About Us

Burdekin is an independent not-for-profit organisation supporting young people and their families to prevent homelessness, provide safe housing, and promote wellbeing. We believe every young person deserves to feel safe, have a home, and be empowered to live life to their full potential.

Our vision: Young lives, lived to their full potential.

We’re seeking an experienced and passionate Foster Care Support Specialist to join our Out of Home Care (OOHC) team based in Marrickville. In this pivotal role, you’ll lead the support, training, and accreditation of foster carers – ensuring every young person has the opportunity to live in a safe, nurturing home.

About the role

As a Foster Care Support Specialist, you will play a key role in supporting, training and developing foster carers to provide safe, stable and trauma informed care that enables children and young people to thrive.

Your key responsibilities will include:

- Facilitate information sessions, training and education for prospective and existing foster carers.
- Conduct comprehensive carer assessments, reviews and supervision in line with OOHC requirements.
- Support carer wellbeing, engagement and retention, including identifying and responding to training and support needs.
- Work collaboratively with Case Managers to support safe, stable placements and positive outcomes for children and young people.
- Assist with carer matching and placement processes, maintaining accurate records and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and standards.
- Contribute to quality improvement, service development and strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

About you





You’re an engaging communicator and strong relationship-builder who’s passionate about making a difference in the lives of children and young people. You bring initiative, empathy, and professionalism to everything you do.

You’ll also have:

- Relevant tertiary qualifications in social work, welfare, or a related field
- Experience in Out of Home Care, ideally with direct foster carer engagement
- Robust assessment and report-writing skills
- Exceptional organisational and time management skills and capacity to work independently and cooperatively within a team structure
- Shared Lives training and assessment experience or willing to obtain certification (Step by Step)
- Ability to participate in the after-hours on-call roster
- Current Working with Children Check and National Police Check or willing to obtain
- Current Driver’s Licence with access to a vehicle with comprehensive insurance

Why join Burdekin?

- Salary packaging with generous pre-tax benefits
- An additional leave day to be used for your own wellbeing
- Free, independent counselling service
- Staff discounts on a range of products and services
- A supportive, inclusive team that values your contribution

Join Us

If you’re committed to creating positive change and want to work in a team that truly values your contribution – we’d love to hear from you. Apply now and be part of an organisation where your work truly matters.

Burdekin is an Equal Opportunity Employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and individuals from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.

📌 Foster Care Support Specialist (Marrickville)
🏢 Burdekin Youth Services
📍 Marrickville