Senior Social Worker - Banksia

The Hospital:

The Royal Children’s Hospital’s (RCH) Vision is “A world where all kids thrive”.

RCH is a cornerstone member of the Melbourne Children’s Campus, partnering with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

RCH has cared for the children and young people of Victoria for more than 150 years since it was founded in 1870. A full range of paediatrics and adolescent health services are provided plus tertiary and quaternary care for the most critically ill and medically complex patients in Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW and other states around Australia and overseas. The Hospital has more than 6,000 staff, a budget of $850M, 12 wards and 350 beds. Annually, the RCH has 300,000+ Specialist Clinic appointments, 90,000+ Emergency Department presentations and 20,000 elective surgeries.

The RCH is committed to the Child Safe Standards. 

RCH enjoys high employee engagement and is committed to staff safety and a positive culture through enactment of our Compact.

For further Information on RCH is available here.

• Excellent employee benefits including salary packaging
• Hub of medical precinct in Parkville, Melbourne
• Pro-active and supportive leadership

About the Role

This is a Permanent Part Time positon, at 0.5 FTE (38 hours) per fortnight within the Social Work department and the Banksia inpatient mental health unit at RCH. The position with provide expert psychosocial assessment and intervention to patients of RCH and their families and play a key role in a multidisciplinary team to improve timely access to supports both within the RCH and in the community. 

What you'll achieve:

• High-level of clinical reasoning and advanced casework skills
• Lead and contributes to timely decision making, transition or discharge planning and referral to community providers
• Support for vulnerable young people and their families in crisis situations including severe trauma, family violence and grief and loss
• Provide leadership and mentorship within the Social Work Department

Classification for this position will range from SC31 - SC34 Grade 3 Year 1 to Grade 3 Year 4 (FTE base salary $102,091.60 to $116,464.40 per annum, plus superannuation).

Your skills and experience:

• Eligibility for membership of AASW and meet AASW CPE accreditation standards
• Extensive experience in Social Work, including clinical expertise and leadership skills recognised in closely related field of practice
• Demonstrated knowledge, skills, and ability to respond to vulnerable children, trauma and grief and loss
• Excellent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary team and effectively articulate the social work role
• This position also includes some out of hours work in the on-call after hours social work service to the hospital

If this sounds like you, click here to view the position description.

About the Social Work department

RCH Social Work is a growing team of 46.6 EFT and over 66 employees and is the largest Allied Health team at RCH. Social workers work in collaboration with Medical, Nursing and Allied Health staff across the hospital as well as provide community liaison to ensure delivery of great care for patients and families.

What we offer:

• Employee Assistance Program
• Ability to join Fitness Passport - Your pass to an extensive choice of fitness facilities

Other requirements:

• Current National Criminal Record Check, or willing to obtain
• Valid Working with Children Check
• Compliance with RCHs “Staff Immunisation - Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases” procedure

Application process

To apply, you will need a resume and a tailored cover letter outlining your skills, experience, and suitability for the position in line with the requirements of the position description.

Shortlisting for this position will commence immediately, we encourage you to apply promptly!

For more information about this position please contact Helen Stewart, Social Work Program Manager, Ph: 03 9345 6111, Helen.Stewart@rch.org.au

Why work at the RCH?

RCH enjoys high employee engagement and is committed to staff safety and a positive culture through enactment of our Compact. We offer the opportunity to work in world-class facilities, surrounded by Royal Park and only a short tram trip from the heart of Melbourne city.

We also offer discounted staff parking, salary packaging, and an award-winning health and wellbeing program.

The RCH is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse background, all members of the LGBTQI community and people with disability.

It is a requirement of your employment that you be vaccinated against Influenza annually for Category A and B roles, in compliance with any public health orders in place at the relevant time, unless you have a medical exception in line with those public health orders, which has been accepted by The Royal Children’s Hospital.  Applicants will be required to provide their Australian Government Immunisation History Statement, it is a requirement of the RCH to collect, record and hold vaccination information.

It is also a requirement of your employment that you comply with any direction given by The Royal Children’s Hospital that you be vaccinated against, or prove immunity to, any other disease, unless you have a relevant exemption, and offers of employment are conditional on successful completion of background checks including reference checks. 

Are you ready to join our team? 

 Apply online by clicking on the “Apply” button

Applications close: 26 September 2025