Carer Companion – Afternoon & Night Shifts
Music Lover & Avid Reader
25 to 38 hrs per week at Palm Cove
Hourly Rate $45.94 Weekday to $82.69 Sundays
Seeking a carer/companion to be part of our in-home support team for a vulnerable man with physical disabilities. We are seeking an active person with care factor plus, who shares our man’s love of books and music. An avid reader before his injury, our man loves sci-fi and fantasy novels. Being read to in the evenings, is an important part of his routine support. He also has a street library to share books with his neighbours. We would love the successful applicant to assist with this project.
Music is an important part of our man’s life. Our carer/companion must be a serious music lover. If you sing, play, are learning an instrument or have a great record collection, that would be awesome. We are looking for a carer who shares these interests and will use their creativity to make the most of this part of the role. There is also potential for you to be involved in a weekly music therapy session with our registered music therapist.
This position is part of an in-home support team, that provides 24 x 7 support in a purpose-built family home at Palm Cove. This role would suit a person who enjoys being part of a small team, getting to know the person they support in a deep way, working well with their family and other support workers, contributing to a harmonious atmosphere in the family home and demonstrating respect for privacy.
Ideally our carer/companion will meet the above criteria and be between 35 and 50, living in the Northern Suburbs of Cairns, to ensure a good match in age, locality and interests with the person at the centre of our work.
As our man has high care needs, there will be a great deal to learn, including manual handling, PEG feeding, giving medications, and providing personal care. We are more than happy to train the right person.
This role requires a responsible person with common sense, who will take responsibility for overnight home security, monitor our man’s health needs and respond appropriately in the case of an emergency. We have been operating a support team for a very long time. These things and more will be explained as part of your training.
Conditions
This opportunity is available for a suitable person who is available to work 2 afternoons and 2 sleepover shifts per week. For your first 4 weeks in the role you will be working all afternoon shifts, to enable you to get to know the person we support, learn their routines and the skills required to meet their support needs. This will be a period of in-depth learning where you will be required to apply yourself.
Once trained, you will be required to work 2 afternoon shifts and 2 sleepovers per week on our rotating roster. Afternoon shifts are 1pm to 7pm. Sleepovers are 6pm to 8am.
Sleepover Shifts
Sleepover shifts contain the following 3 periods:
6pm to 10pm Active work time
10pm – 6am Inactive time, interspersed with brief periods of care to monitor and attend to the person you’ll be supporting (awake time).
6am to 8am Active work time.
Some evenings you will be required to provide transport for our man to attend music events at The Tanks or CPAC. On those occasions you’re entry fee will be taken care of.
Afternoon Shifts
Afternoons are active shifts worked from 1pm to 7pm. They include providing transport for the person we support to attend a medical appointment or an outing. We are looking for someone who is able to drive a wheelchair accessible van in a safe and confident manner, providing a comfortable transport experience to our physically vulnerable man. Some afternoons, you’ll do some maintenance on our street library while supporting our man interact with neighbours who walk by. Other times you’ll support our man for a wheelchair walk at a local beach. The last 2 hours of the afternoon shift, are about personal care, meal preparation and an end-of-day tidy up.
Essential Requirements
- Empathy and care factor
- Responsibility and reliability
- Effective communication skills
- A genuine love of reading for pleasure
- A genuine love of music
- Kindness and creativity
- A current drivers license and experience driving a van or other long wheel-based vehicle.
- The ability to understand and follow written care plans and instructions
- Practicality, common sense and situational awareness
- Experience ( a genuine desire to learn skills) in providing communication support to a non-speaking person, manual handling, using disability equipment (hoist and power wheelchair), personal care, giving medications, and other nursing type skills (on-the-job training provided).
- A genuine curiosity about how to support a person with severe impairments to regain a place in the world and a sense of belonging.
- We have two active “fur babies” in our home. Applicants must be a dog lover.
To Apply
Via Indeed Please provide a cover letter that explains why you are interested in this position.
Applications Close 19th August.
Job Type: Casual
Pay: $45.94 – $82.69 per hour
Benefits:
- Professional development assistance
Schedule:
- Weekend availability
Application Question(s):
- Do you have experience driving a van or other long wheel-based vehicle?
- Are you creative or musical?
- Name two of your favourite Authors and Artists
- Are you available to work 2 sleepovers per week?
- Are you available to work on weekends?
- We are looking for a long term employee. We are not considering applicants who are on a working holiday or seeking sponsorship. Are you seeking sponsorship or are you on a working holiday?
- Do you live North of the Cairns CBD
Licence/Certification:
- Full Driver Licence (Required)
Work Authorisation:
- Australia (Required)
Work Location: In person
Application Deadline: 19/08/2025