How to Write an Aged Care Resume (Including With No Experience)

Aged care employers are looking for people who are reliable, compassionate and safe to leave with vulnerable residents. Your resume's job is to show those qualities quickly — through your qualification, your clearances, and the way you describe your skills and any hands-on experience, including a work placement or volunteering.

What aged care employers look for

Most aged care roles — aged care worker, personal care assistant (PCA), care assistant or assistant in nursing (AIN) — share the same core requirements. Employers want to see, at a glance:

• A relevant qualification, usually a Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing).
• The right clearances and checks, such as a Police Check and First Aid.
• Personal care skills and safe manual handling.
• Caring qualities — empathy, patience, respect for dignity.
• Reliability and availability, including mornings, evenings and weekends.

If your resume makes those five things easy to find, you are most of the way there.

Qualifications and clearances to list

This is the section that gets aged care resumes shortlisted, so make it clear and current. Typically you would list:

• Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing) — note if it included a supervised work placement.
• First Aid and CPR (HLTAID011) — CPR usually needs to be renewed yearly.
• National Police Check — most providers require a current one.
• NDIS Worker Screening Check — increasingly asked for across the care sector.
• Driver's licence — especially useful for home-care and community roles.

List the ones you hold, and note any you are in the process of getting. Always check the job ad, as requirements vary between providers and states.

The skills that matter most

Keep your skills list short, honest and matched to the words in the job ad. Strong choices for aged care include:

• Personal care — showering, dressing, grooming and toileting with dignity
• Mobility assistance and safe manual handling
• Meal preparation and feeding support
• Medication assistance and monitoring (within your scope)
• Dementia-aware, person-centred care
• Documentation and progress notes
• Empathy, patience and clear communication

Soft skills carry real weight here. A calm, patient and reliable carer is exactly what providers are short of.

Writing an aged care resume with no experience

Plenty of people land their first aged care role straight after their Certificate III. If your work history is thin, lean on what you do have:

• Your work placement — the supervised placement in your course counts as real experience. Describe what you did: assisting with personal care, mobility, meals and activities under supervision.
• Volunteering and caring for family — caring for a relative or helping at a community centre shows genuine, relevant experience.
• Transferable work — any job involving customer service, teamwork or reliability translates well.

Lead with your qualification and your caring qualities, and never write "I have no experience". For a fuller walkthrough, see our guide on writing a resume with no experience.

A worked summary example

A short summary near the top sets the tone. Name your qualification, one or two strengths, and your availability:

Then back it up with your skills, your placement or experience, and your clearances. When it is ready, run the resume checklist before you send.