Position overview

Canberra Health Services provides multidisciplinary care across a range of hospital and community settings. There are several teams who provide Social Work services across inpatient, outpatient and community settings.

The Rehabilitation Aged and Community Services Inpatient Social Work Service is a contemporary evidence-based service that provides high quality services to the rehabilitation wards at the University of Canberra Hospital (UCH), and Acute Care of the Elderly wards at Canberra Hospital (TCH). The service provides assessment and intervention related to social work support for patients aged 18+ years. Patients vary in their medical conditions and may include people with neurological conditions, orthopaedic conditions, complex medical, and psychosocial conditions, and frail aged.

Social Workers provide assessment and therapeutic intervention for a range of client populations throughout their patient journey. The patients we see present with a range of psychosocial issues that impact their health circumstances across their lifespan.

Note: This position(s) may be required to participate in overtime, on call, and/or rotation roster. This duty statement outlines a range of possible duties that staff are expected to perform at this level. The emphasis placed on each duty will vary according to the requirements of each position. The successful applicant will need to be available for occasional weekend and after-hours work, with access to flex time.

Key Responsibilities

Under limited direction of the Rehabilitation Aged Care and Community Services (RACS) Social Work Manager you will perform the Social Work role with limited supervision and understand the issues related to health and well-being and the impact on the person and their family/carer, including adjustment to change.

You will:

1. Provide appropriate skilled clinical assessment and psychosocial interventions across a range of clinical areas, including individual and group work to patients and carers, with support.
2. Exercise independent professional judgment on routine matters and perform novel and complex or critical tasks under professional supervision, decreasing as expertise increases.
3. Liaise with patients, carers and service providers, to enhance and improve clinical outcomes and develop partnerships for health promotion and other service activities identified in the business plan.
4. Assist in the supervision and education of other staff and students. Actively participate in supervision, continuing professional development and performance management.
5. Actively contribute to the implementation of clinical governance activity, quality improvement projects, research programs and health promotion in areas relevant to service.
6. Actively participate in team meetings, complete clinical and administrative data collection, and case records to a consistent standard.
7. Practice in accordance with the professional body’s code of conduct, practice standards and organisational guidelines and legislative requirements.
8. Undertake other duties appropriate to this level of classification which contribute to the operation of the organisation.

Competencies

Specific responsibilities include but are not limited to the following.

• Psychosocial Assessment & Intervention:
  Conducts comprehensive psychosocial assessments and delivers evidence-informed interventions across a wide range of healthcare presentations.
• Caseload Management:
  Manages and prioritises a complex caseload independently, applying clinical reasoning and organisational strategies to meet client and service needs.
• Clinical Education & Supervision:
  Provides clinical advice, supervision, and education to HP1s, Allied Health Assistants, and Social Work students, supporting skill development, and professional growth.
• Communication & Stakeholder Engagement:
  Communicates effectively with diverse stakeholders across various settings, using advanced interpersonal skills to support collaboration and client-centred care.
• Adaptability & Responsiveness:
  Adapts practice and service delivery in response to changing client needs, service demands, and organisational priorities.
• Professional Development & Service Improvement:
  Engages in ongoing professional development, participates in clinical supervision, and contributes to service improvement initiatives.
• Organisation & Initiative:
  Demonstrates strong organisational skills and initiative in managing workload, meeting deadlines, and driving service efficiency.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree in Social Work.
• Professional membership or eligibility for professional membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).

Desirable

• Current Drivers Licence.
• Have an understanding of how the National Safety and Quality Health Service (NSQHS) indicators align with this role.

Experience

Essential

• Minimum of 1 years’ experience working professionally in Social Work.

Desirable

• Experience working in a hospital or health related setting.
• Experience or knowledge of the CHS Exceptional Care Framework and all other related frameworks.

Prior to commencement

Appointment to this position is conditional on being granted and retaining appropriate clearances:

• Pre-employment National Police Check.
• Current registration issued under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 is required.
• Comply with Canberra Health Services Occupational Assessment, Screening and Vaccination policy.
• Comply with CHS credentialing and scope of clinical practice requirements for allied health professionals.

Important information

All employees are required to:

• Adhere to the Canberra Health Services Values and the ACT Public Service Code of Conduct.
• Act in accordance and comply with all relevant Safety and Quality policies and procedures.
• Comply with all relevant clinical and/or competency standards.
• Be available for weekend and/or after-hours work.

CHS is leading the drive to digitally transform health service delivery in Australia through the implementation of a territory wide Digital Health Record. Computer literacy skills are required which are relevant to this role as you will be responsible for completing required documentation and becoming a proficient user of the Digital Health Record and/or other Information Technology systems; once proficient, you will need to remain current with changes, updates, and contingencies.

What you Require (Key Selection Criteria)

These are the key selection criteria for how you will be assessed in conjunction with your resumé and experience.

1. Proven knowledge of and ability to provide psychosocial assessment, counselling, and complex interventions, which are responsive to multi-faceted patient needs.
2. Demonstrated effective communication skills, both written and verbal, with an ability to communicate sensitively with patients and colleagues and work effectively with hospital and community-based stakeholders.
3. Demonstrated ability to work within multidisciplinary team/s and prioritise workload according to clinical indicators, risk management frameworks, and organisational requirements.
4. Demonstrated ability to participate in professional supervision, continuing professional development, and assist in the education of students.
5. Demonstrates understanding of, and adherence to, safety and quality standards, work, health, and safety (WH&S) and the positive patient experience. Displays behaviour consistent with CHS’s values of reliable, progressive, respectful, and kind.

Work environment description

The following work environment description outlines the inherent requirements of the role and indicates how frequently each of these requirements would need to be performed. Please note that the ACT Public Service is committed to providing reasonable adjustments and ensuring all individuals have equal opportunities in the workplace.