Controversial job ad for ‘Caucasian’ support worker sparks debate

A job advertisement for an aged care and disability care worker, which states that applicants ‘must be Caucasian’, has sparked heated debate among Aussies.

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

The listing continued: “We have multiple ongoing services available to fit your schedule. If you are compassionate, trustworthy, and enthusiastic about helping others, we want to hear from you.”

It also said applicants were required to provide personal and professional documents – including a valid driver’s license, a reliable vehicle, first aid/CPR certificates and a police check – before adding a footnote under the ‘additional information’ section, which said: ‘must be Caucasian”.

Aussies join the debate

At first glance, some were outraged by the condition, with the obvious inference that the ad could be perceived as racist. But Australians working in the disability and aged care sectors have taken to social media to share what could be going on behind the scenes.

Posting the entry on Reddit, one user shared his surprise that “somehow this ad is still showing up after two days.” People quickly flocked to the comments to respond, with many claiming there was likely a justification for the question.

“I used to work in disability services. Some clients on the severe end of the challenging behavior side were racist and violent. They were dangerous,” one user wrote.

“It was a legal minefield. You have to juggle OHS, discrimination law, the issue of it being someone’s house and they get to choose who comes in, and ultimately you need skilled staff. I remember one client who was a big man who would attacking male employees when they did something he didn’t like. We used to just let women work with him. Was that ideal? No, but it worked. He never attacked a woman.

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“Is it ideal that this job is only offered to ‘whites’? No, but there may be a reasonable reason for that.”

Nearly 800 people responded to the post with an “upvote.”

“This is 100 percent the answer. I knew a disabled woman who would only be polite to clean-shaven white men and white women. She would close down an entire supermarket in outbursts if she felt ‘unsafe’ in public.” a second wrote.

“I also feel that this kind of ‘discrimination’ in an advertisement for a largely thankless job should be treated differently than discrimination in a high-paying corporate job, where it is 100 percent unacceptable,” another argued.

“This is for the safety of the employee and the safety of the company. When you work with racists, you 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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