Aussies weigh in over 'Caucasian-only' job ad

A job ad for an aged care and disability worker that states applicants "must be Caucasian" has sparked heated debate among Aussies.

The ad, posted to employment website Seek by recruitment agency Payworx but removed on Monday morning, said successful applicants would "be responsible for aiding with daily activities, including all aspects of personal care, community access and domestic assistance."

The listing continued, "we have multiple ongoing shifts available to fit your schedule. If you are compassionate, reliable, and eager to help others, we want to hear from you."

It also said that applicants were required to submit personal and professional documents — including a current driver's licence, reliable vehicle, first Aid/CPR certificates and a police check — before adding a footnote under the "additional information" section, which read: "must be caucasian".

Aussies weigh in on debate

While on first glance, some were outraged by the condition, with the obvious inference being that the ad could be perceived as racist. But Aussies who work in the disability and aged care sectors have taken to social media to share what might be at play behind the scenes.

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Posting the listing on Reddit, a user shared their surprise that "somehow this ad is still up after two days". People quickly flocked to the comments to respond, with many claiming there was likely a justification for the demand.

"I used to work in disability. Some clients on the severe end of the challenging behaviour side were racist, and violent. They were dangerous," a user wrote.

"It was a legal minefield. You’ve got to juggle OHS, discrimination legislation, the issue that it’s someone’s home and they get to chose who enters, plus in the end you need capable staff. I remember one client who was a large man who would attack male workers if they did something he didn’t like. We used to just let women work with him. Was it ideal? No, but it worked. He never attacked a female.

"Is it ideal this job is offered just to “caucasians”? Nah but there may well be a half decent reason why."

Almost 800 people responded with an "up vote" to the post.

"This is 100 per cent the answer. I used to know this disabled woman who would only be civil with cleanly shaven white men and white women. She would shut down a whole supermarket with outbursts if she felt “unsafe” out in public," a second wrote.

"I also feel like this sort of 'discrimination' in an ad for a largely thankless job needs to be treated differently to discrimination in a high-paying corporate job, where it is 100 per cent unacceptable," another argued.

"This is for the employee's safety, and the company's safety. If you're working with racists, you'd better not be a race they don't like," said another.

Yahoo News has contacted Payworx to discuss the advertised position.

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