Diploma Course · Aged Care & Counselling Skills

Work With Older People.

Thinking about care work, or already doing it and wanting to handle the hard conversations better? This diploma was built for both. Aged care and community support, plus three certificates in counselling skills.

From $29per week, flexible plan
~200 hoursof study at your own pace
12 monthsof course access
No examsever
Anytimestart today, fully online
At a Glance

Course Snapshot

Study AreaAged Care & Community Support
Course TypeDiploma
Study Time~200 hours
Access12 months
Study ModeFully online, study whenever suits you
AssessmentNo exams, ever
PaymentsFrom $29 a week
Comes with
  • 10-day money back guarantee
  • No deposit, no credit check
  • Unlimited tutor support
  • Start anytime, study at your own pace
Who It’s For

Why Do This Course

Start In Care Work

You need nothing behind you to begin. Health and wellness, community resources, chronic conditions and the ethics of care all start from the beginning here.

Handle The Hard Conversations

Already in a care role? Three counselling certificates sit in this diploma. Listening, questioning, crisis, and sitting with someone through grief.

Fit A Year Of Study Around Work

It is online and self paced, with no exams, ever. You get 12 months of access and unlimited tutor support in business hours, so shifts do not cost you the course.

Where The Skills Fit

Where These Skills Could Take You

More people are getting older, and most of them want to stay in their own lives as long as they can. The work is easy to picture: helping someone through a morning, noticing what has changed, sitting down when they want to talk, and knowing who to call when it is more than you.

Aged Care Support Worker

The daily work of helping someone live well: personal care, company and watching for change.

Home Support Worker

The same care in someone's own house, where independence is the whole point.

Community Support Worker

Connecting people to what is around them, and helping them use it.

Dementia Care Support Worker

Where memory and mobility need patience, and knowing what helps matters most.

Residential Care Assistant

Care inside a facility, working alongside nurses and a wider team.

Roles where these skills are useful, not promised outcomes. Every role is different, and some need more study or experience. The college recommends further hands on training or an internship after this course. Nursing titles are registered roles with their own study and registration, and counsellor is a separate regulated path again.

The Course

What You'll Learn

01
Certificate in Aged Care Health and Support
The care work itself, and the systems around it.
Community Health and Wellness
Healthy Living Practices
Understanding Physical and Mental Health
Navigating Community Resources
Empowerment and Advocacy
Counselling Skills for Community Support
Chronic Disease Management
Supporting Individuals in Times of Transition
Ethical Considerations in Community Care
02
Certificate in Counselling Skills
How to listen, and what to say next.
Learning Specific Skills
Listening and Bonding
Reflection
Questioning
Interview Techniques
Changing Beliefs and Normalising
Finding Solutions
Ending the Counselling
03
Certificate in Advanced Counselling Skills
The harder conversations, one at a time.
The Counselling Session
Focusing on the Present
Telephone Counselling
Dealing with Crisis
Problem Solving Techniques I: Aggression
Problem Solving Techniques II: Depression
Problem Solving Techniques III: Grief and Loss
Problem Solving Techniques IV: Suicide
04
Certificate in Counselling Techniques
The models behind the methods, and where each one fits.
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy I: Freud, Erikson & Jung
Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy II: Adler
Humanistic / Existential Approaches I: Gestalt Therapy
Humanistic / Existential Approaches II
Rational Emotive Behavioural Therapy
Behavioural Therapy
Solution-Focussed Counselling
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
Included

What You’ll Get

In the Course

  • Aged care and wellness, health, ethics and community resources
  • Counselling skills, listening, questioning, finding solutions
  • Crisis and grief, the conversations nobody prepares you for
  • Therapy models, where each approach fits

As a Student

  • Unlimited tutor support, phone and email in business hours
  • 12 months of access, study at your own pace
  • No exams, ever, assessed on understanding instead
  • Career centre access, CV, LinkedIn and interview help
Why This One

What Makes It Different

Here is what stands out in this course.

01
Three Certificates Of Counselling Skills

From listening and questioning, through crisis and grief, into the therapy models themselves. The full arc sits inside one diploma.

02
The Ground Under Care Work

Chronic disease management, supporting people through transitions, community resources, and the ethics a carer works inside.

03
A Year Of Access

Around 200 hours of study with 12 months to do it in. Enough room to study around shift work.

The Credentials

What You'll Earn

DIPLOMA COURSE

Diploma in Aged Care & Community Support

Certificate of Achievement · The Career Academy

A Certificate of Achievement

Awarded by the college when you finish the diploma.

A SEEK Pass Link To Share

Your certificate comes with a SEEK Pass link. Put it on SEEK, where employers look.

A Career Centre Account

Yours from the day you enrol, with CV help and interview prep.

Getting Started

How It Works

Step one

Ask About the Course

Send an enquiry and a course advisor gets back to you with the course guide and straight answers on whether it fits.

Step two

Enrol When You're Ready

Start anytime. Pay on a flexible weekly plan, or pay upfront in one payment.

Step three

Study At Your Own Pace

Work through the four courses online at your own pace, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours.

Step four

Finish With Your Certificate

Complete the diploma and receive your Certificate of Achievement, plus a SEEK Pass link you can share on SEEK.

The Investment

How to Get Started

$29 / week
Flexible weekly payment plan, or pay upfront in one payment.
Pay weekly on a flexible plan
10-day money back guarantee
Start anytime, fully online
Unlimited tutor support
Enquire Now
Good to Know

Common Questions

Do I need experience to start?

None needed. You do not need care work or study behind you. The diploma starts with health and wellness basics and builds from there.

What does it cost each week?

The payment plan is $29 a week, with no deposit and no credit check. You can pay weekly, fortnightly or monthly, or pay upfront in one payment. Enquire for the full options.

How long does the diploma take?

Around 200 hours at your own pace, with 12 months of access. That leaves room to study around shifts.

Is this enough to get work in aged care?

It gives you the understanding employers want to see: health and wellness, ethics, chronic conditions, and how to talk with someone who is struggling. The college also recommends further hands on training or an internship for the practical side, and most employers train you in their own way of working. What you bring is someone who already knows the ground.

Will this make me a counsellor?

It is the affordable way to find out whether this work suits you before committing years to it. Registered counsellor is a separate path with its own study and registration, and this diploma is not that. What you do get is real skill in listening, questioning, and supporting people through crisis and grief, which care roles use every day.

What if I get busy after I enrol?

The course is online and self paced. There are no fixed class times. You fit it around work and family, then pick it back up when things settle down.

Are there exams?

There are none, ever. You are assessed on what you understand, with tutor support behind you.

Is this course accredited?

It is accredited by ICOES and the CPD Standards Office, which is accreditation for professional development. It is not NZQA accredited, so it is not a national qualification. That is a different thing. For support work it is no barrier: employers hire on whether you can look after someone well and know when to ask for help.

Can I get my money back if it is not for me?

Yes. There is a 10-day money back guarantee. If it is not right, you get your money back.

Delivered By

About the College

This course is delivered by The Career Academy, an online course provider in New Zealand.

The college has been running for over 15 years and works with more than 25,000 students a year. Courses are online and self paced, with unlimited tutor support by phone and email in business hours. Career coaching opens as soon as you enrol, including CV help and a LinkedIn profile review.

Over 15 years runningUnlimited tutor supportNo exams, everCareer coaching included
One Step Left

Enquire Today

Picture the afternoon you sit with someone who is frightened, and you know what to say, what to ask, and when to say nothing at all.

Enquire Now