14 September, 2022

Many Crown reserves across the state rely on the services of a caretaker for day-to-day on-site operations. Engaged by the CLM, caretakers often have a range of tasks such as supervising grounds, managing public access, administration duties, managing bookings, cleaning, managing workers, inspecting sites and maintenance works.

Some caretakers reside on site, such as a lighthouse keeper or caravan park manager. Other caretakers live offsite and travel to a reserve to carry out their roles.

The tips below should help you manage and support caretakers.

Top tips for taking care of caretakers

• Recruitment: Engaging caretakers must be done in a transparent manner, following a competitive process. Caretakers should be qualified to carry out the role. An advertisement could be placed in a local newspaper or online as a way to find candidates for the role. Decisions about engaging a caretaker should be a matter discussed, decided and documented by the board at a meeting.
• Engagement type: Carefully consider if a caretaker should be engaged as an employee, independent contractor or volunteer. Because of the varying types of CLMs and Crown reserves across NSW, different engagement types may apply. The NSW Volunteering website has resources that can help, including a fact sheet on the differences between a volunteer, employee or independent contractor.
• Formal agreement: All caretakers need to be engaged using a formal written agreement. This includes volunteers—a handshake is not enough. This agreement should clearly state all roles and responsibilities. For example, is the caretaker required to mow the lawns onsite, or carry out regular safety inspections? There is a range of templates for engaging workers on the Australian Government Fair Work Ombudsman website. NSW Volunteering has a sample volunteer agreement and volunteer position description.
• Living arrangements: A formal agreement should cover accommodation for caretakers who live on reserves (or who receive any other accommodation benefits as part of an agreement). This can be done either as part of the employment contract or as a separate tenancy agreement.
• Ongoing management: CLMs should have regular contact with caretakers to provide support and undertake performance reviews.

Caravans in park