Aged Care FAQs

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 are actively hiring for the following aged care roles: 

• Assistant in nursing or personal care workers 
• Enrolled nurses 
• Registered nurses 
• Clinical care coordinators
• Care managers 
• Facility managers 
• Quality and education managers 
• Director of nursing 

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.