Providers hiring overseas direct care workers often look at the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement, which Home Affairs describes as streamlining recruitment of qualified direct care workers from overseas. Disability providers also need to think about NDIS worker screening, which is compulsory for risk-assessed roles with registered NDIS providers.
By CrossNation Editorial Team. Sources checked 4 October 2026.
Streamlines recruitment of qualified direct care workers from overseas to the aged care sector where appropriately qualified Australians are not available.
Source: Home Affairs: Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement (retrieved 4 October 2026)
A compulsory screening check for people working in risk-assessed roles for registered NDIS providers.
Source: Government of Western Australia: NDIS Worker Screening Check (retrieved 4 October 2026)
Ensures people who work with NDIS participants do not present an unacceptable risk to participants.
Source: Victorian Government: NDIS Worker Screening Check (retrieved 4 October 2026)
Home Affairs says the Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement streamlines the recruitment of qualified direct care workers from overseas to work in the aged care sector, for employers who cannot find appropriately qualified Australians. The agreement has its own requirements for the employer, the occupations and the workers, so read the Home Affairs page and ask your registered migration agent whether your service can enter one. Registered and enrolled nurses in aged care are a separate conversation, covered in the nursing guide, because their registration runs through the NMBA.
State and territory governments administer the NDIS Worker Screening Check. The Western Australian Government describes it as compulsory for people who work in risk-assessed roles for registered NDIS providers, and the Northern Territory Government explains that registered providers identify the risk-assessed roles in their organisation. Screening is a separate check from a visa and from a police check overseas. Plan for it in the onboarding timeline for any new support worker, including those already in Australia, and confirm with your state screening unit how an applicant with overseas history is handled.
Decide whether the role is direct care, enrolled nursing or another occupation, because the occupation decides which visa settings are even possible. Confirm the qualification you require, such as a Certificate III in Individual Support, and whether you accept equivalent overseas training. Write down the shift pattern, the locations and the supports you can offer a newcomer, such as accommodation help, orientation and a buddy. These details let us screen for genuine fit, which reduces early resignations whatever the visa.
We recruit aged care and disability support staff across Australia, both candidates who already have work rights here and sponsorship-ready overseas candidates. We present a shortlist, and the employer decides. We do not sponsor, nominate or advise on labour agreements, and we cannot promise any candidate will be screened, cleared or granted a visa.
The fee is 12% of the candidate's annual salary, charged only when a placement succeeds.
That depends on whether the occupation is on the Core Skills Occupation List. Check the list and ask a registered migration agent. The Aged Care Industry Labour Agreement exists for direct care workers.
State and territory screening units process the checks under national arrangements. Use your state's page for how to apply.
Registered providers identify the risk-assessed roles in their organisation, according to the Northern Territory Government. Those roles need a clearance; other roles may not.
No. Agreements are held by employers. We recruit candidates for providers who hold or are seeking approval.
Yes. Onshore candidates with work rights are part of every search.
