Home Refuge Worker Resume template
Refuge Worker resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what refuge workers actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most refuge workers should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Refuge Worker with a strong commitment to supporting people escaping domestic violence and homelessness. Skilled in crisis assessment, safety planning and practical casework, with experience coordinating referrals to legal, housing and health services. Works calmly under pressure and maintains a safe, respectful refuge environment.
Key skills
- Crisis assessment and safety planning
- Counselling and emotional support
- Casework and client support
- Referrals to legal, housing and health services
- Advocacy with government agencies and landlords
- Client management systems
- Incident reporting systems
- Rostering software
- Microsoft Office
- Written communication
Experience: example bullet points
- Assessed immediate safety and needs of new residents, completing risk assessments and safety plans within the first hour of arrival.
- Provided emotional support and crisis counselling to residents, helping them stabilise and engage with support services.
- Coordinated referrals to legal, housing and health services, reducing wait times for residents accessing external support.
- Maintained a safe and secure refuge environment, conducting regular safety checks and managing incident reports.
- Advocated for residents with government agencies and landlords, securing stable housing outcomes and preventing homelessness.
Education
Certificate IV or Diploma in Community Services, or a Bachelor of Social Work, plus a current First Aid Certificate and Working with Children Check.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Working with Children Check
- National Police Check
- First Aid Certificate
- domestic and family violence
- crisis accommodation
- safety planning
- casework
- referrals
- advocacy
- trauma-informed care
- client management systems
- homelessness services
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.