•Salary Packaging options available
• 14-week paid parent leave
• Paid Christmas closure
• Professional development and training opportunities
About the Organisation:
The Victorian Aboriginal Health Service (VAHS) was established in 1973 to address the specific health needs of Victorian Aboriginal people, families and communities.
VAHS was established by local Aboriginal people, who showed courage and shared a vision for Aboriginal people to determine our own health journey. This is expressed as one of the fundamental rights of all peoples.
VAHS core principles are Community Control, where the users (our community) are the owners of VAHS. The governance of which is provided by a Board of Directors elected by the VAHS members.
Connected to this is the principle of self-determination whereas the right for Aboriginal people to have and run their own services.
With over 350 staff, VAHS has expanded to four clinics across Metropolitan Melbourne (Fitzroy, Preston, South Morang, St Albans). This includes a range of social & emotional well-being services and a residential youth drug and alcohol facility in Hastings.
As well as providing a variety of health services, VAHS is committed to supporting the well-being of the community through a holistic view that includes a variety of streams, including contributions towards and organisation of health related community events and activities. VAHS is also committed to research into the ongoing health and well-being needs of the community. VAHS applies the principle of data sovereignty to our research.
VAHS is a child safe organisation, committed to child safety and wellbeing, and recruits’ staff in accordance with the Child Safe Standards Victoria.
About the Opportunity:
The Dental Receptionist is the front-of-house ambassador for our Oral Health clinic. The role provides culturally safe, welcoming and efficient reception services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their families, ensuring easy access to dental services, priority pathways, and timely care. Duties include appointment booking and book management, reception triage intake support, referral coordination, billing and payments (including public dental co-payments, CDBS and vouchers), records management, and daily clinic administration. The position supports culturally safe care and ACCHO ways of working (community control, holistic health, flexibility, and relationship-based service).
Key Selection Criteria
To be considered for this role, you will need to demonstrate:
• Understanding and commitment to Aboriginal Community Control, with the ability to provide culturally safe, respectful and person-centred services to Aboriginal patients, families and communities.
• Experience in dental reception, triage and appointment management, including high-volume bookings, recalls, waitlists, cancellations, priority access and urgent appointment pathways.
• Strong knowledge of public dental service processes, including eligibility, priority access, fee exemptions, EDMS triage and referral pathways, with the ability to apply these requirements accurately in daily workflows.
• Experience coordinating referrals and managing patient information, including inbound and outbound referrals, accurate record keeping, confidentiality, privacy and use of patient management systems such as Titanium.
• Ability to manage billing, payments and funding pathways, including public dental fees, CDBS, vouchers, receipts, daily reconciliation and appropriate escalation of financial hardship matters.
• Strong interpersonal, communication and conflict resolution skills, with the ability to build rapport with patients, staff and external stakeholders, exercise sound judgement, manage challenging situations and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
Qualifications and Experience
Highly Desirable:
• Certificate III in Dental Assisting
This is not an aboriginal identified position, however, preference may be given to persons of Aboriginal and / or Torres Strait Islander descent (as permitted under The Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 2010 s12: “A person may take a special measure for the purpose of promoting or realizing substantive equality for members of a group with a particular attribute”).
We do not offer sponsorship at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. If you have elected that you require sponsorship on your application form, unfortunately, your application will not be considered.
