Patient Navigator

At the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, our patient care is delivered via a tumour stream model. This means that a patient’s care is coordinated and provided by a multi-disciplinary team of people who have specialist knowledge of a specific type of cancer (e.g. breast or lung) and associated patient pathways.

The patient navigation team is a large team of 30-40 administrators, who work within the tumour streams alongside expert clinicians in those specific disciplines.

Patient Navigators are specialist administrative professionals responsible for coordinating and facilitating a patient's journey through Peter Mac. Acting as a central point of contact for patients, clinicians, and multidisciplinary teams, they ensure diagnostic investigations, treatment appointments, clinic reviews, and associated care requirements are appropriately sequenced, coordinated, and communicated.

Patient Navigators use critical thinking, problem-solving, and service knowledge to proactively identify and resolve scheduling, pathway, and administrative issues, supporting timely access to care and an optimal patient experience. They play a key role in multidisciplinary coordination, including appointment management, multidisciplinary meeting (MDM) administration, imaging and documentation management, and facilitation of complex clinical workflows. Using sound judgement and a patient-centred approach, Patient Navigators actively triage enquiries, coordinate care activities, and troubleshoot barriers to ensure patients receive timely, seamless, and well-coordinated care.

Health and Allied Services, Managers and Administrative Workers (Victorian Public Sector) (Single Interest Employers) Enterprise Agreement 2025-2027

Colleagues in the patient navigator team

Clinical nurse consultants

Senior and Junior medical staff across surgical, medical and radiation oncology

Other administration teams

Other clinical teams

Patients

Carers and families

Private healthcare providers

Imaging and diagnostics providers

Care facility coordinators

Manage a specialist tumour stream portfolio, providing high-quality administrative support and serving as the primary administrative resource within the designated area of expertise.

Deliver timely, accurate and patient-centred administrative support to patients, carers, clinicians and the multidisciplinary team.

Contribute to a positive, inclusive and respectful team culture aligned with Peter Mac's values.

Communicate with patients and families in a compassionate, respectful and professional manner, recognising the challenges associated with a cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Escalate clinical, operational or patient-related issues promptly through the appropriate channels and in accordance with organisational policies and escalation protocols.

Maintain accurate patient records and ensure compliance with patient confidentiality, privacy legislation and organisational policies relating to information management.

Maintain a high standard of data quality and documentation to support safe patient care.

Work collaboratively with administrative and clinical colleagues to support efficient patient care and service delivery.

Build and maintain effective working relationships with patients, carers, colleagues and members of the multidisciplinary team.

Communicate clearly, professionally and compassionately with people from diverse backgrounds and with varying communication needs.

Respond to patient, clinician and staff enquiries in a timely, accurate and respectful manner.

Ensure telephone, email and electronic enquiries are appropriately triaged and actioned within agreed timeframes.

Work collaboratively with fellow Patient Navigators to balance workload, provide mutual support and maintain continuity of service during periods of leave or increased demand.

Liaise effectively with external healthcare providers and partner organisations to support coordinated patient care.

Liaise with direct line manager to trouble-shoot any technical issues experienced by the work group in a timely manner to ensure quality is maintained

Coordinate appointments, referrals and patient pathways in collaboration with the multidisciplinary team.

Monitor and action work queues within the Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and other clinical information systems.

Coordinate and manage the administrative requirements of the allocated tumour stream to support safe, timely and efficient patient care.

Prioritise competing work demands while maintaining accuracy and meeting service expectations.

Provide cross-cover for other Patient Navigator portfolios as required to ensure continuity of service.

Support the implementation of new systems, workflows and organisational initiatives, including Electronic Medical Record (EMR) enhancements.

Participate in team meetings and contribute positively to achieving departmental and organisational objectives.

Participate in ongoing professional development to maintain and enhance knowledge and skills relevant to the role.

Complete all mandatory education, training and organisational requirements within required timeframes.

Participate in performance development and review processes in accordance with organisational policy.

Contribute to a culture of continuous learning by sharing knowledge and supporting colleagues where appropriate.

Maintain an understanding of individual responsibility for safety, quality and risk, and contribute to organisational quality and safety initiatives

Fulfil your roles and responsibilities as described in the Peter Mac World’s Best Cancer Care (Clinical Governance) Framework

Follow Peter Mac's safety, quality and risk policies, procedures and guidelines

Escalate concerns regarding safety, quality and risk to appropriate staff member, if unable to resolve yourself

Comply with the National Safety and Quality Health Service Standards and other regulatory requirements

Work in accordance with the Data Accountability Framework to maintain data integrity

Escalate safety, quality and risk concerns to the appropriate staff member if you cannot resolve them directly

Participate in quality audits and compliance monitoring activities (as required)

Pursue opportunities for continuous improvement

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For further information about this opportunity, click Apply to be redirected to the Peter Mac Careers page where you can review the position profile. Alternatively, please contact us for a confidential discussion.

Peter Mac is a child safe organisation and has a commitment to child safety and wellbeing.

Peter Mac offer a range of benefits which support our people both personally and professionally.

Our staff benefits include award winning facilities, professional development and events, a health and wellbeing program, flexible work practices and policies and financial benefits such as salary packaging.

We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, all members of the LGBTQI community and people with a disability.