CHC43015 Certificate IV in Ageing Support

What is CHC43015 Certificate IV in Ageing Support?

The CHC43015 Certificate IV in Ageing Support (CRICOS Course Code: 115262M) is the nationally recognised Australian qualification for workers who move into senior, team leading and coordination roles in aged care. It is published on the CRICOS register by Clinton Education Pty Ltd t/a Clinton Institute (RTO Number 41597, CRICOS Provider Code 03540C).

CHC43015 is the senior qualification in the Health Care stream. Where CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support teaches you to support individual clients, CHC43015 is about leading and coordinating care for older people: recognising healthy body systems, supporting independence and wellbeing, managing legal and ethical compliance, working with diverse people, facilitating the empowerment of older people, meeting personal support needs, providing support to people living with dementia, delivering care services using a palliative approach, supporting relationships with carers and families, facilitating the interests and rights of clients, coordinating services for older people, facilitating individual service planning and delivery, implementing interventions with older people at risk, and developing networks and collaborative partnerships.

You learn through classroom theory, simulated care environments and supervised placement in real aged care facilities, so you graduate with both the knowledge employers ask for and the practical hours to back it up.

Who this qualification is for

Target groups for CHC43015 Certificate IV in Ageing Support are students who are:

• moving from individual support into senior support worker, team leader or care coordinator roles;
• already working in aged care and wanting a formal qualification to progress;
• responsible for coordinating services and supporting teams of care workers;
• building a pathway to the CHC52025 Diploma of Community Services or a Health Care package;
• seeking to deepen their dementia, palliative and complex care knowledge.

Students will usually be new entrants. However, credit and/or RPL can be provided for those with existing skills and knowledge, allowing such students to complete the course in a shorter timeframe.

Qualification entry requirements

There are no formal entry requirements for the CHC43015 qualification itself.

Individuals may typically enter CHC43015 after completing CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support or a similar aged care qualification, and are expected to have gained relevant industry experience. Candidates with limited or no vocational experience are advised to enrol in CHC33021 first.

Entry requirements for international students

To enrol in this course, international students must provide evidence that they:

• are at least 18 years of age;
• have completed at least the equivalent of Year 11;
• meet one of the following English proficiency requirements:
  • evidence of a valid IELTS score of 6.0 or equivalent in English language tests including TOEFL iBT, Pearson Test of English (PTE), Duolingo English Test and Cambridge English (CAE);
  • successfully complete an ELICOS pathway with a recognised provider, as determined by Clinton Institute, via an exit score of IELTS 6.0 equivalent;
  • have successfully completed Year 12 or equivalent in English Language.
• have appropriate Language, Literacy and Numeracy (LLN) levels, as determined by Clinton Institute via the LLN test administered prior to enrolment.

The LLN test is conducted by a suitable Trainer and Assessor or the Director of Studies. It includes a written test and an interview to complete the verbal component of the test. For international students applying from their home country this is completed during a Skype interview; for students applying within Australia the test is completed during an interview at the RTO. The LLN test helps the RTO assess whether a student's LLN skills suit the course requirements, and helps trainers prepare individual learning plans where skill weaknesses are identified.

Domestic students studying CHC43015 at Clinton Institute have no study restriction. If you are a temporary visa holder, check your own study rights and visa conditions before you enrol, because the number of course weeks you can study and whether work placement hours count against your work limit depend on your visa subclass. For international students it is a condition of entry that, upon acceptance, you provide evidence of having an Australian Student Visa (subclass 500).

Program duration: 52 weeks, no fast track

The CRICOS registered duration of CHC43015 is 52 weeks, including 30 weeks of the work component at 4 hours per week. There is no 3-month fast track option for CHC43015. The 13-week and 26-week fast tracks belong to CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support, which is a different qualification with a different set of units.

Credit transfer and/or RPL can be provided for students with existing skills and knowledge, allowing them to complete the course in a shorter timeframe.

Course fees and intakes

Tuition for CHC43015 depends on your situation, so we do not publish a single figure. Offshore students who do not yet hold an Australian visa with study rights pay the offshore fee, onshore students who already hold a valid Australian visa with study rights pay the onshore fee and may qualify for a promotion price, and students enrolling with credit transfer (CT) or a partial qualification package are quoted separately.

For the fee that applies to you, and the current intake dates, see Intakes and Prices. Clinton Institute operates multiple intakes through the year, so there is usually more than one start date for CHC43015 in Melbourne. To confirm the next start date and whether it fits your visa timetable, contact our admissions team on +61 3 8394 2064.

Melbourne campus and work placement

CHC43015 is delivered at the Clinton Institute Melbourne campus, Level 9, 313 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 - the La Trobe Street campus in Melbourne's CBD, close to the aged care facilities and employers that employ our graduates..

Work placement for CHC43015 is arranged with leading aged care providers including Opal HealthCare, Arcare and Benetas, across Melbourne. You are supervised throughout, and our placement team matches you to a suitable facility - you do not need to find your own placement.

Prerequisites before work placement

Every CHC43015 student must have the following completed and documented before they can start work placement:

1. Completion of Infection Control
2. Completion of Manual Handling
3. Policy Check
4. SITXFSA005 - Use hygienic practices for food safety
5. HLTAID011 - Provide First Aid
6. NDIS Worker Orientation Certificate of Completion
7. NDIS Worker Screening Check
8. Statutory Declaration

Start these early - they are the items most students get held up by. Our guide to the documents you need before aged care placement walks through how to organise each one.

Work placement: 120 hours, every time

CHC43015 includes a minimum of 120 hours of supervised work placement in aged care settings, arranged by Clinton Institute. The CRICOS registration records the work component as 120 hours across 30 weeks at 4 hours per week.

If you studied CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support and are now moving into CHC43015, you complete a further 120 hours of work placement - the placement hours from your Certificate III cannot be credit transferred into the Certificate IV.

We take this approach deliberately. Each qualification needs enough practical hours for the student to learn and practise properly, to build a real connection with the industry, and to walk into employment ready on the day they graduate. That is the difference between a qualification on paper and a qualification employers can rely on.

Course package options

CHC43015 is also available as part of a package. These are our current Health Care package options:

Package fees differ for onshore, offshore and credit transfer (CT) students, so check intakes and prices and talk to admissions about the package that fits your visa timetable.

Units of competency

CHC43015 comprises 18 units: 15 core units and 3 elective units.

Core units

Elective units

Note: units marked with an *asterisk have one or more prerequisites. HLTAID011 Provide first aid must be completed before you can commence work placement.

How CHC43015 is assessed

Written and online assessment. Knowledge questions on clinical practice, legal and ethical compliance, safe work and infection control, and the health and wellbeing of older people.

Case study and scenario work. You work through real care scenarios: care planning, behaviour support, escalation, and coordination across a care team, then explain the reasoning behind your decisions.

Practical demonstration and workplace observation. Your assessor observes you applying safe work practices, person-centred care and communication with older people in the workplace, and checks your placement logbook.

Placement requirements. You complete 120 hours of supervised work placement, and you must have completed Infection Control, Manual Handling, the Policy Check, SITXFSA005, HLTAID011 Provide First Aid, the NDIS Worker Orientation Certificate, the NDIS Worker Screening Check and the Statutory Declaration before you start.

Career outcomes and pathways

After achieving CHC43015 Certificate IV in Ageing Support, individuals could progress to the CHC52025 Diploma of Community Services, or to roles such as aged care team leader, care coordinator, senior support worker and case worker. The Certificate IV is widely recognised for senior and coordination roles across residential aged care, home care, disability support and community services in Victoria and nationally.

Possible job titles include aged care team leader, care coordinator, senior support worker, support worker and case worker. With the business and management units in this qualification, some graduates move into aged care facility management or community services coordination.