Nursing staff at an aged-care facility in Albion Park have been told they will need to reapply for their jobs when new management takes over next month, less than a year after the private nursing home opened.

Nurses at Daintree Aged Care received a letter from management Daintree Aged Care Services Pty Ltd informing them that a new management group, Daintree Management Pty Ltd, would take over the administration of the private facility and their employment would cease on November 9.

A nursing home employee told the Mercury that the treatment of employees by management was "appalling".

Daintree Aged Care general manager Dianne Sambuco confirmed the action and said that staff could reapply for employment under the new terms and conditions set by the new management.

Ms Sambuco said the company would be taking on additional staff to cope with growing numbers of residents at the centre.

The Mercury understands ownership of the 66 high-care and 85 low-care bed facility will remain with the same company, Calendula Care.

NSW Nurses Association officer Kathy Sullivan said the association was urgently investigating the matter. Representatives from the association would hold talks with employees this week.

"We need more aged-care nurses across the board, and the only way we will retain them is by not threatening their employment," Ms Sullivan said.

"It's a hard job and there remains a big deficit between what public hospital nurses are paid and what aged-care nurses earn."

The Mercury contacted the office of the Australian Workplace Ombudsman where a spokesman said the office would need to speak with an employee of the facility confidentially before proceeding with an investigation into the matter.

Source: Illawarra Mercury - Katelin Mcinerney