PhD Scholarship: Digital Support for the Aged Care Workforce Caring for Older People with Complex Mental Health Needs in the Home
Job No.: 691185
Location: Clayton campus
Employment Type: Full-time
Duration: 3.5-year fixed-term appointment
Remuneration: The successful applicant will receive a tax-free stipend of $37,145 per annum (2026 full-time rate), as per the Monash Research Training Program (RTP) Stipend www.monash.edu/study/fees-scholarships/scholarships/find-a-scholarship/research-training-program-scholarship#scholarship-details
- Be inspired, every day
- Drive your own learning at one of the world’s top 80 universities
- Take your career in exciting, rewarding directions
About the project
Aged care workers face significant challenges when providing home care to older people facing complex mental health challenges, including emotional strain from verbal aggression or non-cooperative behaviour, and are at an increased risk of burnout. It may take longer to deliver care to complex clients, which can disrupt their schedules, and workers may find it difficult to access appropriate support. Physical safety can also be a concern in cases of aggressive or unpredictable behaviour, particularly given that workers typically visit older peoples’ homes on their own. This may impact the quality of care that these clients receive and older people’s ability to remain in the community. With mental health rates in this population increasing rapidly, new initiatives to support the workforce and provide better care to complex clients are required.
To better support aged care workers caring for clients with mental health conditions at home, this project will co-design a digital support system that provides just-in-time training, practical guidance, and peer/professional support. Building on stakeholder-defined requirements and existing insights and resources developed by industry partner Silverchain, the student will co-design low-fidelity prototypes and progressively develop a minimum viable platform that includes scenario-based Q&A, modular micro-training, and moderated peer/professional support features. Working with interaction designers and software engineers at Action Lab, the student will ensure the solution is usable, contextually appropriate, and scalable, and will iteratively test and evaluate prototypes in real-world settings.
The ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Optimal Ageing
The successful candidate will be a member of the Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ITTC) for Optimal Ageing. The Centre is led by Monash University (Turner Institute, Monash Engineering, Monash Faculty of IT), Federation University and The University of Melbourne. The Centre seeks to inspire and train the next generation of leaders in ageing by providing direct experience with industry partners, as well as training and masterclasses in key areas of psychology, health sciences, engineering, and information technology. The projects within the Centre are expected to accelerate research translation and industry engagement by developing and applying digital, robotics, and sensor-based technologies to address key ageing-related challenges: enhancing cognition, promoting independence, and fostering social connectedness. The expected outcome of this Centre is to equip trainees with skills that expand Australia’s technical capability, enable them to make key contributions to the sustainability and growth of the Medtech and Biotech sectors, and provide significant capacity to address global challenges for 21st-century innovation to optimise ageing.
Monash University is a member of Australia’s Group of Eight coalition, and is internationally recognised for excellence in research and teaching as one of the world's top 80 universities. Embedded in an ecosystem of health, academia, and industry, it delivers research outcomes, a skilled workforce, technology, and partnerships to improve human health locally and globally.
Supervisory team
You will be co-supervised by Professor Patrick Olivier (Action Lab, Monash University), Professor Tanya Davison (Silverchain & Monash University) and Professor Karen Smith (Silverchain & Monash University)
Eligibility Requirements
Candidates will need to fulfil the Monash University minimum requirements for admission to a PhD, detailed here: www.monash.edu/admissions/entry-requirements/minimum.
Candidate Requirements
- Undergraduate Honours degree or Master's by research degree in a relevant discipline (Health, Psychiatry, Psychology, Social Services, or others related to the PhD topic)
- Excellent people skills
- Good understanding of mental health, ideally in older people
- IELTS score of 6.5 overall, with no less than 6.0 in each component
How to apply
For general instructions on how to apply for roles at Monash, please refer to 'How to apply for Monash Jobs'.
To express your interest in this scholarship and PhD research opportunity, we request that candidates provide:
- A cover letter describing your research interests and why you would like to undertake a PhD (maximum one page)
- A CV including qualifications, academic achievements, work history and references
- A copy of your academic transcript(s) (degree certificates and transcripts)
Enquiries: Dr Karen Little, karen.little@monash.edu, Business Manager, ITTC for Optimal Ageing
Applications Close: Tuesday 24 March 2026, 11:55pm AEDT
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