Aged Care Jobs in Cairns

Sanctuary Recruitment is currently seeking candidates for aged care jobs in Cairns CBD/metro area
and various locations throughout regional and rural Queensland. We are a specialist aged care recruitment
consultancy with years of industry expertise. We pride ourselves on our long-lasting relationships with
aged care homes and nurses and are committed to strengthening and
maintaining relationships within the aged care sector.

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Express your interest

Send in your resume or register your interest and our industry expert consultants will be in contact.

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Prepare for work

Complete the onboarding process and become fully compliant. Our compliance team can help you through this step by step.

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Being working with Sanctuary

Choose from 100's of roles that suit your needs, values and requirements.

Rewards and Benefits

market leading pay rates

Market leading pay rates

bonuses and incentives

Bonuses and incentives

industry expert consultants

Industry expert consultants

discount programs

Discount programs

Free online education modules

Free online education modules

Referral scheme

Referral scheme

Aged Care Jobs in Cairns FAQs

Aged care workers provide the direct care of residents on a physical, personal and emotional level. An entry level role in this industry would be an Assistant in nursing/Personal care worker, and you can develop your clinical skills to become a registered nurse and beyond.

Our longstanding relationships with over 400 aged care providers across the country, in metro, regional, rural and remote areas of the country.

Alongside Cairns, in Queensland we have roles in:

  • Bribie Island
  • Brisbane
  • Darling Downs
  • Far North Queensland
  • Gold Coast
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Toowoomba
  • Whitsundays
  • Wide Bay

There are a lot of variances when it comes to pay rates, as aged care casual rates depend on your position, experience level and shift times that you work. Our casual pay rates range from:

  • AIN: $38 - $75 per hour
  • EN: $40 - $81 per hour
  • RN: $50 -  $120 per hour

Incentives, allowances and bonuses are applicable for certain areas and contract placements. Reforms in aged care have led to pay rises for aged care workers in recent years, with more developments to come.

We have a scheme where we offer nurses who have less than 6 months experience a trial period within a residential aged care home. If you have less than 6 months experience or have an aged care certificate, please get in contact to see what your options are.

To work as an AIN/PCA you need to hold a Cert III/IV in Ageing Support/Individual Support/Health Services Assistance. To work as an EN you will need a Diploma of Nursing and an AHPRA number, and for RN's you need a Bachelor of Nursing degree and an AHPRA number. 

We are recruiting aged care positions on a clinical and non clinical basis (direct and non direct care), for temporary/casual, contract and permanent assignments. Temporary work, or casual work, is done on an ad-hoc or block booking basis. Contract roles are usually up to 12 weeks long in rural, regional and remote areas of the country and permanent positions are salary based, with you being employed directly by the home.

Absolutely. 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 regulations.

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

  • Structure your work day/week to your lifestyle
  • Through our contract roles, you can explore areas of Australia whilst getting paid for it, with free travel and accommodation included.
  • Set your own work/life balance
  • Receive a higher hourly rate than if you were a permanent employee
Aged Care Blog
A guide to the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) and AN-ACC

For those receiving aged care services in residential aged care homes, the Aged Care Funding Instrument (ACFI) was used by the Australian Government to allocate subsidy amounts of residential aged care providers. Payments were based on the ongoing needs of residents and included a variety of factors such as activities of daily living, behaviour and…

Meet our Sanctuary Nursing Team

First published: September 2024 Getting to know our nurses on a personal as well as clinical background is important to us. When you join the Sanctuary team, the sense of community that you get through building relationships with other nurses and your consultant provides a foundation of support and opportunity. Kingsley, a AIN based in…

An Interview with our Nursing Team

First written: August 2024 The second in our ‘Meet the team’ series, we spoke to Rhys, one of our wonderful Sydney based AINs. He has been part of the Sanctuary team for the past three years, working on a casual basis in homes across Western and Northern Sydney, NSW. He has worked in a variety…

What is Duty of Care in Aged Care?

First published: November 2024 Duty of care in aged care is the legal and moral obligation and responsibility an aged care worker has, to ensure the physical and emotional safety of residents in their care. Alongside being legally and ethically sound, this encompasses providing a high-quality level of care that meets the clients needs, keeping…

Delivering Impact: How our Partnership with Alphacrucis University College is Changing the Lives of Pacific Islander Aged Care Workers

First published: October 2024 Sanctuary Recruitment and Pulse Staffing Australia, under the global healthcare partner Acacium Group, have secured a bid for this year’s Pacific Australian Labour Mobility (PALM) Scheme. Aiming to fill labour gaps and alleviate work shortages across the country in a multitude of sectors, the PALM scheme allows for workers from the…

Celebrating International Nurses Day

First published: May 2024 International Nurses Day, celebrated around the world on the 12th May each year, recognises the importance of healthcare professionals, in particular recognising the role that nurses play in our society. This day, the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth, calls to our attention the unwavering commitment that nurses show everyday across every…

2024 Flu Vaccination Requirements in Aged Care in Australia

First published: July 2024 The Aged Care Quality Standards states that for the purpose of infection control, aged care providers and relevant organisations should promote the benefits of the influenza and coronavirus vaccinations for both their residents and staff. These vaccinations are to be renewed annually, adapting to each new strain of influenza. Key aims…

The Australia Federal Budget 2024 – 25: What it Means for Aged Care

First published: July 2024 Last month, the Federal Budget for 2024 – 25 was released. It is broken down into five main initiatives: Easing cost-of-living pressures Building more homes for Australians Investing in a Future Made in Australia Strengthening Medicare and the care economy Broadening opportunity and advancing equality All of these initiatives are underpinned…

An Interview with an Aged Care AIN

First written: June 2024 We are proud of our incredible nursing team, showing dedication day in and day out to the residents that they care for. Our aged care recruitment services are spread across Australia, providing staffing solutions on an ad-hoc, short term contract/block booking and permanent basis in metro, regional, rural and remote areas…

The Resilience of the Aged Care Industry

First published: October 2023 How to overcome aged care hidden hurdles “The staff were the most vital asset in this situation, the power of the team really shone through during this time” Being part of the world of aged care usually means your general workday is fast-paced and constantly changing, but we often know what…