Residential Youth Worker

We are seeking dedicated, resilient and compassionate Residential Youth Workers to join our Out of Home Care (OOHC) team. 

About the role

As a Residential Youth Worker, you will provide individualised, trauma-informed care and support to young people living in residential care.

You will play an important role in creating a safe, structured and supportive environment while helping young people develop positive relationships, life skills, emotional regulation and independence.

This role requires individuals who can remain calm under pressure, respond confidently to escalated behaviours and maintain professional boundaries while building meaningful and trusting relationships with young people.

Key responsibilities

• Provide high-quality, trauma-informed care to young people with complex behavioural and emotional needs.
• Implement and follow individual behaviour support plans, safety plans and risk management strategies.
• Apply de-escalation, crisis prevention and positive behaviour support strategies.
• Build trusting and respectful relationships with young people who may have experienced significant trauma, neglect, abuse or disrupted attachments.
• Support young people to develop emotional regulation, resilience, social skills and independent living skills.
• Complete accurate notes, incident reports and other required documentation.
• Maintain a safe, stable and nurturing home environment.

What we are looking for

We are particularly interested in candidates who have:

• Demonstrated experience working with young people with complex behaviours and high support needs.
• Experience in residential OOHC, youth justice, child protection, disability support or other intensive support environments.
• The ability to confidently manage challenging behaviours while maintaining a calm, respectful and professional approach.
• Strong knowledge of trauma-informed practice and the impact of childhood trauma.
• Experience with behaviour support strategies, crisis prevention and de-escalation techniques.

Child Safety and Wellbeing Commitment

MADEC is committed to being a child safe organisation and embedding the Queensland Child Safe Standards and Universal Principle into all aspects of our service delivery, workforce practices and organisational culture.

The safety, wellbeing, rights and best interests of children and young people are central to everything we do. All employees are expected to actively contribute to creating and maintaining environments where children and young people feel safe, respected, valued, heard and protected from harm.

This includes:

• Upholding and promoting the rights, dignity, safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
• Ensuring children and young people have a voice and are actively involved in decisions that affect them.
• Recognising, responding to and reporting concerns, allegations, disclosures and suspected harm in accordance with legislative requirements and MADEC policies and procedures.
• Promoting culturally safe and inclusive environments, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, respecting their identity, culture, family and community connections.
• Maintaining professional boundaries and modelling safe, respectful and appropriate conduct at all times.
• Participating in mandatory child safety, safeguarding and ongoing professional development training.
• Understanding and complying with MADEC’s Child Protection, Safeguarding, Code of Conduct, Complaints Management and Reportable Conduct requirements.

All employees share responsibility for implementing the Child Safe Standards and ensuring that child safety and wellbeing remain central to our everyday practice.

Essential requirements:

• Certificate IV in Child, Youth and Family Intervention or an equivalent relevant qualification (or willingness to meet the organisation’s qualification requirements).
• Current Blue Card (Working with Children Check) & Yellow Card (NDIS Worker Screening Check).
• Current First Aid and CPR qualifications, or willingness to obtain them.
• Current Queensland driver’s licence.
• Availability to work across a rotating roster, including evenings, weekends, sleepovers and public holidays, as required.

Child Safety and Compliance Requirements:

• Current Queensland Blue Card (Paid) or ability to obtain and maintain one.
• Satisfactory completion of all required pre-employment screening and background checks.
• Willingness to undertake mandatory child protection, safeguarding and child safe organisation training.
• Demonstrated understanding of professional boundaries, mandatory reporting obligations, child protection responsibilities and the importance of responding appropriately to concerns about the safety and wellbeing of children.
• Commitment to complying with the Queensland Child Safe Standards, Universal Principle and MADEC’s child safeguarding policies and procedures.

Why join our team?

• Opportunity to make a meaningful difference in the lives of vulnerable young people.
• Work alongside a supportive and committed team.
• Ongoing professional development and training.
• Opportunities to develop your skills in complex behaviour support and trauma-informed care.
• A rewarding role where consistency, compassion and commitment genuinely matter.

Applications close 20 November 2026.