Assistant in nursing jobs in Melbourne

Sanctuary Recruitment is actively hiring assistant in nursing/personal care worker positions in aged care across Melbourne and further into regional Victoria. We are Australia's leading aged care recruitment consultancy, and due to our close relationships with aged care providers across the country we can provide placements for workers looking on a temporary, contract and permanent basis.

We are currently recruiting in Melbourne, into Victoria and interstate for assistant in nursing/personal care worker roles. If you are looking for a new opportunity or would like a chat around the aged care industry, please get in contact with us, or view our jobs board.

Register with Sanctuary

register with sanctuary

Express your interest

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

register with sanctuary

Prepare for work

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

register with sanctuary

Being working with Sanctuary

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

Assistant in nursing jobs in Melbourne FAQs

Assistant in nursing, otherwise known as personal care workers or simply care workers, are healthcare assistants that work across a variety of medical sectors. They help patients and residents with their daily care. Examples could be during meal rounds, showering and hygiene, toileting and grooming.

This is an entry level role in the aged care industry, which can open the door to many other positions such as an enrolled nurse, registered nurse, aged care management and beyond.

Since inception, we have nurtured strong relationships with aged care homes across the country. Through Sanctuary, there is the option to work in areas that are metro, regional, rural and remote.

In Melbourne, we cover each area as well as regional Victoria:

  • Ballarat
  • Bendigo
  • Geelong
  • Mildura
  • Ringwood
  • Wodonga

to name a few!

The Aged Care Award will stipulate the pay brackets. This will vary depending on your experience, job title and location of work. The average personal care worker casual pay rates are in-between $29 - $71 per hour.

You can earn bonuses, as well as receive incentives and allowances for eligible certain contract placements. Aged care reforms have led to pay rises for aged care workers in recent years, with more developments to come.

As a rule of thumb, you need a minimum of six months Australian aged care experience to work through our agency. Once you have this experience, which equates to 910 hours, get in contact with our team who can go through the onboarding process.

To be an assistant in nursing, you would need a relevant qualification. In Australia, this is a Certificate III/IV in Ageing Support/Individual Support/Health Services Assistance. This course is around 5 months long (full time) and can be studied through various educational institutions.

Once qualified as an assistant in nursing, you can choose to work on a temporary/casual and/or contract basis. Casual work, or shift filling, is usually done ad-hoc or last minute. Contract roles range in length and last 4 weeks - 3 months in rural, regional and remote areas of the country.

We ensure all of our nurses are up to date with their knowledge and skills so they can provide high quality care to residents. 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.

A casual employee can enjoy perks such as:

  • Structuring your work day/week to your schedule
  • Exploring areas of the country whilst getting paid for it, with free travel and accommodation included for certain placements
  • Setting your own level for work/life balance
  • Receiving a higher hourly rate than if you were a permanent employee

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 blog
Remote area nurse salary guide in Australia

Published: December 2025 Remote area nurses deliver healthcare services to rural communities. Access to care in these sparsely populated areas is usually limited, so remote area nurses travel in from across the country to provide it. They are often contracted to be in one area for a specific amount of time, temporarily alleviating staffing shortages.  Within our remote area nurse salary guide, we will explore what you can earn as a remote area nurse, ways to…

Working in aged care in Australia

Revised February 2024 If you’re seeking a career that combines purpose, personal growth, and a sense of accomplishment, working in aged care may be the perfect choice. Becoming an aged care worker is a career choice fit for those who love to help others and give back to their community. Aged care is a sector…

How to become a remote area nurse in Australia

Remote area nurses are skilled medical professionals who keep rural and isolated communities safe and well across Australia. In this article, we’ll look at how to become a remote area nurse, what the role entails and the benefits of taking this career path. How do I become a remote area nurse? In Australia, to become…

5 benefits of rural nursing in Australia

A career in remote and rural nursing comes with a wealth of personal and professional rewards. From expanding your clinical skills to experiencing real job satisfaction, nursing outside of Australia’s major cities opens the door to meaningful, impactful work. It’s a chance to grow as a nurse while supporting those who need care the most….

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…

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…

Your guide to getting involved in aged care volunteering

First published: May 2025 Aged care volunteering is an opportunity to give back to the community whilst providing companionship and support to older people whilst both living in aged care homes or receiving home care. Aged care volunteering options that are available include assisting with daily living activities to make day to day tasks easier,…

On the road to remote care: my journey as a travel nurse in Western Australia

First published: February 2025 Travel nurses experience the unique thrill of packing their bags and spontaneously setting off on a new adventure. When the destination is Western Australia—home to stunning coastlines, vast outback, and a diverse healthcare landscape—the experience becomes something truly unforgettable. At Sanctuary, our contract team specialise in the placement of experienced and…

Aged care bill passes parliament

First published: November 2024 In line with the Once in a Generation aged care reform that was announced in September, on the 25th November 2024, the Albanese government has passed the aged care bill allowing for elderly Australians to have access to better aged care services and delivery. The Royal Commission into Aged Care and…

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…