High-Intensity Disability Support Worker – PEG Feeding
Location: South-East Melbourne / Frankston region
Employment type: Casual
Start: Immediate
Primary shifts: Weekdays, approximately 3:00 pm–8:00 pm, with additional evening and weekend opportunities
About the opportunity
JessiCare is building a small, reliable and experienced support team around a bright, social and curious young person with complex physical disability and high-intensity support needs.
The participant uses a powered wheelchair and communicates using a PODD/AAC communication system. They require assistance with enteral feeding, personal care, hoist transfers, positioning and their afternoon and evening routines.
This is a relationship-based role. We are searching for support workers who will take the time to understand how the participant communicates, encourage genuine choice and independence, and build a reliable, long-term connection with them and their family.
The participant needs a support worker who is fun, bubbly, kind and not too loud to provide engaging, age-appropriate support for an excellent match.
Key responsibilities
Depending on the shift and your assessed competencies, responsibilities may include:
- Receiving a handover and supporting the participant to settle in after school.
- Supporting PEG/enteral feeds delivered through a feeding pump.
- Supporting PEG feeds administered by syringe.
- Preparing feeds and equipment, monitoring feeding tolerance and cleaning the PEG site and equipment.
- Following the participant’s mealtime, dysphagia, food-safety and health-management plans.
- Providing respectful toileting, continence, showering, dressing and personal-care assistance.
- Completing hoist and sling transfers, positioning and powered-wheelchair support in accordance with the participant’s manual-handling plan.
- Working collaboratively with another worker or family member during 2:1 personal care and transfer procedures.
- Providing medication support after completing the required training and competency assessment.
- Keeping the participant’s PODD communication system accessible and allowing sufficient time for them to communicate.
- Speaking directly to the participant, explaining care before beginning and seeking their consent throughout support.
- Recognising and escalating changes in health, pain, distress, feeding tolerance or presentation.
- Completing accurate progress notes, care records, incident reports and end-of-shift handovers.
- Supporting the participant’s interests, learning, independence and age-appropriate participation.
Who we are looking for
The right person will combine complex-care capability with genuine warmth and enthusiasm.
You will be:
- Fun, bubbly, positive and able to connect naturally with a young person.
- Reliable, punctual and able to commit consistently to an ongoing roster. JessiCare prioritises long-term relationship development with participants.
- Patient and willing to learn the participant’s individual communication style and multiple routines.
- Calm under pressure and confident escalating concerns when required.
- Respectful of the participant’s privacy, dignity, maturity, autonomy and choices.
- Comfortable working in a family home and alongside other workers and family members.
- Proactive and observant without taking control away from the participant.
- Interested in developing a genuine and long-term support relationship.
- Able to follow detailed clinical and support plans without taking shortcuts.
Essential requirements
Applicants must have:
- A current NDIS Worker Screening Check.
- A current Victorian Working with Children Check.
- Victorian Drivers Licence.
- Current First Aid and CPR certification.
- Completion of the NDIS Worker Orientation Module + Mealtime Management + Communication Modules
- A relevant disability, community services or health qualification, or substantial equivalent experience (preferred)
- Experience supporting people with complex physical disability and high-intensity personal care particularly PEG Feeding.
- Safe manual-handling experience, including hoist and sling transfers.
- Strong written documentation, communication and handover skills.
- The ability to work within clinical, mealtime, medication, manual-handling and emergency plans.
- A current driver’s licence and reliable transport to attend shifts in Melbourne’s south-east.
- HLTHPS006 – Assist clients with medication
- HLTWHS005 – Conduct manual tasks safely
- Australian working rights.
Highly regarded experience
Experience in any of the following areas will be strongly regarded:
- PEG, gastrostomy or other enteral-feeding support.
- Feeding-pump operation.
- Blended-food enteral feeding by syringe.
- Dysphagia support and aspiration-risk management.
- AAC, PODD or other supported-communication systems.
- Medication administration within a delegated support-worker role.
- Supporting children or adolescents with complex physical disability.
- 2:1 personal care, transfers and positioning.
- Powered-wheelchair support and accessible community participation.
Training and induction
Successful applicants will complete participant-specific meet and greets and induction, supervised shadow shifts and competency assessment before independently performing high-intensity procedures.
Previous complex-care experience is strongly preferred; however, all workers must be willing to learn and consistently follow the participant’s individual procedures and current support plans.
Roster
Our immediate priority is finding support workers who can commit to regular weekday afternoon shifts, generally from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
Additional evening, weekend and extended shifts are also available as the team develops.
Consistency is extremely important to the participant and family. Applicants should clearly state which days and times they can commit to on an ongoing basis.
What JessiCare offers
- A thoughtful matching process focused on both capability and personality fit.
- Participant-specific induction, shadow shifts and competency assessment.
- Ongoing support from an accessible management and clinical team.
- Consistent shifts within a small support team.
- Clear plans, procedures and documentation expectations.
- SCHADS Award rates, including applicable loadings and penalty rates.
- The opportunity to build a meaningful, long-term relationship with a remarkable young person and their family.
About JessiCare
JessiCare is an established Melbourne NDIS provider with extensive experience delivering personalised daily living and high-intensity supports.
We believe great support begins with listening, consistency and genuine relationships. Our values are Reliability, Trust, Respect, Passion, Integrity, Empowerment and Inclusiveness.
How to apply
Please submit your resume and a short cover letter outlining:
- Your experience providing high-intensity or complex physical disability support.
- Your experience with enteral feeding, hoist transfers and personal care.
- Any experience using PODD, AAC or other supported-communication systems.
- Your approach to supporting a young person’s communication, consent and choice.
- The weekday afternoon, evening and weekend shifts you can commit to consistently.
Shortlisted applicants will complete an interview and, where appropriate, a participant and family meet-and-greet before placement.
Appointment is subject to satisfactory screening, reference checks, induction and participant-specific competency requirements.
JessiCare is committed to child safety, inclusion and equal opportunity. Recruitment decisions are based on the genuine requirements of the role, demonstrated capability and participant-centred fit.
Pay: $46.70 – $50.00 per hour
Work Location: In person
