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This case study focuses on workforce recruitment and retention at Jimbelunga Nursing Centre in Eagleby, Queensland, on the lands of the Yugambeh people.
Jimbelunga is part of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service Brisbane. It provides culturally and spiritually responsive aged care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander older people. It also welcomes people from many cultural backgrounds.
The case study shows how a relationship-based model of care can support residents and staff. Jimbelunga uses Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led recruitment, mentoring and capacity building to strengthen cultural representation, staff wellbeing and care quality.
Around 40 per cent of staff and 80 per cent of residents identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
This example is included because it shows workforce innovation in a community-led, culturally responsive and trauma-informed aged care setting. It shows how cultural safety can be part of everyday practice when workforce development is treated as part of care quality.
Recruitment and retention are major issues for aged care providers. Services working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander older people also need workforce approaches that support cultural safety, community connection, self-determination and healing.
Jimbelunga shows that culturally safe workforce development is more than filling vacancies. It means finding people who can build trusting relationships with residents, families, staff and community.
It also means supporting staff as whole people. This includes their learning, confidence, health, wellbeing and sense of belonging at work.
The model highlights a simple message. Staff wellbeing and resident wellbeing are connected. When staff feel valued, supported and connected to the purpose of the service, they are better placed to provide consistent, respectful and trauma-informed care.
Jimbelunga’s relationship-based model of care was developed with Queensland University of Technology. It is built around four values: connection, diversity, healing and self-determination. These values apply to both residents and staff.
The workforce approach starts with cultural fit and relational fit. Jimbelunga looks for people who are the right fit for the organisation and community. It then supports them to gain required qualifications after they join.
This can create employment pathways for people who have the values, lived experience and community connection needed for the role. It can also help people who face barriers to entering the aged care workforce.
The example of Maria, a pseudonym, shows this in practice. Maria is a 50-year-old Aboriginal woman with chronic health conditions. She was known to ATSICHS Brisbane’s medical clinics.
Maria had completed a Certificate III but had limited work experience and faced barriers to employment. Her wish to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander older people made her a strong cultural fit for Jimbelunga.
Jimbelunga supported Maria to address specific challenges and build a daily routine. Over time, she achieved financial independence for the first time in her life.
The case study describes positive effects for Maria’s health, family and wider community. This shows how workforce development can create benefits beyond the service when recruitment is linked to mentoring, practical support and long-term capacity building.
For aged care providers, Jimbelunga shows that recruitment and retention can be part of a culturally safe model of care.
Workforce development is not only an operational process. It can support self-determination, build community trust and improve resident care experiences.
The approach also suggests that providers can think more broadly about suitability for aged care roles. Values, relationships, cultural knowledge and commitment to community can be important strengths.
Formal qualifications remain important. The Jimbelunga example shows that structured learning pathways can support staff to gain required qualifications after employment begins.
For retention, the case study points to the value of staff-centred care. Staff are more likely to stay when they are respected, supported, mentored and connected to the service’s purpose.
This is especially important in culturally responsive and trauma-informed services, where relationships are central to care.
This evidence-based example has been adapted from the original Jimbelunga Nursing Centre's model of care report and an interview with Belinda Charles, Operations Manager at Jimbelunga, to fit ARIIA’s case study format. For full detail and context, refer to the original report or the interviewee in the link provided.