs are advertised. We have no commercial relationship with SEEK.

Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 4211.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

NSW66.7k
QLD44.3k
VIC41.9k
WA14.3k
SA11.5k
ACT4.1k
TAS2.1k
NT1.9k

Occupations near this one

Close to this work but not quite it? Each one has its own page like this.