The ATO covers aged care and disability support workers under its "Community support workers and direct carers" guide. Like everyone, you can only claim a work expense if you paid for it yourself and weren't reimbursed, it directly relates to earning your income, and you have a record to prove it. Because so much of a carer's day is hands-on and out in the community, the deductions that matter most are protective items, work-related car travel between clients, and training that improves your current skills, while everyday clothing and your normal commute are not claimable.
Before you claim: this is general information based on the ATO’s occupation guidance for 2025–26 returns — not tax advice. A deduction stands or falls on your circumstances and your records. A registered tax agent can advise on your situation.
Work through the list and tick what you actually paid for this year. It stays on your device — print it for your agent.
For 2025-26 you can use the fixed rate method of 70 cents per hour worked from home, which covers electricity and gas, home and mobile phone, home and mobile internet/data, and stationery and computer consumables - you can't claim those items separately on top. You must keep a record of the actual hours you worked from home for the whole year (timesheet, roster or diary - an estimate isn't accepted) plus at least one bill or receipt for each running expense the rate covers. The decline in value of equipment and furniture (desks, chairs, computers) can be claimed separately. Alternatively, the actual cost method lets you claim the real work-related portion of each running expense with detailed records. As an employee you generally can't claim occupancy costs (rent, mortgage interest, rates, house insurance).
Keep written evidence (a receipt or similar showing the supplier, amount, what you bought, and the purchase and document dates) for your expenses. If your total work-related claim is more than $300, you must have written evidence for all of it. For car travel, keep a logbook or a record of your work kilometres; for phone/internet above $50, keep your bills and a record showing work use; for overnight travel and overtime meals, keep receipts unless your claim is within the ATO's reasonable amount. Laundry of $150 or less needs no receipts but you must show how you worked it out. The ATO's myDeductions tool in the ATO app can track expenses and trips. Keep records for 5 years (in most cases) from the date you lodge.
Three rules, no exceptions: you paid for it yourself and nobody paid you back; it's directly tied to earning your wage; and you can prove it with a record. If something's part work and part private, you claim the work slice only.
No. Even though your employer requires a specific colour, plain black pants and closed-in shoes are conventional clothing that can be worn outside work, so they aren't deductible. You can claim a branded top your employer compulsorily requires (for example, a polo with the company logo), and the cost of laundering that branded item.
Yes. If you have no fixed workplace and continually travel from one client to another during the day, you can claim travel between home and clients, between clients, and between a client's home and the office. Keep records and use the cents per kilometre method (up to 5,000 work km) or a logbook. Your normal trip between home and a single regular workplace is not claimable.
Yes, if you buy them yourself to protect against a real and likely risk of injury or illness in your work and aren't reimbursed. You can also claim the cost to clean or replace protective items. You can't claim any items your employer supplies, pays for or reimburses.
No. The ATO treats vaccinations, including the flu shot, as a private expense even when your employer requires them, so they can't be claimed.
No. You can't claim expenses incurred during a sleepover shift even when a sleepover allowance is paid. The allowance compensates for the inconvenience of staying overnight, not for additional expenses. (You must still include the allowance as income if it's shown on your income statement.)
You can claim study that directly relates to your current role and maintains or improves the skills you need - for example, a Certificate IV in Individual Support while working as a support worker. You can't claim study that just gets you into a new job (such as a Bachelor of Nursing to become a registered nurse), and HECS-HELP fees and loan repayments are never deductible.
General information only — not financial or tax advice. Based on ATO guidance for the 2025-26 income year, reviewed June 2026. Your circumstances differ — check the ATO or a registered tax agent before lodging.
Sources (ATO):
- ATO - Community support workers and direct carers: income and work-related deductions
- ATO - Direct carer expenses A–F (board and lodging, car, clothing, first aid)
- ATO - Direct carer expenses G–O (grooming, laundry, meals, overtime meals)
- ATO - Direct carer expenses P–S (protective items, phone, self-education, seminars, sleepover, sun protection)
- ATO - Direct carer expenses T–W (tools, travel, union fees, vaccinations, working from home)
- ATO - Record keeping for work expenses (community support workers and direct carers)
- ATO - Working from home expenses: Fixed rate method (70c per hour for 2025-26)
Your call
Log your kilometres between clients as you go — that’s the biggest claim support workers leave on the table. A logbook or the myDeductions app beats trying to reconstruct a year of driving in July. Home to your first client doesn’t count; client to client does.