Aged care worker interview questions: what to ask and why

Why structured interviews predict retention in aged care

Aged care turnover is persistently high, and a significant share of leavers depart within the first few months. Most of that early attrition isn't about pay or rostering; it's about fit. A worker who underestimated the emotional and physical demands of the role, or who doesn't share the values required to give genuinely person-centred care, will struggle and leave. A structured interview, same questions, same scoring, for every candidate, is the single highest-leverage tool for filtering on fit before someone is in the building. It also makes your process fairer and easier to defend, both important under the Aged Care Act 2024's tightened workforce obligations.

Compassion and dignity questions

These questions separate workers who understand dignity as a living practice from those who know it as a compliance term.

• "Tell me about a time you supported someone through a moment that was undignified for them, an accident, a fall, a moment of confusion. How did you handle it?" • "How do you maintain someone's privacy and dignity when providing personal care in a shared room?" • "A resident becomes verbally abusive toward you during a personal care task. What do you do?" • "What does a 'good day' look like for a resident in your care? Can you give me a specific example from your experience?"

Look for answers centred on the resident's experience, not the worker's reaction. Empathy in aged care is practical, not abstract.

Scenario-based care questions

Scenarios reveal judgement under pressure, which matters more in aged care than textbook knowledge.

• "You're doing a welfare check on a resident and notice they're more confused than usual and have a slight cough. You're the only AIN on the floor right now. What do you do?" • "A resident tells you they don't want to have a shower today. Their family has told you they must shower daily. How do you handle this?" • "You're helping a resident eat and realise they're struggling to swallow safely. What do you do?" • "A resident is crying quietly in their room and says they feel lonely. You have six more rooms to complete before handover. How do you respond?"

Strong candidates balance resident wellbeing with safe escalation and honest time management. Be wary of candidates who always escalate immediately without trying to solve the human problem first, or who always try to handle everything alone.

Compliance and safety questions

Under the Aged Care Act 2024 and the Strengthened Quality Standards, every worker has clear obligations around safety, reporting, and documentation. Test whether candidates understand them.

• "What would prompt you to fill out an incident report?" • "Have you ever witnessed something you felt was unsafe or unkind toward a resident? What did you do?" • "What do you know about the Aged Care Quality Standards, and how do they affect what you do day to day?" • "What is a restrictive practice, and what are the rules around using one?"

For candidates new to the sector, probe whether they understand that reporting concerns is a duty of care, not disloyalty. For experienced workers, listen for specifics rather than generalities.

Teamwork and communication questions

Aged care is a handover-dependent environment. A worker who doesn't communicate clearly or doesn't function well in a team directly puts residents at risk.

• "How do you write a care note? What do you always include?" • "Tell me about a time you disagreed with a colleague about how to support a resident. How did you resolve it?" • "How do you ensure a smooth handover at the end of a shift?" • "A senior colleague is doing something you think is unsafe. What do you do?"

Look for factual, specific care notes; a willingness to escalate genuine safety concerns even with a senior colleague; and a handover approach that centres continuity for the resident.

Resilience and sustainability questions

Aged care is emotionally and physically demanding. Workers who don't have strategies for managing that demand leave early, often burning out during the first few months.

• "Grief is part of aged care. How have you managed it when a resident you cared for passed away?" • "What does a hard shift look like for you, and how do you recover?" • "What attracted you to aged care specifically, rather than another care sector?" • "What has kept you in care work so far, or what do you think would keep you here?"

These questions aren't about finding people with no emotional response to hard work; they're about finding people who have developed realistic strategies for staying well enough to stay.

Screening these questions at volume across multiple vacancies

These questions work well in a face-to-face shortlist interview. The challenge is getting there: when you're hiring AINs and PCAs at volume across a facility or across multiple sites, you can't run every applicant through a structured face-to-face first. AI screening lets you run a consistent structured interview with every applicant the moment they apply, covering the values, scenario, and compliance questions that actually predict fit, and delivering a scored shortlist for your team to review. Your coordinators make every hiring decision; the AI ensures every applicant gets the same fair, thorough first round. See how Ployo supports aged care hiring below.