Documents every care worker should keep current

If you work in Aged Care, disability or childcare, a handful of credentials are the difference between rostered and stood down. They do not all expire on the same cycle, and a lapse can sideline you even when your skills have not changed. The fix is unglamorous but reliable: know what you hold, know when each one expires, and renew before the deadline rather than after a reminder.

Below are the core documents most Australian care workers need to keep current, with the renewal cadence for each. Your exact set depends on your role and sector, so treat this as the common spine, not an exhaustive list.

1. Worker screening

Screening is the non negotiable one. It confirms you do not have a history that would make you unacceptable to work with older people, people with disability, or children.

• Aged Care. From 1 November 2025, an Aged Care worker meets the screening requirement with either a National Police Check (Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check) issued within the last three years or a valid NDIS Worker Screening Clearance. Those are the only two options, per the Department of Health and Aged Care guidance. A National Police Check has no expiry of its own, but the three year limit means you need a new one once it is more than three years old.
• Disability (NDIS). Risk assessed roles need an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance, which is valid for up to five years from the date of issue unless cancelled or revoked. It is nationally portable, so you renew it in one jurisdiction only. You can apply to renew up to 90 days before expiry.

Police history is already bundled into the NDIS Worker Screening Check, so in a disability context you do not also carry a separate police check for the same purpose. The clearance covers it.

For the state by state detail, see our guide to the NDIS Worker Screening Check across states and the Aged Care worker screening requirements.

2. Working With Children Check

If your role brings you into contact with children, you need a Working With Children Check (called a Blue Card in Queensland and Working with Vulnerable People registration in some territories). This is the one credential where the renewal cadence genuinely depends on where you work, because each state and territory runs its own scheme.

• In Victoria and New South Wales, a clearance is generally valid for up to five years.
• In Queensland, a Blue Card is generally valid for three years.

Other states and territories set their own validity periods, names and fees. Check your own scheme's expiry rather than assuming a national rule, and note that several schemes apply continuous monitoring, so a clearance can be revoked mid term if new information arises. Our Working With Children Check by state guide walks through each one.

As with NDIS screening, the police history element sits inside the WWCC. You do not need a separate police check on top of a current WWCC for child related work.

3. First aid and CPR

First aid is two clocks running at different speeds, and this trips up more care workers than any other credential.

• HLTAID011 Provide First Aid (training.gov.au) is generally treated as current for three years.
• CPR is the fast clock. The Australian Resuscitation Council recommends, and most care employers require, that CPR is refreshed every 12 months. That means you complete a CPR update annually even while your broader first aid certificate is still inside its three year window.

In practice you book a CPR refresher (HLTAID009) each year and a full first aid course every three years. If your provider's policy is stricter, follow the policy. For the detail on which units apply to your role and sector, see first aid and CPR requirements for care workers.

4. AHPRA registration (for registered practitioners)

If you are a registered nurse, enrolled nurse, or another registered health practitioner, your registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency must be renewed annually. Nurses and midwives renew with the Nursing and Midwifery Board by 31 May each year, for example, and AHPRA sends email reminders during the renewal window.

A few things worth stating plainly:

• AHPRA registration proves you are a registered practitioner. It is never a substitute for worker screening. You still hold a current National Police Check or NDIS clearance alongside it.
• An expired registration means you are not entitled to practise in that profession until you renew, which can stop your work immediately.
• You can confirm a practitioner's current registration on the public AHPRA register, the issuing register itself.

5. The right to work and your role specific add ons

Beyond the big four, two things round out most care workers' document sets.

• Right to work. If you are not an Australian citizen, you need a visa with appropriate work rights, and your provider may check this through VEVO. Visa conditions can change, so keep your status current.
• Role and sector specifics. Mandatory training (for example manual handling, infection control, or NDIS orientation), immunisation records, and any qualifications your role requires all have their own renewal or refresh cycles. A childcare educator's set looks different to a community Aged Care worker's.

The practical "do not let these lapse" habit

The pattern across all of these is the same. Each credential has an expiry, the expiries do not align, and the consequence of a lapse usually falls on you in lost shifts. A simple approach:

• Write down every credential you hold and its exact expiry date.
• Note the earliest date you can renew each one, and set a reminder before that, not on the deadline.
• Renew screening and WWCC well ahead, since processing takes time.
• Treat CPR as an annual task even though your first aid certificate runs longer.
• Keep clean digital copies you can produce quickly when a provider asks.

If you already hold valid checks, you can often carry them between jobs rather than starting from scratch. See reusing checks between care jobs for how that works, and documents to start working in care if you are assembling your set for the first time.

How Koora helps

Koora's Career Passport keeps your credentials in one place and tracks the expiry of each one, so the renewal cadence above is visible at a glance rather than scattered across emails and certificates. Where a source can be checked, Koora verifies it at source (for example AHPRA registration and public state WWCC lookups (VIC, QLD, WA, TAS and the NT)); police checks, qualifications, training and NDIS clearances are reviewed by a person once you share your passport with a provider or a provider asks for access, with NDIS source verification on our roadmap. You can see what is current today, what is approaching expiry, and what needs action, all reflecting status at the time the view is generated.

The credential renewal tracker tool is a quick way to map your own expiry dates and see which credential needs attention next. Keeping these current is on you, and your provider keeps the legal responsibility for who they engage. Koora's job is to make sure nothing quietly lapses while you are busy doing the work.

Frequently asked questions

How often do I need to renew my first aid certificate?

The HLTAID011 Provide First Aid statement of attainment is generally treated as current for three years. The CPR component is the catch: most care employers and the Australian Resuscitation Council expect CPR refreshed every 12 months, so you renew CPR yearly even while your broader first aid certificate is still inside its three year window.

Does an NDIS Worker Screening Clearance count for Aged Care work?

Yes. From 1 November 2025 an Aged Care worker can meet the screening requirement with either a National Police Check issued in the last three years or a valid NDIS Worker Screening Clearance, which lasts up to five years. You do not need both. AHPRA registration is never a substitute for screening.

Will I lose my job the day a credential expires?

That is up to your provider, but the safe assumption is yes for the affected work. Many providers must stand a worker down from in-scope duties once a required check lapses. Renew early. Screening and WWCC can usually be renewed before expiry, and CPR can be refreshed while your first aid certificate is still current.