Aged Care FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Find the answer to commonly asked aged care questions below

General Aged Care Enquiries

Sanctuary Recruitment is an expert aged care recruitment consultancy, and we partner with private and not-for-profit residential aged care homes all across Australia. We provide experienced and compliant aged care professionals to clients on assignments of a permanent, temporary, and contract nature.

The role of an aged care worker is to care for the elderly population and to provide physical, personal and emotional support. Day-to-day duties depend on your role. On the floor clinical roles include: 

Assistant in nursing/personal care worker 

  • This an entry level clinical position that undertakes the following duties: 
  • Carrying out Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). This includes personal hygiene, feeding, showering, grooming and toileting 
  • Providing support to resident families, offering companionship and liaising with external healthcare professionals 
  • Administering medications (if you are a medication competent AIN) 

Enrolled Nurse 

They are registered healthcare practitioners and provide a higher level of patient care. They are responsible for: 

  • Administering medications 
  • Monitoring residents physical and emotional well-being 
  • Wound care 
  • Creation of care planning and ongoing documentation 

Registered Nurse 

They hold a higher level of training than Enrolled Nurses and can work in an in-charge role, leading the other staff that are on the floor. Alongside the duties of an enrolled nurse, they will: 

  • Make decisions on the next steps in a resident's medication and care plan 
  • Administer palliative treatments and complex pain management 
  • Training staff 

Clinical Care Coordinator 

A registered nurse may advance into a clinical care coordinator position once more experienced. They work closely with other registered nurses and leadership team to: 

  • Support to the care team 
  • Liaise with other staff to develop residents care plans 
  • Advocate for residents and aid with mental and physical wellbeing 
  • Provide clinical leadership

This can be the stepping stone for a registered nurse to go into management. 

Managers in aged care play a pivotal role in ensuring the safety of the residents and the delivery of high quality services. They can be from a clinical and non-clinical background. 

Care and facility manager usually work in conjunction with each other. Care managers will be of a clinical background, whereas a facility manager may not be. Both are responsible for the upkeep of the home, the well-being of their residents and staff, and running the business. The care manager will be allocated duties such as: 

  • Monitor care staff to ensure Aged Care Quality Standards are met and delivered 
  • Oversee resident care and staff management of patients 
  • Manage family consultations and any grievances 
  • Ensure appropriate documentation is completed 
  • Advocate for resident wellbeing 
  • Support with accreditation and participate in ongoing reviews 

Often, they need to demonstrate experience working as a registered nurse in aged care, usually within a senior RN role. 

A facility manager can be of a clinical and non-clinical background (depending on individual home requirements) and would take the responsibility of: 

  • The accreditation process 
  • Financial reviews and budgeting in accordance with AN-ACC 
  • Home auditing 
  • Administration and documentation, with extensive reporting 
  • Performance reviews 
  • Full operational management of the home 

Education and quality manager 

Duties for an education and quality manager role usually encompasses: 

  • Monitoring of the accreditation standards and Aged Care Act to ensure policies are fully implemented 
  • Risk assessments 
  • Education for all staff to ensure standards are upheld 
  • Review of policies and procedures and implementation of new ones 
  • Ensuring all homes under their management meet the benchmark of excellence 

We have longstanding relationships with over 400 aged care homes across Australia. Our aged care role locations are based in metro, regional, rural, and remote areas of the country.

We are recruiting for aged care jobs on a clinical and non-clinical basis, for temporary/casual, contract, and permanent assignments. Casual work, or shift filling, is done on an ad-hoc or block booking basis. Contract roles range from four weeks - three months in rural, regional, and remote areas of the country and permanent positions are salary based, with you being employed directly by the home. 

Yes, we are now able to offer a sponsorship for eligible registered nurses residing in the country or from overseas. You need a minimum of two years’ experience, and to hold/be eligible for an AHPRA registration. Find out more on our sponsorship page.

We are expert within the aged care recruitment industry, and we pride ourselves on being Australia's leading aged care recruitment consultancy.

We have a compliance process which you will need to undertake before being offered work. To be eligible for roles, you will need an aged care qualification relevant to the position you are applying for, and for the majority of roles, a minimum of 6 months Australian experience. For management positions, the requirements vary, so please get in touch with our perm team to discuss your next opportunity.

Casual and Contract Aged Care Work Enquiries

Once you are fully compliant and we have your availability, we will be able to place you in a role the same day!

You can claim a shift through our online rostering app, which is user-friendly and accessible to you 24/7, 365.

Our travel and accommodation team will arrange everything for you, so there's no need for you to do anything on your end. We will take your requirements into consideration when booking. Travel and accommodation are at no cost to you for the majority of work-away contracts.

You can work as much or as little as you would like. We offer shift flexibility and variety so you can choose what works for your lifestyle and schedule.

Through working in aged care on a short term or ad-hoc basis, you can:

  • Structure your work day/week to your schedule
  • Through our contract roles, you can explore areas of the country whilst getting paid for it, with free travel and accommodation included.
  • Set your own work/life balance
  • Receive a higher hourly rate

Our after-hours team is available 4:30am - 11:30pm, 7 days a week on 02 8459 8101, so you can always contact someone if you need to.

We provide a set of Sanctuary-branded scrubs for you prior to commencing work. We will post these out to you along with your own ID badge.

Aged Care Candidate Questions

Our temporary and contract teams will be paid on a weekly pay cycle.

Yes, we offer continuous online training via our Learning Management System (LMS) at no cost to you. This is regularly updated to reflect new legislation and practices.

The short answer is yes. While we require six months of experience in aged care to consider you for any of our advertised aged care jobs, we offer nurses who have less than six months experience a trial period within a residential aged care home.  

If you have less than six months' experience and are interested in applying for an aged care job with Sanctuary Recruitment, please get in contact to see what options are available to you. 

To be placed in an aged care job with Sanctuary Recruitment, you will need the following qualifications: 

  • Assistant in nursing or personal care worker: Cert III or IV in Ageing Support, Individual Support or Health Services Assistance 
  • Enrolled nurse: Diploma of Nursing and an AHPRA registration 
  • Registered nurse: Bachelor of Nursing degree and an AHPRA registration 

Aged Care Client Questions

We offer free online education and continuous training to ensure our nurses are compliant at all times and up to date with relevant legislation. We have an in-house HR team and a clinical governance lead that ensures all of our aged care professionals meet your needs and values.

We conduct a thorough experience, education, and skills assessment before guiding each candidate through the compliance process to ensure each box is ticked. Only once this is completed are they then ready to work. This is regularly reviewed and any communication regarding changes to the process is efficiently communicated. We are also able to fulfill any individual home requirements.

Let Us Help You Find Your Next Aged Care Role

Please call 02 8459 8101 to speak to one of our consultants

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