Support Worker vs Social Worker: What Is the Difference?
26 October 2026
A support worker helps a person with everyday tasks at home, such as personal care, meals and getting to appointments. A social worker is a degree-qualified professional who works with people on personal difficulties and barriers in their lives, including through counselling, advice and advocacy. The two roles can sit side by side, but they do different jobs.
The short version
Think of it as day-to-day help versus professional social work practice. A support worker makes an ordinary week manageable. A social worker helps a person work through a difficulty, find the right services or have their situation heard.
Support worker: practical help with daily life at home, such as personal care, cleaning, meals, transport and company.
Social worker: work on personal difficulties and barriers in a person's life, such as counselling, finding services and advocacy.
What a support worker does
Support work is about helping someone keep living the way they want to, in their own home. The tasks are practical and regular: help in the shower, a load of washing, a meal, a lift to the doctor or an hour of company over a cup of tea.
A support worker follows what has been agreed with the person, and does not make decisions about their health or their life. The full picture is in what a support worker does, and carer or support worker explains how paid support differs from the unpaid care a family member gives.
What a social worker does
The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) says social workers partner with people to address personal difficulties and structural barriers in their lives, and that they work with individuals, families, groups and communities.
The AASW also says social workers can provide or connect people with individual or group counselling. They can help people navigate and access information, advice and support services, and will advocate on their behalf.
Social workers work in hospitals, schools, federal and state government departments, non-government organisations, community services and in private practice, according to the AASW. The AASW describes social workers as degree-qualified allied health professionals.
Who each one works for
A social worker's work is tied to a setting, such as a hospital, a school, a community service or a private practice. A support worker's work is tied to the person: where they live and what they want help with.
Care seekers and coordinators can browse and search the support-worker pool. Independent support workers on CareVicinity are independent contractors; CareVicinity does not employ or assign them as staff.
CareVicinity is the marketplace: it does not employ clinicians and does not provide, deliver, supervise, manage or clinically oversee any service, including nursing or allied health.
Which one do you need?
The question to ask is what is getting in the way. If the answer is a practical task, such as showering, shopping or getting out of the house, a support worker is the right kind of help. If the answer is a difficulty that needs advice, counselling or someone to advocate for you, a social worker may be the better start.
A person can need both. A social worker might help someone work out which services to look into, while a support worker provides the regular help at home.
If you are thinking of becoming a support worker
Support work and social work are separate paths. Support work is a practical, hands-on role, and how independent support workers differ from agency staff shows two ways of working. Independent support workers on CareVicinity must have a current police check, register their own ABN, and provide two professional references.
If you are weighing it up, am I a carer or a support worker helps you name the kind of work you are already doing. When you are ready, you can find out how to become a support worker.
Frequently asked questions
Is a support worker the same as a social worker? No. A support worker gives practical help with daily life at home. A social worker works with people on personal difficulties and barriers in their lives, through counselling, advice and advocacy.
Can a support worker give counselling? Counselling is something the AASW says social workers can provide. A support worker can offer company, but that is different from counselling.
Does a person need a social worker to get a support worker? No. Care seekers and coordinators can browse and search the support-worker pool.
Where do social workers work? The AASW lists hospitals, schools, government departments, non-government organisations, community services and private practice.