27/10/2026
🫶🏻
🐴🐕 WE'RE HIRING! EXPERIENCED YOUTH / DISABILITY SUPPORT WORKER 🌱
Love working with young people AND animals? This might just be your dream job!
Outback Instincts Ltd is looking for an experienced, compassionate, resilient and hardworking person to join our small team at Goombungee, just outside Toowoomba.
We're a grassroots registered charity delivering hands-on, farm-based mentoring and animal-assisted programs for young people experiencing disability, trauma, disengagement from education and other significant life challenges.
Our days involve horses, dogs, cattle, practical farm projects, plenty of dirt, lots of laughs and, most importantly, making a genuine difference in young people's lives. ❤️
🐴 WHAT DOES THE JOB INVOLVE?
No two days are the same!
🐴 Working with horses through groundwork, horsemanship, handling and potentially riding lessons.
🐕 Supporting activities involving dogs, cattle and other farm animals.
🌱 Providing 1:1 youth mentoring and facilitating small group programs of up to six young people.
🛠️ Helping young people develop practical skills, confidence, resilience and responsibility.
🤝 Working alongside our facilitators, youth workers and wonderful volunteers.
🚜 Delivering programs both on our Goombungee property and off-site in community and rural settings.
⭐ WHO ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We're looking for someone who brings genuine experience, emotional maturity, common sense and a great work ethic.
✅ MUST have professional experience supporting young people with disability, trauma, complex behaviours and challenging life circumstances.
✅ MUST have strong practical horse handling and horsemanship experience. We're looking for someone genuinely confident and capable around horses, not simply someone who enjoys riding. The ideal candidate is confident and experienced at teaching young people to ride.
✅ A kind, ethical and welfare-focused approach to animals. Animal welfare is absolutely non-negotiable.
✅ Emotional resilience, patience, self-awareness and the ability to remain calm when things get challenging.
✅ A positive role model who understands professional boundaries, takes feedback well and can put the needs of young people first.
✅ Someone who can follow directions, work within our established approaches and contribute positively to a team.
✅ A hardworking, reliable person who isn't afraid to get their hands dirty, work outdoors and pitch in wherever needed.
Highly regarded: Horse riding instruction, dog training (working dogs, agility, obedience or tricks), cattle handling, livestock experience and relevant youth work/disability qualifications.
❤️ A LITTLE ABOUT WORKING WITH US
We're not a big corporate organisation. We're a small grassroots charity, and everyone pitches in.
Some days are incredibly rewarding. Others are physically demanding, emotionally challenging and completely unpredictable!
Our young people need steady, consistent adults who can demonstrate the resilience, respect, kindness and emotional regulation we're helping them develop.
You don't need to have lived a perfect life, but you do need to be accountable for how you show up.
We're looking for someone who genuinely wants to be part of what we're building and understands that working with vulnerable young people and animals is a responsibility, not just a job.
📋 POSITION DETAILS
📍 Goombungee, QLD, with some off-site work around the region.
🕒 Casual employment, approximately 10–20 hours per week depending on bookings and programs. Hours are variable and not guaranteed.
📅 Fixed-term to 30 June 2027, with potential for a further 12-month extension.
💰 SCHADS Award remuneration based on classification, duties and experience.
Applicants must have or be eligible to obtain a Queensland Blue Card, hold a current driver's licence and have reliable transport. First Aid and CPR certification are also required.
📩 HOW TO APPLY
Please email your resume and a brief cover letter explaining your experience with:
🐴 Horses and practical horsemanship
🐕 Dogs, cattle or other livestock
❤️ Young people with disability, trauma and complex life challenges
And importantly, tell us why you'd love to work with Outback Instincts!
📧 [email protected]
📅 APPLICATIONS CLOSE 27 NOVEMBER 2026
Please note: This is NOT an entry-level position. Experience working with both vulnerable young people AND horses/animals is essential.
Our Recruitment Process:
At Outback Instincts, we take recruitment seriously. Working with vulnerable young people and animals requires a unique combination of experience, practical skills, emotional maturity and values that genuinely align with our organisation.
For this reason, we follow a staged recruitment process, beginning with an initial review of resumes and cover letters, followed by a written pre-interview questionnaire designed to explore applicants' experience, judgement, ethics and approach to real-life situations. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to a face-to-face interview, followed by a paid, supervised practical assessment to demonstrate their animal-handling skills and suitability for our programs. Relevant reference checks and required screening will also form part of the process.
Our priority isn't simply finding someone with the right qualifications on paper — it's finding the right person for our young people, our animals and our team.
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