Food Services Assistant

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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 Food Service Department

The Austin Health Food Services Department is an in-house service which consists of the following two business units:

• Patient Food Services: provides patient meals for all Austin Health campus' as well as providing a patient meals service to Royal Women's Hospital. Currently the Austin Health Patient Food Services Department is plating approximately 2700 cook/chill meals each day. Food Services has 138 staff.
• Medi-Chef: is located on the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital (HRH) campus. Medi-Chef produces cook/chill (short shelf life and long shelf life) meal components for both Austin Health and other clients. Medi-Chef has 25 staff and currently produces 128,000 meals components per week.

About the role

The Food Services Assistant supports the preparation and portioning of meals in Austin Health's central food production kitchen. In this role you will ensure meals are produced safely, accurately, and efficiently according to dietary requirements, food safety standards, and production schedules. Working as part of a team, you will help to produce high-quality, nutritious meals, contributing to patient care and service excellence.

A regular day will see you:

• Prepare meal as per the production plan.
• Dishwashing, general, and specific cleaning duties.
• Receive and store incoming goods as per the Food Safety plan.
• Assist cooks as and when required.

About you

As the Casual Food Services Assistant, you will be someone who has excellent communication skills, with a strong commitment to excellence in patient care. You'll bring energy and drive to your work, and have a keen interest in developing your skillset.

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

• Completion of Year 10 or equivalent.
• Current Food Handling and Hygiene Certificate.
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced team environment with good time management skills.
• Knowledge of dietary requirements, including allergen management and cross-contamination prevention.

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: Buddi Ranasinghe, Operations Manager Medi-Chef at

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

Application closing date: Friday 12 September 2025