A worker decides, without much thought, which errands get run first, whether there's time for a longer coffee stop, which of two outfits "looks better for today." Small decisions, made kindly, several times a shift. None of them look like power on the surface. Stacked up over a week, a month, a year of shifts, they add up to genuine influence over the shape of someone's daily life, an influence the person didn't necessarily choose and can't always push back against as easily as the worker assumes.
Most workers come into this job to help, not to control, and that good intention can make the power imbalance harder to see rather than easier. Naming it honestly is the starting point for managing it well.
Where does this power actually come from?
Access, mostly. A worker often controls or influences access to money, transport, activities, appointments, and time itself, how long something takes, when it happens. For someone with fewer people in their life, a support worker can also be one of very few regular relationships, which adds emotional weight to decisions that would otherwise be minor. None of that requires bad intent to become a real imbalance.
Does being a good, caring worker cancel this out?
No, and this is the part that trips people up. Warmth and good intentions don't remove influence, they just make it less visible, both to the worker and sometimes to the person themselves. A kind worker who consistently decides things "for the person's own good" without checking in is still exercising power, even while genuinely trying to help.
What does it look like to notice power in the moment?
Catching the small decisions before they become automatic. Whether a choice was actually offered, or just assumed. Whether an explanation was given, or an instruction. Whether the person had a real say in the pace and shape of the shift, or whether the worker's convenience quietly set the agenda. These moments happen dozens of times a shift and mostly go unexamined unless a worker has built the habit of noticing them.
How does a worker actually share power back?
Offering genuine alternatives instead of a single default option. Explaining the reasoning behind a suggestion rather than simply directing. Checking in on decisions that affect the person, especially ones the worker might otherwise make alone because it's quicker. None of this means abandoning judgement or refusing to ever guide a decision. It means making sure the person's own voice carries real weight in it.
How does this connect to boundaries and consent?
Directly. A person with less power in a relationship has less room to say no, push back, or raise a concern if something feels wrong, which is exactly why the worker carries more responsibility for keeping the lines clear. CORA's courses on professional boundaries and on consent and choice sit close to this territory and are worth reading alongside it.
A question worth asking regularly
Whose preference actually shaped that decision, just now, the person's or the worker's convenience? If it's honestly the second one more often than not, that's the imbalance showing up in real time.
How CORA's course fits into this
CORA's course Navigating Power Dynamics in Support Relationships, part of the Soft Skills stream in the course library, works through the honest reality of power in support work, how to notice it, hold it carefully, and consistently work to share it back. It builds understanding and judgement. It doesn't replace supervision, and CORA doesn't certify a worker's competence, that assessment sits with the provider.
If you're mapping this alongside the rest of the Soft Skills stream for your team, the Pathway Builder is a free tool that maps it out, no sign-up required. Or request a demo if you'd rather talk it through.
Individual membership
One seat, for one support worker. Full access to the CORA course library, plus your own credential register to upload and track your certificates, and settings you manage yourself. The Workforce Capability Report is part of the organisation plans, not the individual membership. Standalone, and not combinable with organisation tiers.
- Best value 1 year $175 $175 a year Get 1 year
- 2 years $315 $157.50 a year Get 2 years
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See how CORA covers power dynamics and the rest of Soft Skills
Browse the full course library, or get in touch if you want to talk through what your team's coverage looks like right now.
Try the Pathway Builder Browse the course libraryCommon questions
Why is there a power imbalance between a support worker and the person they support?
The worker often controls access to money, transport, activities, and time, and may be one of few people the person sees regularly. That combination gives the worker real influence over daily life, whether or not either person names it that way.
Does having good intentions remove the power imbalance?
No. A warm, well-meaning worker still holds more influence in the relationship than the person they support, and pretending otherwise makes the imbalance harder to see and manage, not easier.
What does sharing power back to the person actually look like?
Offering real choices rather than a single default, explaining reasoning instead of just instructing, and checking in on decisions that affect the person rather than making them unilaterally because it's faster.
How does this connect to professional boundaries?
Power dynamics are part of why boundaries matter so much in this work. A worker with more influence in the relationship has more responsibility to keep the lines clear, precisely because the person has less power to push back if a boundary is crossed.
Sources and further reading
- NDIS Code of Conduct, NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission
- Professional boundaries in disability support, CORA Workforce
- Participant rights, consent and choice, CORA Workforce
This page is general information for support workers and providers, not legal advice. Always follow the person's individual support plan and your organisation's policies.
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