← Education and social services
Case manager
Plan and coordinate complex client support across child protection, NDIS, mental-health and housing settings.
Salary
Cited figures only: median full-time weekly earnings for the ANZSCO unit group Welfare, Recreation and Community Arts Workers (2726) from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia), and where available the QILT graduate starting salary for the matching study area.
| Figure | AUD | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median full-time weekly earnings | $1926 | Your Career (2026-09-23) |
Jobs, demand and who does this work
Figures for the ANZSCO occupation Welfare Worker (272613), the closest official match for case manager, from Your Career (Jobs and Skills Australia data, sourced 2026-09-23).
- People employed
- 34,300
- Future demand
- Very strong
- Work full-time
- 60%
- Average full-time hours
- 41 a week
- Women
- 79%
- Median age
- 40
Where the jobs are (share of workers)
| NSW | 30.3% |
| VIC | 26.7% |
| QLD | 20% |
| WA | 10.1% |
| SA | 7.1% |
| TAS | 2.2% |
| ACT | 1.9% |
| NT | 1.8% |
Highest qualification held by workers
| Postgraduate qualification | 19.2% |
| Bachelor degree | 39.2% |
| Diploma or advanced diploma | 19.4% |
| Certificate I-IV | 11.6% |
| Year 12 | 4.7% |
| Below Year 12 | 3.4% |
What a case manager actually does
Case managers carry a caseload of 15-40 clients depending on the sector, and the work is mostly about coordinating other people's services on behalf of one person. A day in an NDIS coordination role might open with a team huddle, then 2-3 home visits or community appointments, then afternoon hours on plan reviews, provider phone calls, progress notes and emails. In statutory child-protection case management the work is more visit-heavy with statutory time frames for safety checks and case plan reviews. In mental-health or AOD case management you also run groups and do shared assessments with clinicians. Across all settings expect 60-70 percent of the week on documentation, phone calls and funding submissions, and 30-40 percent on face-to-face contact. Hours are usually 38 a week with regular travel; statutory roles include on-call rosters. The job rides on relationships with services that are always short on capacity, so a lot of the skill is polite, persistent follow-up.
Typical tasks
- Develop and review case plans.
- Coordinate inter-agency support.
- Advocate for clients in tribunal and court settings.
Skills you'll use
- Strengths-based and person-centred case planning
- Risk assessment and safety planning
- Knowledge of NDIS, housing, Centrelink, mental-health and AOD systems
- Court-report writing for family or guardianship matters
- Negotiating with service providers and funders
- Trauma-informed practice and reflective supervision
- Time management across a complex caseload
How to become one
- 1Finish Year 12. Some entry-level case manager roles take a Cert IV (Community Services, Mental Health or Disability) but most senior roles want a Diploma or degree
- 2Complete a Diploma of Community Services (CHC52025), or a Bachelor of Social Work, Psychology, Counselling, Community Development or Health Science
- 3Build paid or volunteer experience in a frontline support role (residential care, support worker, drug-and-alcohol counsellor assistant, headspace volunteer) before applying for case manager roles
- 4Get a Working With Children Check and the relevant state NDIS Worker Screening or Working With Vulnerable People check
- 5Apply for entry-level case manager or support coordinator roles in NDIS, child protection, family support, AOD or community mental health
- 6For specialist mental-health case management, complete a Cert IV in Mental Health Peer Work or a graduate certificate in Mental Health
Where you can work
- NDIS support coordination providers
- State child-protection departments (DCJ, DFFH, DCP, DCYJMA)
- Community mental-health services and headspace
- Alcohol-and-other-drugs treatment services
- Out-of-home-care and foster-care agencies
- Homelessness and family-violence services
- Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations
- Justice and corrections community-reintegration teams
Career progression
Typical stages and roles. Years of experience are a rough guide; pay at each stage depends on the employer, award or agreement.
- Support worker or trainee case manager0-2 yearsTypical roles: Support worker, Trainee case manager, Case coordinator
- Case manager2-6 yearsTypical roles: NDIS support coordinator, Child protection caseworker, Mental health case manager
- Senior or specialist6-10 yearsTypical roles: Senior case manager, Specialist support coordinator, Team leader
- Programme leadership10+ yearsTypical roles: Programme manager, Service manager, Regional manager
Is this for you?
You might love this if
- You're an organiser by nature and like turning chaos into a plan
- You can hold a clear plan in your head while a client is in crisis
- You can write a case note that holds up in court or tribunal
- You're patient with services that are slow, stretched and unreliable
- You're comfortable with a documentation-heavy job
This might not suit you if
- You hate paperwork and database systems
- You can't manage a caseload of 20 plus separate problems
- You can't tolerate the emotional load of long-term complex clients
- You want fast-moving, clean wins
- You can't drive or travel between sites
Ways in
Uni and TAFE routes for case manager. We only list pathways that actually lead to this occupation.
University
Bachelor degrees that lead to this career.
No direct undergraduate pathway. Consider postgraduate study after a related bachelor degree.
TAFE / VET
Nationally accredited Certificate and Diploma qualifications.
Sources
ExamExplained does not publish predictive salary figures. For current Australian earnings data check Your Career (yourcareer.gov.au) directly. Career classifications follow the ABS ANZSCO 2022 release.