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
Federal Budget 2025-26: what it means for aged care

First published: May 2025 The Federal Budget 2025-26 was announced on the 25th March 2025 which included economic forecasts and what areas would be allocated funding and financial backing this coming year. Covering areas such as the cost of living, housing prices, education, healthcare and student debt, it offers a projection of what each sector…

Meet our Sanctuary Recruitment 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…

The 5 most common workforce compliance gaps in aged care

Published: December 2025 In the aged care sector, workforce compliance is more than a box-ticking exercise; it’s directly tied to resident safety, quality of care and your organisation’s ability to meet regulatory standards. As the sector continues to face workforce shortages, increased demand and ongoing legislative change, maintaining a compliant workforce has become both more critical and more challenging.  Below are the five most common workforce…

Standard 6: why food and nutrition matter more than ever in aged care

By Rhiannon Dhoot, Client Relationship Manager at Sanctuary Recruitment I’m Rhiannon, Client Relationship Manager at Sanctuary Recruitment. Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with aged care providers across Australia, visit a range of homes and learn more about the challenges and priorities shaping the sector today. One topic that has…

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…

The human side of dementia care

What I’ve learned visiting aged care homes across australia By Rhiannon Dhoot, Client Relationship Manager at Sanctuary Recruitment Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to visit a number of aged care homes across Australia, including facilities that specialise in dementia care and homes with dedicated dementia support units. Although every home has…

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…

The true cost of non-compliance in aged care staffing

When we talk about compliance in aged care staffing, the conversation often focuses on regulations, accreditations, audits and minimum ratios. But non-compliance is far more than a box-ticking failure. Its true cost is human, financial, reputational and moral. Understaffing due to lack of compliance isn’t just a workforce issue. It affects quality care and delivery,…

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…

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…