Care Finder Practitioner – Perm and Fixed Term

Better Place Australia has a vision of “An Australia where all people experience positive relationships, truly value each other and live safer, more confident lives”. As a community-focused not-for-profit organisation with an ever-growing range of psychological and community support services, Better Place Australia is taking a leadership role in the provision of high-quality, effective services for a wide range of community groups across 14 locations in Victoria. This is an opportunity to join our expanding team of highly experienced and passionate people who want to make Australia a better place.

The Role

Please note – we have a full-time permanent role and a Fixed Term 0.8 FTE role available for a 14-week period commencing March 2024.

Access to appropriate aged care supports is imperative in enhancing the well-being and health of older Australians. The Aged Care System is complex, and whilst the implementation of My Aged Care was established to provide a single and centralised gateway for older Australians to access aged care, either in their own homes or in a residential environment, for some people this can be a confusing and complex system to navigate.

To address these impacts the Commonwealth Government has provided funding for the Care Finder Program throughout the South Eastern Primary Health Network (SEMPHN) region to provide additional support for older Australians residing in the community to access the Aged Care system who have significant difficulty accessing services and are at risk of “falling between the cracks”. Better Place Australia have been funded to provide the Care Finder Program in the Greater Dandenong LGA of Melbourne.

The objectives of the role include:

• Provide assertive outreach to older people who are disconnected from the aged care and/or health systems
• Support older people to navigate the system and interact with My Aged Care
• Provide guidance and explain the care assessment process
• Connect older people with the aged care services or other relevant community supports they need
• Provide high-level check-in with clients to ensure they continue to have their needs met.

The successful candidate will possess the following:

• Tertiary Qualifications in Social Work, or related discipline
•  Experience in community settings and/or hospital settings undertaking high-level client assessment, care planning and coordination, and;
• Experience working in Aged Care and a sound understanding of the Aged Care Sector, and;
• High-level knowledge of complex care options and services available to the aged and ability to refer to appropriate services and agencies including community and health services.
• Must be a permanent resident and have full working rights in Australia
• Must have own car and driver’s licence
• COVID-19 Vaccination requirement
• Influenza Vaccination requirement

Employee Benefits

Better Place Australia is serious about being an employer of choice and to back that claim we offer:

• Generous above award salary rates
• Salary packaging (which increases your take home pay)
• Additional annual leave (between Christmas and New Year)
• 12 weeks paid parental leave
• Up to 20 days family violence leave
• Paid study leave and extensive professional development opportunities

Better Place Australia offers a workplace culture reflective of a vibrant, learning organisation where our people are highly engaged in their work and committed to making a difference.  As an equal opportunity employer, we aim to create an inclusive environment where differences including gender, age, culture, disability, sexuality and family and caring responsibilities are valued. We invite you to be part of a not-for-profit organisation that fosters a diverse workplace.

Like to know more?

For further information, please download a copy of the position description. Enquiries from prospective candidates may be directed to Ms Mandy Strange – Clinical and Program Lead Elder Services via email:  *************@betterplace.com.au

Whilst we appreciate the interest of all prospective candidates, please note that only short-listed applicants will be contacted.Our organisation is committed to child safety and satisfactory completion of a Working with Children Check and National Police Check are mandatory for the preferred candidate.