Aged Care Course Pakenham: CHC33021 Certificate III Studied Online

You might picture a nursing home when you think about aged care work. Around Pakenham it also means respite, day programs and support delivered in people’s own houses. CHC33021, the Certificate III in Individual Support (Ageing and Disability), is the qualification behind all of it, and The Performance College teaches this aged care course online with live Zoom classes so nothing about it requires a Pakenham student to drive into the city. Domestic students finish in 6 to 9 months. Ring 03 9008 4043 to talk through which setting suits you.

The Performance College, and What RTO 46069 Means

We are a registered training organisation, RTO 46069, and a CRICOS registered provider, CRICOS 04180C. Being an RTO is what lets us issue a qualification that is nationally recognised under the Australian Qualifications Framework, rather than a certificate of attendance that stops at our front door.

Rekha Sehrawat founded the college in 2023. She had worked for years as a trainer and assessor, and started it because too many capable students were falling over for want of support rather than ability. We have 100+ domestic graduates so far.

The campus is Level 5, 398 Lonsdale Street in the Melbourne CBD. The full credential list is on the Melbourne aged care course page.

Where a Certificate III Can Take You Around Pakenham

VMCH runs Shanagolden in Pakenham, which offers residential aged care alongside respite and day care. That mix is worth knowing about, because it is a fair picture of how the local sector is actually shaped: not one kind of workplace, several.

Personal care assistants holding a Certificate III are employed across all of those settings. So are home care workers and community care workers, which is the part people tend not to picture.

The certificate also carries the disability specialisation. You are not choosing a lane at enrolment.

The Study Itself

Live Zoom classes are timetabled sessions with a trainer present. You ask in the moment rather than filing a question and waiting for a reply, which is the practical difference between a live class and a folder of recordings.

All of it happens from home for domestic students. Given what the run into Melbourne and back costs you in a day, that is usually the deciding factor rather than a nice extra.

You will need a computer and an internet connection that can carry a video class from start to finish.

International students study on campus in the Melbourne CBD, and their intakes fall on set dates.

What the Course Actually Teaches

The qualification is built around the things the job turns on rather than theory for its own sake. Person centred care, which is the difference between doing things for someone and doing things with them. Infection prevention and control. Communicating with clients and with the families around them, which is often the harder half. Supporting a person’s independence and wellbeing instead of quietly taking it over.

Dementia care and a palliative approach are also on offer, and worth asking about, because in practice they come up constantly in residential work.

None of that is location specific. It is the same qualification whether you study it from Pakenham or anywhere else in the country, which is precisely what makes it portable.

The Placement Requirement

CHC33021 requires 120 hours of supervised work-based training in a residential care or in-home care facility with an approved NDIS provider. That is set by the qualification itself, through the unit CHCCCS040.

We arrange your placement and have partner sites across Victoria, so locating a facility is not something you do alone.

It is the one part of the course that runs on someone else’s timetable, so bring up your availability when you first enquire rather than once you are enrolled.

What You Will Pay

The course is $2,500 for domestic students. Enrolment is a further $250, and placement assistance is covered in both.

Instalments are available monthly or quarterly, with no interest and no extra charges. The fee is simply split up.

Victoria funds subsidised and fee free places at approved providers for eligible students, and there are funded options in the south east. Find out whether you qualify before enrolling anywhere, including here. We are a fee paying provider, which is exactly why the instalment plan exists.

More from The Performance College

Questions From Pakenham Students

Do I have to travel for classes?

No. Domestic teaching is entirely online. Only the 120 placement hours happen in person.

Where will my placement be?

We help arrange it and it depends on which provider takes you. Mention that you are in Pakenham at the enquiry stage so it is built into the plan early.

What do I need before I can enrol?

You must be 18 or over when the course starts, with Year 12 or an equivalent, or a 12 month qualification completed in English. Everyone sits a short language, literacy and numeracy assessment first, which tells us what support to put in place. International students also need IELTS 6.0 or an accepted equivalent.

How long does it take?

6 to 9 months for domestic students, covering the full nationally recognised certificate.

Is there a free option?

There are subsidised and fee free places in Victoria for students who meet the criteria. Check your eligibility first. Ours is fee paying, with interest free instalments.

Areas We Serve

Other Services We Provide in Pakenham

Your First Move

Work out two things before you pay for anything: whether a funded place is available to you, and which care setting you actually want to end up in, because that shapes where placement is worth pushing for.

Ring 03 9008 4043 or email info@tpc.edu.au. Domestic study is online and intakes run monthly, every month except December, so you can begin soon after those are clear. We reply within 24 hours, Monday to Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.

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