HLT31220 Certificate III in Basic Health Care

What is this unit?

This unit describes the knowledge required to work with entry-level information about the human body and to endorse and promote ways to maintain the healthy functioning of body systems. It applies to any worker who needs to use and interpret information referencing anatomy and physiology.

Why it matters

Understanding how the body’s systems function is essential for safe and effective assistance in health, community and healthcare support roles. This unit helps build confidence in interpreting health information, recognising healthy body function, and supporting positive outcomes for clients.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to interpret health terminology and information about the structure, function and interrelationships of major anatomical systems, review factors that contribute to healthy body function, and use and share this knowledge to enhance work activities. 

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment requires you to demonstrate your competence by interpreting and following instructions with clinical terminology, producing documents using correct terminology, using terms accurately in oral communication, and identifying abbreviations in context. 

Practical benefit

Completing this unit equips you with the confidence to work effectively in healthcare administration, healthcare reception, allied health support or similar roles where accurate medical communication is essential.

What is this unit?

This unit covers the skills and competencies required to understand and respond to instructions, carry out routine tasks, and communicate effectively in the health care sector using appropriate clinical terminology. It applies to individuals working in health-related administration contexts.

Why it matters

Accurate use of medical terminology and the ability to follow instructions are essential for safe and efficient healthcare administration. This unit ensures you can communicate clearly with patients, colleagues, and health professionals, reducing errors and improving the quality of treatment.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to interpret and follow instructions using clinical terminology, carry out routine administrative tasks, and communicate accurately in both oral and written formats. You’ll also use checklists, abbreviations, and workplace procedures to support safe and effective operations.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment includes demonstrating your ability to interpret and follow instructions containing paramedical terminology, complete documentation accurately, and use healthcare terminology correctly in oral communication. Evidence is gathered in simulated real workplace scenarios.

[H5] Practical benefit

Completing this unit equips you to confidently manage administrative responsibilities in health settings, communicate professionally using clinical terminology, and support healthcare teams effectively. It provides a foundation for further upskilling in medical admin or health support roles.

What is this unit?

This unit covers the knowledge required to apply entry-level infection prevention and control principles in the workplace. It includes implementing standard and transmission-based precautions, responding to infection risks, and following national standards and workplace procedures.

Why it matters

Infection prevention and control is critical to keeping both workers and clients safe. By understanding how infections are transmitted and learning how to manage risks, you can reduce the spread of disease, protect yourself and others, and maintain a safe and healthy work environment.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to identify infection risks, apply standard and transmission-based precautions, respond to exposure to infectious materials, follow cleaning and waste procedures, and communicate and document disease control measures according to workplace policies and national guidelines.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment requires demonstrating your ability to apply infection prevention and control in real or simulated workplace scenarios. Show proficiency in handling at least three different infection risks, including hand hygiene, correct personal protective equipment (PPE) use, environmental cleaning, and managing exposure incidents.

Practical benefit

Completing this unit ensures you can maintain a safe and hygienic work environment, protect yourself and others from infection, and respond effectively to exposure risks. These skills are essential for health assistance, paramedical support, and other roles where infection prevention is critical.

What is this unit?

This unit covers the abilities needed to follow safe work practices, protecting your health and well-being and that of others in direct client wellbeing. It includes work health and safety (WHS), manual handling, infection control, hazard identification, risk management, and safe work behaviours.

Why it matters

Safe work practices are essential in health and support environments because they help protect workers, clients and others from injury, illness and workplace hazards. Understanding and applying WHS principles ensures compliance with legislation and reduces risk of harm.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to follow workplace policies and procedures for safe work practices, identify and report hazards, apply control measures for manual handling and infection control, and contribute to a safe work culture.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment includes demonstrating your ability to apply safe work practices in practical or simulated situations, complete hazard and risk assessments, use personal protective equipment correctly, follow procedures for infection control and manual handling, and participate in safety activities.

Practical benefit

Completing this unit gives you confidence to work safely in roles that involve direct client assistance — such as aged care, disability support, residential care or community services. It equips you with essential protection and risk management skills valued by employers and foundational knowledge for future study.

What is this unit?

This unit describes the skills required to work respectfully and effectively with people from diverse social and cultural groups and situations. It applies to workers across a range of industries where engaging with diverse individuals is part of the role.

Why it matters

Understanding diversity and cultural awareness is essential for building respectful, inclusive relationships with clients, colleagues and community members. It helps minimise misunderstandings, promotes equity and ensures services are delivered appropriately in multicultural workplaces

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to reflect on your own perspectives and biases, value and respect diversity, use effective verbal and non-verbal communication with people from various backgrounds, and promote understanding across diverse groups by resolving misunderstandings sensitively.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment includes demonstrating your ability to apply respectful, inclusive practices in real or simulated workplace scenarios. You’ll show competence in communicating with people from diverse backgrounds and in reflecting on and responding appropriately to diversity-related situations.

Practical benefit

Completing this unit builds cultural competence and interpersonal skills that are valuable in healthcare, community services, education, customer service and many other fields. It helps you interact confidently and respectfully with diverse individuals, enhancing work relationships and service quality.

What is this unit?

This unit equips workers with skills to maintain personal wellbeing by managing stress. It is particularly suited to those in health and community services who work in high-stress environments, focusing on finding stressors, developing effective strategies, and applying them in the workplace.

Why it matters

Managing stress is essential for maintaining wellbeing, job performance, and safe, professional interactions with clients and colleagues. High-stress roles can impact mental and physical health, so learning to prevent, reduce, and respond to stress supports long-term resilience and effectiveness.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to identify sources of stress in your role and acknowledging personal triggers, develop and implement a personal stress management plan with strategies to reduce stress, organise your workload and balance work/life priorities, and monitor and review the effectiveness of your strategies.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment requires demonstrating your ability to develop, implement, and review a personal stress management plan. You must apply strategies from your plan to manage at least two stressful workplace situations and show knowledge of sources of stress, coping techniques, and available support services.

Practical benefit

 Completing this unit helps you maintain your wellbeing while working in high-pressure health or community service roles. It equips you with practical stress management skills, improves resilience, supports effective work performance, and fosters a healthier work environment for you and your colleagues.

What is this unit?

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to identify and work within the legal and ethical frameworks that apply to an individual job role. It applies to community services and health workers who play a proactive role in understanding and meeting their legal and ethical responsibilities.

Why it matters

Knowing how to work legally and ethically is essential for protecting both clients and workers. It ensures that your actions comply with laws, workplace policies and ethical standards, helping prevent breaches, promote trust and support safe, respectful service delivery in health environments.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to identify and interpret the legal requirements and ethical responsibilities of your role, apply them in your day-to-day work, recognise and respond to potential issues or conflicts, and contribute to workplace improvements by offering feedback and supporting policy development.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment requires you to demonstrate competence in real or simulated workplace scenarios. This includes completing activities that meet legal and ethical requirements in multiple situations, developing appropriate responses to legal or ethical issues, and showing how you can improve work practices.

Practical benefit

Completing this unit gives you confidence to work in compliance with laws and ethical standards, which is highly valued in health and community services. It enhances your professionalism, supports better decision-making, and prepares you for roles where legal and ethical decision-making is important.

What is this unit?

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to provide initial treatment to a casualty in line with guidelines set by the Australian Resuscitation Council (ARC) and other national peak clinical bodies. It applies to anyone who may be required to give first aid in a range of situations.

Why it matters

Fundamental life support is often needed in unexpected situations — at work, at home or in public. Being trained to respond quickly and correctly until professional help arrives can save lives, reduce the severity of injuries, and support safer outcomes for casualties and bystanders.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn to recognise and assess critical situations, perform core life support including CPR, and manage conditions such as airway obstruction, bleeding and shock. The unit also covers responding to injuries like fractures, burns, choking and allergic reaction and communication.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment includes practical demonstrations and scenario-based tasks where you must show competence in providing immediate assistance. This includes performing CPR on manikins, applying first aid techniques in simulated emergencies, and answering theory questions or activities that reflect real-life situations.

Practical benefit

Completing this unit gives you a first aid attendant qualification valid for approximately three years. It equips you with essential skills to confidently manage critical situations, support injured or ill people until medical help arrives, and meet workplace medical assistance requirements.

*Prerequisite Requirement

Participants must hold a current HLTAID011 – Provide First Aid certificate prior to accessing the PUAEME008 – Provide Pain Management course content. 

Access will only be granted once valid evidence of the prerequisite certification has been provided and verified.

What is this unit?

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to administer restricted analgesics. It covers identifying the need, accessing and preparing analgesic drugs, administering them according to medically endorsed protocols, performing casualty handovers and completing required documentation.

Why it matters

Pain management is a critical component of emergency support and first response. Being able to safely assess pain and provide appropriate analgesia improves patient comfort, stabilises individuals before advanced medical help arrives, and supports overall outcomes in emergency patient situations.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn how to: identify when pain relief is needed, access and prepare restricted analgesics such as aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol, methoxyflurane or Entonox, administer pain relief according to protocols, perform effective casualty handovers, and complete drug administration logs.

How you’ll be assessed

Students must complete both practical and written tasks, where you must demonstrate the safe preparation and administration of analgesics, communicate with and monitor patients, conduct casualty handovers, and complete accurate documentation such as drug registers and incident reports.

Practical benefit

Completing this unit gives you confidence and competence to manage pain in emergency settings as part of a first responder team. It enhances your first aid and emergency assistance capabilities, making you better prepared to support injured persons until they reach professional medical treatment.

What is this unit?

This unit describes the skills and knowledge required to identify Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultural safety issues in the workplace, model cultural safeguarding in your own work practice, and develop strategies to enhance cultural safety in service delivery. 

Why it matters

Promoting cultural safety is essential for respectful, effective service delivery with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and communities. This unit helps you recognise cultural factors that influence interactions and outcomes, reduce misunderstandings, and ensure respect for everybody.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn how to identify cultural safety issues and understand how cultural factors impact service delivery, while modelling culturally safe practices grounded in awareness of your own and others’ cultural backgrounds. 

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment typically requires you to demonstrate competence in identifying cultural safety issues, applying culturally safe practices in workplace or simulated contexts, and developing and evaluating strategies to enhance cultural safety. 

Practical benefit

Completing this unit equips you with culturally informed skills that are highly valuable in health, community services, education or any client-facing role. It supports respectful communication and improves service outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

What is this unit?

This unit describes the capabilities and understanding required to effectively communicate with patients, colleagues, health providers and ambulance service callers in complex health situations. It focuses on using both verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support all treatment delivery.

Why it matters

Communication in healthcare often occurs in high-pressure, sensitive or complex situations, such as with distressed patients, family members or individuals with different communication needs. This unit helps you build the skills to respond appropriately and ensure information is understood.

What you’ll learn

You’ll learn how to adapt your communication style to suit different individuals and situations, use verbal and non-verbal techniques effectively, ask questions, listen actively, clarify information and prepare handover reports.

How you’ll be assessed

Assessment involves demonstrating your ability to communicate in simulated or real health scenarios that reflect workplace conditions, which is crucial for the Certificate III in Health Services. You will complete practical tasks such as responding to complex interactions, providing written reports and apply it in scenarios.

[H5] Practical benefit

Completing this unit equips you with advanced communication skills that are essential in healthcare, critical response and passenger support roles. It enhances your ability to manage difficult conversations, improve recipient outcomes, support team collaboration and build confidence when communicating.