Big Brother's Tim Dormer reveals surprising career out of the spotlight

It’s been almost 10 years since Tim Dormer won the tenth season of Big Brother Australia, received $250,000 and became a household name.

The reality star, who went on to compete on The Celebrity Apprentice, Big Brother Canada and last year’s season of the Australian version, has since embarked on a surprising career path away from the spotlight.

In 2019 Tim decided he had had enough of living life as a self-proclaimed “D-grade celebrity” and instead became a disability support worker.

“The 15 minutes of fame train was pulling into the station, I'd had my fun, but it was time to get off,” he tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

“I think I squeezed a lot more than 15 minutes out of it over the years, but I really wasn't finding much reward in that lifestyle anymore. I found myself selling stuff on Instagram and living in the past a little bit and I kind of wanted it to start a new path.”

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Having volunteered with Down Syndrome NSW in the past, Tim made the decision to start working as a support carer at a group home for people with high disability needs.

“It was a real dive into the deep-end crash course and I loved it,” he shares. “It wasn't about me. It was really hard work but I felt like I was being challenged, which I hadn't felt in a little while.”

'Really rewarding'

Since then, Tim has been working as an independent support care worker through Mable, which gives him the flexibility to choose what location and hours he wants to work.

“Support care work is such a diverse spectrum of care because all the clients have different care needs,” he says. “But you'd be surprised how much of a difference you can make in someone's life just by showing up.

“A lot of what I do is just being a friend and being a cheerleader beside all my clients. It's an amazing relationship I've formed with my clients over the years, some of them I've worked with for two to three years now and I've seen find work and find independent living and it's really rewarding. As hard as some days are, I pinch myself that I get paid to do this some days.”

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Tim also encourages anyone else who might be feeling dissatisfied in their career to become a support care worker through Mable.

“Mable’s Care Factor Report uncovered that 44 per cent of Australians want more out of their job, either more pay, more flexibility, or more connectedness and more passion,” he details.

“For me, that's what support care work has afforded me and I find it so rewarding. And Mable’s platform makes it really easy to do in your spare time. If you care, you're halfway there, that’s all you need to get started to just do domestic and social support.

“You don't need any training, Mable takes care of it all, and you can really make a difference in people's lives. And it seems selfish to say, but it makes such a difference in your own life as well.”

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