🎓 WAYS RTO 90114
WAYS RTO 90114 runs Cert III Early Childhood Education and Cert II & IV Community Services. Smart & Skilled subsidised places, real trainers from the sector, classes at Bondi Junction.
See our courses → Make an enquiry“Cert IV in Community Services” sounds vague. What does it actually qualify you for and what do those jobs pay? Here’s a plain-English breakdown.
CHC42021 Certificate IV in Community Services is a higher-level community services qualification than the Cert II. It’s the entry qualification for case management, family support, and frontline community work where you’re holding caseloads and making judgement calls rather than just delivering pre-built programs.
At WAYS RTO 90114 we run Cert IV Community Services as a 7-month course. Smart & Skilled funding usually covers eligible students partially or fully.
Pay: $35–42/hour for entry-level; $45–58/hour for experienced.
What you do: hold a caseload of 15–25 clients (could be young people, families, people experiencing homelessness, people with disability, refugees). Build relationships, set goals, refer to other services, advocate, document progress. Most roles involve outreach (home visits) and office-based work.
Typical employers: Anglicare, Mission Australia, The Smith Family, local councils, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs), small specialist NGOs.
Pay: $33–40/hour entry; $40–52/hour senior.
What you do: work with 12–24-year-olds in programs, drop-in centres, schools, or outreach. Group facilitation, 1:1 support, harm reduction, crisis intervention, mentoring. The work varies hugely between settings — a youth worker in a remand centre has a different day to one running a school holiday program.
Typical employers: WAYS Youth & Family (us), Youth Off The Streets, Whitelion, Local Government, NSW Department of Communities and Justice.
Pay: $35–42/hour.
What you do: work with families (usually parents) on parenting capacity, household management, navigating Centrelink/housing/child protection. Often includes in-home visits and brokerage of practical support.
Typical employers: family support services funded by NSW DCJ, local NGOs, hospital social work teams.
Pay: $36–45/hour; some identified positions attract additional loading.
What you do: culturally-grounded community work with Aboriginal communities, families, and individuals. Identified positions require Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander identification and community recognition.
Typical employers: ACCOs (e.g. AHMRC member services), Aboriginal community health services, Indigenous-led NGOs.
Pay: $32–40/hour.
What you do: coordinate supports for NDIS participants — linking them with services, helping with plan management, monitoring outcomes. Different from a “disability support worker” (which is more direct care, Cert III level).
Typical employers: NDIS-registered providers, plan managers, local support coordination services.
Pay: $36–45/hour; shift penalties on top for overnight work.
What you do: work in refuges, transitional accommodation, drop-in centres, or outreach with people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Crisis-response work is intense; long-term casework is more relational.
Typical employers: St Vincent de Paul, Mission Australia, Wesley Mission, specialist homelessness services.
Community services pay rates are set by the SCHCADS Award (Social, Community, Home Care and Disability Services Award). Most Cert IV-qualified entry-level workers start at SCHCADS Level 3 ($35.43/hour as of 2026). Within 12–18 months most workers move to Level 4 ($37–40/hour). Senior practitioner roles sit at Level 5 or 6 ($42–48/hour).
Penalty rates apply: shifts after 6pm and weekends pay 25–100% extra; public holidays pay 200%+. Many community workers significantly boost their take-home through penalty shifts.
Cert IV CS is right for you if you’ve worked in retail, hospitality, admin, education, healthcare or a related field and want to move into a relationship-driven, frontline role. It’s a particularly common pathway for:
The Cert IV CS at WAYS covers 15 units of competency including: working in community services, working with diverse people, working ethically, recognising healthy body systems, mental health knowledge, recognising and responding to crisis, advocacy, providing client services, working with people in or at risk of homelessness, and providing services to clients with complex needs.
There’s no mandatory work placement for CHC42021 (unlike Cert III ECEC) — but most courses include some practical experience component. At WAYS we use simulated case-management exercises and real-client shadowing through our partner networks.
Most Cert IV graduates either work for 2–3 years then upgrade to a Diploma (CHC52015), or move into adjacent qualifications (Diploma of Counselling, Diploma of Youth Work, Diploma of Mental Health). Each upgrade moves you up the pay band and unlocks senior roles.
WAYS RTO 90114 takes new Cert IV CS intakes throughout the year. Make an enquiry through the RTO enquiry form. We’ll check your Smart & Skilled eligibility (most students qualify for subsidised fees), run a 15-minute Language, Literacy and Numeracy check, and book you into the next start date.
Written by the WAYS Team · Updated 2026. WAYS Youth & Family is a registered charity, family-run since 1985, based at the Russell King Building, 63A Wairoa Avenue, North Bondi NSW 2026.
