Starting a Healthcare Career in the US or Australia: 2026 Guide

Entry-level healthcare work is physical, scheduled and supervised. Nursing assistants and orderlies work as part of a healthcare team under the supervision of licensed practical or vocational nurses and registered nurses, and the duties listed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025) include cleaning and bathing patients, helping them use the toilet and dress, repositioning and transferring them, measuring vital signs and serving meals. O*NET OnLine also lists transporting patients to treatment units, testing units or operating rooms using wheelchairs, stretchers or movable beds, and collecting specimens such as urine, feces or sputum.

The tools are simple and constant: hoists and slide sheets, blood pressure cuffs and thermometers, call bells, charting software or paper flow sheets, and protective equipment. In Australia the job titles differ — assistant in nursing, personal care worker, patient services assistant — but the hands-on content is close.

Shifts define the work. Hospitals and residential aged care run around the clock, so expect rotating mornings, afternoons and nights, weekends and public holidays. Home and community care is more often daytime with travel between clients. This is on-site work; remote healthcare roles sit in administration, coding and telehealth, not direct care. Registered nursing adds assessment, medication administration, care planning and documentation on top.

How that work is paid, and which employers advertise it, comes next — live openings are listed further down this page.

These employer categories carry ongoing volume in both countries:

• Hospitals — public and private, acute and specialist; the largest single source of shift-based roles.
• Nursing homes and residential aged care providers — steady demand for assistants and personal care workers on rotating rosters.
• Home health and in-home care agencies — one-to-one work, often part-time or casual, with travel between clients.
• Health staffing and agency nursing firms — they place you into hospital or aged care shifts, which is a fast way to see different settings.
• Government and public health services — state and territory health services in Australia; state, county and veterans' systems in the US.
• Community clinics and GP or specialist practices — smaller teams, mostly weekday hours.
• Disability and mental health support providers — adjacent to healthcare and often open to entry-level applicants with a care qualification.

Demand is documented: the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025) projects about 203,300 openings a year on average for nursing assistants and orderlies from 2025 to 2035, and about 180,800 a year for registered nurses over the same period. That includes turnover, which is why the same employers advertise repeatedly.

Use those categories as your search terms, then check the live openings further down this page.

Treat any figure in a job ad as a claim until you match it against the official source and its date. The openings further down the page link to employers who state their own terms.

1. Pick the role and the country first. A US nursing assistant credential and an Australian care qualification are not interchangeable, and neither are nursing licences. Decide where you intend to work before paying for training.
2. Confirm the entry requirement. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2025) notes nursing assistants often need a state-approved education program and a state competency exam to be licensed or certified, while orderlies typically need at least a high school diploma and no licence. O*NET OnLine places nursing assistants in Job Zone Three, where most occupations need vocational training, related on-the-job experience or an associate's degree.
3. Add the short certifications employers screen for. Orderly jobs might require CPR or basic life support certification, and registered nursing positions may require CPR, BLS or advanced cardiac life support certification (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2025).
4. Start licensing or registration early. US registered nurses must graduate from an approved program and pass a qualifying exam, with requirements such as criminal background checks varying by state — check your state's board of nursing and CareerOneStop. In Australia, Ahpra recommends applying up to 90 days before you expect to complete all course requirements, including placements, and you do not need to have graduated: https://www.ahpra.gov.au/Registration/Graduate-registration.aspx
5. Assemble the documents. For Ahpra that means the application form, the relevant fee, evidence for the English language declaration, any criminal history or health impairment information, and an identity check with InstaID+. Every applicant must meet the English language skills standard, whether Australian-trained or qualified overseas.
6. Set up a compliant way to be paid. A local bank account, tax registration for that country and correct employment paperwork before day one; check the official revenue agency rather than an employer's summary.
7. Apply with a one-page resume built around shifts and evidence. Include your certification or registration status, availability by shift type, placement hours, manual handling and infection control training, and two contactable referees.

With those in place, the openings listed further down this page are your next step.

• The employer is real. Look the business up in the official company or business register for that country and confirm the facility's licensing or accreditation.
• Your credential covers the role. Confirm with the state board of nursing, CareerOneStop or Ahpra that what you hold permits the duties described — not what a recruiter says it permits.
• Pay terms are in writing. Base rate, pay frequency, overtime, shift loadings, whether you are permanent, part-time or casual, and the award or agreement behind it.
• No fees flow from you to them. Legitimate employers and agencies do not charge candidates for a job, a shift or a placement.
• Roster and time zone expectations. How far ahead rosters publish, minimum and maximum hours, on-call rules, and for any remote administrative role, the hours you must cover.
• Unpaid extras. Travel between clients, handover time, mandatory training, uniforms and background check costs — ask who pays.
• Independent reviews. Search the employer on a well-known employer review site and local care worker forums, and weigh patterns rather than single posts.
• Visa and tax questions go to official sources, not to a recruiter.

Run this list against the openings further down the page before you reply to anyone.

The listings below gather current healthcare openings across hospitals, aged care, home care and agency work in both countries, so you can see which settings are advertising near you. Use the guides beside them to confirm the credential, registration step or document you still need before sending a first application.