Clinical Safety and Quality Lead - Community Aged Care

St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne; Melbourne; On-site; AUD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne is seeking a Quality and Safety Lead - Community Aged Care to strengthen quality, safety and clinical governance across our Community Aged Care program, ensuring safe, high-quality and person-centred care in homes and communities.

You will coordinate audits, incident and complaint reviews, monitor risks, support accreditation readiness and work with Care at Home and Care Services teams to drive continuous improvement and meaningful consumer involvement.

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience supporting quality and safety activities within healthcare, aged care or community services.
• Strong written communication skills for governance documentation and quality resources.
• Experience engaging stakeholders and subject matter experts in quality improvement and governance.

Responsibilities

• Support the implementation and monitoring of quality, safety and clinical governance requirements across the Community Aged Care program.
• Act as a key link between St Vincent's Care at Home and St Vincent's Care Services, supporting effective communication, escalation and shared oversight of quality, safety and risk matters.
• Lead and facilitate reviews of significant incidents, complaints and consumer feedback, supporting appropriate investigation, documentation, escalation and follow-up actions.
• Monitor clinical and service risks, assist leadership to maintain the Community Aged Care Risk Register and support operational leaders to identify, assess and manage emerging risks.
• Develop and coordinate the annual audit and assurance schedule, reviewing findings, identifying trends and supporting improvement actions through to completion.
• Support accreditation readiness and regulatory compliance through self-assessments, evidence collection, compliance monitoring and corrective actions.
• Analyse incident, complaint, audit and consumer feedback data to identify recurring themes, emerging risks and opportunities for service improvement.
• Prepare quality, safety, risk and assurance reports, dashboards and committee papers to support governance oversight and informed decision-making.
• Build quality and improvement capability across operational teams through education, workshops and practical guidance, promoting meaningful consumer involvement and a culture of continuous improvement.

Skills

Quality improvement

Governance

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Education

Undergraduate or Diploma in healthcare / community services / aged care

AHPRA registration or eligibility

Job description

Job Description:

Better and fairer care. Always.

At St Vincent's, we are shaping a better and fairer health and aged care system, supporting people with life-changing care, wherever and whoever they are. Inspired by the enduring legacy of the Sisters of Charity and their Founder Mary Aikenhead, we bring together compassionate care, clinical excellence and innovation to improve the lives of the communities we serve.

To support this vision, we are seeking a Quality and Safety Lead - Community Aged Care to strengthen quality, safety and clinical governance across our Community Aged Care program, helping ensure older Australians receive safe, high-quality and person-centred care in their homes and communities.

The Opportunity

You will play an important role in supporting the safe, effective and high-quality delivery of our Community Aged Care services, strengthening quality assurance, risk management and continuous improvement across the program.

Working closely with operational leaders, clinicians and quality and governance teams, you will help connect St Vincent's Care at Home and St Vincent's Care Services, supporting shared oversight, clear accountabilities and effective management of quality, safety and clinical risks.

Your work will support our commitment to delivering better connected care beyond traditional settings, translating clinical governance, regulatory and quality requirements into practical processes and improvements. You will coordinate audits and assurance activities, support incident and complaint reviews, monitor emerging risks and help strengthen accreditation readiness, ensuring services remain safe, compliant and responsive to the needs of older Australians.

This is a full-time opportunity and can be based in either of our group offices in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the implementation and monitoring of quality, safety and clinical governance requirements across the Community Aged Care program.
• Act as a key link between St Vincent's Care at Home and St Vincent's Care Services, supporting effective communication, escalation and shared oversight of quality, safety and risk matters.
• Lead and facilitate reviews of significant incidents, complaints and consumer feedback, supporting appropriate investigation, documentation, escalation and follow-up actions.
• Monitor clinical and service risks, assist leadership to maintain the Community Aged Care Risk Register and support operational leaders to identify, assess and manage emerging risks.
• Develop and coordinate the annual audit and assurance schedule, reviewing findings, identifying trends and supporting improvement actions through to completion.
• Support accreditation readiness and regulatory compliance through self-assessments, evidence collection, compliance monitoring and corrective actions.
• Analyse incident, complaint, audit and consumer feedback data to identify recurring themes, emerging risks and opportunities for service improvement.
• Prepare quality, safety, risk and assurance reports, dashboards and committee papers to support governance oversight and informed decision-making.
• Build quality and improvement capability across operational teams through education, workshops and practical guidance, promoting meaningful consumer involvement and a culture of continuous improvement.

About You:

You are a collaborative healthcare, aged care or community services professional with experience supporting quality, safety and continuous improvement. You bring a practical understanding of clinical governance and risk management, and enjoy working with operational teams to translate quality and regulatory requirements into meaningful improvements in care.

You are organised, adaptable and confident working across multidisciplinary teams, with the ability to build strong relationships, manage competing priorities and support a positive culture of learning, accountability and person-centred care.

You will bring:

• An undergraduate or diploma qualification in healthcare, community services or aged care.
• Demonstrated experience supporting quality and safety activities within a healthcare, aged care or community services environment.
• Strong written communication skills, with the ability to prepare clear reports, governance documentation and quality improvement resources.
• Experience engaging stakeholders and subject matter experts in quality improvement and governance activities.
• Proven organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple documentation, governance and improvement projects while meeting agreed timeframes.
• A collaborative and solutions-focused approach, with a commitment to safe, high-quality and person-centred care.
• Experience developing or reviewing clinical policies, procedures, guidelines, pathways or related governance documentation will be highly regarded. Current AHPRA registration or eligibility for registration with the Australian Association of Social Workers and completed or ongoing quali