Tax for Aged Care Workers Australia
This guide is for residential aged care workers, personal care assistants, and similar care staff who want a practical overview of uniforms, training, travel, protective gear, and record keeping.
Quick answer: aged care workers often focus on uniforms, laundry, training, phone use, and travel between workplaces, but the same core rules still apply: the expense must relate to current work, must not be private, and must be backed by records.
Common aged care worker deduction areas
Often relevant
- Eligible uniforms, occupation-specific items, and laundry costs
- Protective items used in the course of providing care
- Work phone use and smaller job-related items you pay for yourself
- Travel between clients, facilities, or separate workplaces where the rules allow it
- Training that maintains or improves skills used in your current role
Common mistakes
- Claiming ordinary clothes instead of eligible uniforms or protective items
- Claiming normal commuting from home to your usual workplace
- Claiming training for a future career move as current-work self-education
- Claiming expenses that were reimbursed by an employer
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Aged care worker tax FAQs
Can aged care workers claim uniforms and laundry?
Sometimes, where the items satisfy the ATO rules for uniforms or work-related clothing. Ordinary clothing usually does not qualify.
Can aged care workers claim travel between facilities or clients?
Some travel between workplaces can be deductible, but ordinary commuting is usually private.
Can aged care workers claim self-education?
Often only where the study relates directly to the duties of your current role and maintains or improves the skills you already use.
Tax Accuracy & Sources
This guide is a practical summary for common aged care deduction issues only. The exact answer depends on your duties, the type of clothing and travel involved, and whether you kept the records required by the ATO.
Uses 2025-26 ATO rates.