Locum Geriatrician

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Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives. 

About the department

Many of the Geriatric focused inpatient bed and clinic-based services offered by the Continuing Care Division are located at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital. An Aged Care medical inpatient consultancy service, liaison services including Orthogeriatrics Geriatrician in the Emergency Initiative (GEDI), and the Hub for InReach and Austin@home are located at the Austin Hospital campus. Many of the rehabilitation services, including the statewide services are located at the Royal Talbot campus 

Continuing Care Inpatient Services consist of two Rehabilitation/Geriatric Evaluation and Management (GEM) wards (Wards 11 & 12), an Acute Geriatric Medical unit (Ward 10), and a further inpatient unit (Ward 9) incorporating a semi shared care model and a focus on Cognitive Assessment and Management (CAM).  

Community beds are managed under several programs including:

• The Better@Home-Subacute model (Geriatric and Rehabilitation led streams) and Better@Home-Acute program 

• A residential home focused InReach-Admitted (admitted in the RACH) program  

• Transition Care Program in both the community and residential care 

The Community Programs offered include an Aged Care Assessment Service (ACAS), the integrated Health Independence Program (HIP, including Older Persons’ Complex Care/OPCC).  

There is a suite of complex care focused specialist clinics located at both HRH and Royal Talbot, including an overarching Geriatric Medical Clinic, a Rapid Access Geriatric Medicine Clinic, the Cognitive, Dementia and Memory Service (CDAMS), Continence Clinic, Wound Clinic, and Falls and Balance Clinic. 

The Medical and Cognitive Research Unit (MCRU) is located at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital Campus of Austin Health and is tiered within the Continuing Care Clinical Service Unit under the Aged Care Services. It is the largest dementia clinical trials centre in the southern hemisphere, and one of the largest in the world.  MCRU has a strong and successful history in conducting numerous clinical trials in various neurodegenerative disorders, with most of the trials focusing on Alzheimer’s Disease.     

About the role 

As the Locum Geriatrician, you will provide high quality, patient-centred care for older adults across various services within the unit. The role will actively contribute to case management, discharge planning and collaborative multidisciplinary teamwork to optimise patient outcomes

A regular day will see you:   

• Complete appropriate documentation in the patient’s hospital record.

• Communicate clearly and simply with patients and their families and carers, around the basis of diagnosis, course of disorder and proposed treatment options in a way that ensures understanding and empowers involvement in decision making about their care.  

• Participate in relevant Unit quality activities, programs and rosters as requested, including weekly mortality/morbidity audits. 

• Actively participate in case discussion and discharge planning, so that timely decisions are made, and the active caseload is well managed for optimal function of the team  

• Contribute to positive engagement with our key stakeholders including local General Practitioners, residential aged care facilities and local primary healthcare providers and deepen their understanding of what the Austin service can offer, enabling efficient and effective communication and care  

• Provide good communication of management plans with carers, primary care providers and RACH / Community provider staff, with the aim of managing future recurrent issues or pre-emptively planning for future changes, such as palliative care measures where ongoing deterioration is expected within a declining trajectory 

• Participate in weekend and evening cover roster as required (including in-person ED rounds on weekends for GEDI program and the Acute Medical Unit) 

• Be proactive where possible, respond to staff concerns in a manner that is consistent with the Austin Health values, and foster a culture of great teamwork and collaborative spirit, supporting the engagement, training and wellbeing of the team and wider service   

About you 

To be successful in this role you’ll bring with you:

• A commitment to Austin Health values.
• Demonstrated commitment to high quality patient care.
• Demonstrated commitment and ongoing activity in research and/or clinical audit activities.
• Involvement in teaching and training of medical, technical and nursing staff, including at undergraduate and post-graduate level.
• Attendance and active involvement in relevant departmental, organisational and external meetings (i.e. College, Association and National/International bodies).

Our benefits 

Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including: 

• Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation. 
• A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program. 
• Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options. 
• Mentoring and career development opportunities. 

Work with us! 

We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures. 

If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. What matters most is your passion, your drive and your willingness to learn and contribute. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date. 

All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working With Children Check. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Michael Murray, Div Medical Director Continuing Care & Aged Care at Michael.Murray@austin.org.au

Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details. 

Application closing date: Tuesday 2 December 2025