Active Night Shifts - Residential Care Youth Work

Active Nights. Great Penalties. Real Impact.

As an Active Night Shift Residential Youth Worker, you'll be part of a dedicated, trauma-informed team providing overnight care, support and stability for young people living in residential care. Working primarily awake night shifts, you'll play a vital role in maintaining a safe, therapeutic environment and responding to the needs of young people throughout the night.

You'll be responsible for monitoring the home, supporting young people who may require assistance overnight, administering and documenting medication as required, maintaining a clean and safe environment, completing household tasks, and ensuring all documentation, case notes and incident reporting are completed accurately. You'll also contribute to therapeutic behaviour support strategies and uphold DFFH standards and organisational requirements at all times.

This work is highly rewarding, but it can also be challenging. You'll be supporting young people who have experienced significant trauma and require consistent, therapeutic care. Success in this role requires emotional resilience, strong observation skills, the ability to remain calm under pressure, excellent judgement, and a genuine commitment to trauma-informed practice.

What Does an Active Night Shift Look Like?

Our Active Night Shift Line provides regular overnight work with attractive penalty rates and the opportunity to make a meaningful difference during some of the most critical hours of a young person's day.

Typical Active Night Shift Structure

• 11:00pm – 7:30am: Active overnight shift (awake and working)
• One sleepover shift per fortnight: Includes active support hours before and after the sleepover period

During your overnight shifts, you'll monitor the home environment, provide support to young people as needed, complete documentation and reporting requirements, administer medication where required, undertake household duties, and ensure the home remains safe, stable and well-presented. You'll also be available to respond to incidents or crises and support young people who may require reassurance, co-regulation or assistance throughout the night.

Roster & Hours (65 hours per fortnight)

Week 1

• Monday: 11:00pm – 9:30am
• Tuesday: 11:00pm – 7:30am
• Thursday: 5:00pm – 9:00am (Sleepover Shift)
• Friday: 11:00pm – 7:30am
• Saturday: 11:00pm – 7:30am
• Sunday: 11:00pm – 7:30am

Week 2

• Wednesday: 11:00pm – 7:30am
• Thursday: 11:00pm – 7:30am

What This Line Offers

• Predominantly active overnight shifts
• Only one sleepover shift per fortnight
• Consistent overnight roster with a mix of weekdays and weekends
• Night shift penalties and weekend rates under the SCHADS Award
• Saturday rates paid at 150%
• Sunday rates paid at 200%
• Opportunity to earn an additional week of annual leave through weekend work eligibility
• Make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people in care

8 shifts per fortnight. Primarily active nights. Strong penalties. Real impact.

Join a dedicated team helping provide safety, stability and support to young people when they need it most.

What You'll Need

• Certificate IV in Child, Youth & Family Intervention (or equivalent qualification recognised by DFFH)
• Experience working with young people or a strong willingness to learn
• Residential Out-of-Home Care Youth Work experience highly desirable
• Current Australian Driver's Licence
• Victorian Employee Working With Children Check
• Current First Aid Certificate
• Willingness to undergo a National Police Check (organised by us)
• Commitment to ongoing learning and trauma-informed practice
• If you have lived outside Australia for 12 months or more within the last 10 years, an International Police Check (issued within the previous 3 months) will be required

Applicants must complete the mandatory upskilling units required by the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing. Ongoing employment is dependent on satisfactory evidence being provided within six months of commencement.

Why Work With Us?

✨ Competitive SCHADS Award pay

✨ Night shift, weekend and sleepover penalties

✨ Salary packaging options to increase your take-home pay (permanent employees)

✨ Free internal training and $500 annual professional development allowance

✨ Access to professional debriefing and Employee Assistance Program support

✨ Annual wage increases aligned with Fair Work or CPI adjustments

✨ The opportunity to build meaningful relationships and positively impact the lives of young people in care every day and night.

Junction Support Services is a child-safe organisation and an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We welcome applications from First Nations peoples, individuals with disability or lived experience of disability, and people of all cultural backgrounds, gender identities and sexual orientations. We value the unique perspectives and contributions that diversity brings to our workplace and the communities we serve.