Career Opportunities

All Cootharinga employees require: 

• Yellow Card exemption, or NDIS Worker Screen Check or ability to obtain
• Positive notice working with children (blue card) or ability to obtain
• NDIS Worker Orientation Module “Quality, Safety & You” completion certificate
• Proof of Covid-19 Vaccination in line with the Workers in a Healthcare Setting (COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements) Direction (‘Health Directive’) that was issued by the Queensland Government, effective from 11 November 2021.

In addition, Disability Support Workers require:

• First Aid and CPR certificates (or the ability to complete)

We offer a Disability Support Worker Entry-Level Pathway program designed to give you the skills you need to provide support to our customers. Previous experience as a support worker is not essential.

Cootharinga has a dedicated training team who support staff to develop the skills they need to succeed. We utilise a combination of classroom Llearning, online training and on-the-Job mentoring to assist you to develop in your role.

Support Workers are trained at Induction in:

• Safe Manual Handling
• Medication Management
• Gastrostomy (PEG) and Mealtime management
• Personal Care & Bowel Health
• Professional Boundaries and Communication
• National Disability Insurance Scheme
• Restrictive Practice
• Person-Centred Active Support
• Infection Control Measures

You can email jobapplications@cootharinga.org.au for help at any time.

Yes, you can apply for an advertised vacancy. However, most roles at Cootharinga do not meet Visa sponsorship requirements. We need to verify your Visa details to ensure eligibility for employment as part of the pre-employment process.

We will assess your application against the duties and responsibilities, knowledge, skills and experience required of the advertised position.

 The hiring process

Step 1

All applications are reviewed by the recruitment team and hiring manager based on the requirements of the role as outlined in the position description. This will usually happen within 2 weeks of application.

Step 2

Short-listed applicants are then interviewed by a panel including the hiring manager and at least one other person. This interview is designed to find out more information about your motivations, skills and transferable experience relevant to the role.

Step 3

If you’re the successful applicant we’ll contact your referees. We also have a range of pre-employment checks all our staff need to complete relevant for the role including a Functional Assessment for some roles.

We aim to advise short-listing outcomes as soon as possible. Please contact the recruitment team at jobapplications@cootharinga.org.au if you have any questions about the progress of your application.

Generally, you would be interviewed by a panel of two or three people either in a Group Interview or One-on-One. Interviews are conducted in a professional and structured manner. You will be asked about your skills and experience relevant to the position, and all candidates interviewing for the same role will be asked the same questions for equity and fairness. You may be asked to undertake a work test (a task relating to the position) or prepare a response to a scenario.

You will meet the hiring manager and potentially the recruiter for the area you wish to join. The interview might be conducted by a panel – one to three members of the organisation – or take the form of a group assessment. When we confirm your interview, we will let you know which one to expect. You will be asked questions:

• About your skills and competencies relevant to the role.
• To understand how well you align to our organisation’s culture.

You will also be given an understanding of the role and the opportunity to ask your own questions.

Placement is not a formal pathway to paid employment. However, we encourage our placement students to apply for advertised positions or express interest at any time to be considered for a paid role.

Please contact jobapplications@cootharinga.org.au if you have any questions. You can also call 1800 266 842 and ask to speak with recruitment or HR.

One of the great benefits of working for a non-profit organisation is you can salary package many of your general living expenses and pay for them tax-free! Cootharinga  is a Public Benevolent Institution (PBI) and as such has the ability to provide attractive salary sacrifice benefits to employees through tax concessions. You may sacrifice up to $15,900 pa of your pre-tax income for general living expenses. You may also choose to additionally salary sacrifice up to $2,650 pa in meal and entertainment expenses.

The effective salary sacrifice arrangement with Cootharinga has the ability to significantly increase your disposable income (after tax).

Cootharinga encourages all employees to seek independent taxation advice from a registered taxation agent, taking into account your personal financial circumstances, prior to entering into any salary sacrifice agreement.