Aboriginal Palliative Care Senior Social Worker

Job Description:

Role title:Aboriginal Palliative Care Senior Social Worker

Role type:Permanent full time

Role grade: Social Worker level 3

Department and location: Sacred Heart St Vincents Hospital Darlinghurst

Salary:$116892.00 - $120680.00 Super Salary Packaging

Better and fairer care. Always.

We are St Vincents Health Australia Australias largest not-for-profit provider of health and aged care services.

Founded by The Sisters of Charity in 1857 our 30000 healthcare superheroes operatepublic and private hospitals residential aged care community and virtual care and outreach programs.

About the role

• Deliver high-quality palliative care social work to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as well as other community members accessing palliative care services at Sacred Heart.

• Provide care through biopsychosocial and risk assessments to guide care planning and facilitation of end-of-life care including advance care planning family conferences and bereavement support for patients families and carers.

• Provide individual and family counselling for adjustment to illness end of life concerns grief and loss relationship issues carer stress existential concerns and meaning of life issues.

• Manage complex cases and coordinate care including discharge planning referrals advocacy (e.g. guardianship NDIS My Aged Care) and support for diverse and underserved populations.

• Collaborate effectively within multidisciplinary teams and external agencies acting as a key resource for psychosocial and end of life care.

• Maintain professional standards through ethical practice documentation supervision education research and participation in service development and on-call services.

• Provide clinical leadership through supervision education and contribution to quality improvement and service development initiatives.

About you

• Hold a degree in Social Work and be eligible for membership with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) with demonstrated clinical experience in a tertiary hospital or health-related setting.

• Demonstrated knowledge and understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures as well as an understanding of the health and welfare needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

• Demonstrated expertise skills and/or experience in critical illness end of life care domestic violence child protection elder abuse Guardianship NDIS sudden and unexpected death and the coronial process.

• Demonstrated competencies in psychosocial assessment crisis intervention counselling short term solution focused intervention grief and loss work and discharge planning in a health setting.

• Experience working in multidisciplinary teams in complex high-demand environments with skills in leading and contributing to research projects quality and education activities and strong communication and negotiation abilities.

• Ability to participate on the St Vincents Hospital after hours Social Work On Call roster.

• Candidates who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are strongly encouraged to apply for this position.

Why work at St Vincents

• Join us on our mission to provide care to all including the most at-risk people in our community

• Discounted access to many gyms for you and your family with Fitness Passport

• Access to discounted private health insurance with Medibank

• Access to a government salary sacrifice program. Make a proportion of your salary tax-free

• Committed to financial support for educational development scholarship programs paid study leave

About the hospital

In this role you will be based at St Vincents hospital Darlinghurst.

• A busy inner-city hospital in a beautiful location

• Surrounded by great cafes galleries and theatres parks nightlife and nearby glorious beaches

• A place of expert clinical care for at-risk people

• Closely partnered with universities & affiliated research institutes many of which are located on-campus

• Centres of excellence include heart & lung transplantation bone marrow transplantation cardiology cancer care AIDS/HIV respiratory medicine mental health homeless health drug & alcohol services and correctional health

Sponsorship / work rights for Australia

Please note visa sponsorship is not available for this position. For this role you must be an Australian or New Zealand citizen or have an Australia visa that grants you the work rights necessary for the role.

Pre-employment checks

Your employment is conditional upon the completion of all role-required pre-employment checks including relevant immunisations.

Equal opportunity

We celebrate diversity & inclusion and are committed to equal employment opportunity for everyone.

As part of our commitment to reconciliation we encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to apply and join us in delivering care that heals body mind spirit and community.

How to apply

The closing date for applications is 13th May 2026.

Please submit your resume and a brief cover letter highlighting how your interest skills and experience align with each of the things listed in the About You section of this job advert.

Respectfully this role is not open to recruitment agencies.

Reconciliation Action Plan:

At St Vincents we acknowledge the importance of creating a work environment that is welcoming safe equitable and inclusive for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Employees. As part of our Commitment to Reconciliation and Closing the Gap in employment related outcomes we encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

For further information visit https:// or get in contact at

View Reconciliation Action Plan

Code of Conduct:

View Code of Conduct