Nursing and Midwifery jobs in The Northern Territory

We employ nursing or midwifery students as Registered Undergraduate Students of Nursing or Midwifery (RUSoN/M) to assist in the provision of basic nursing and midwifery care to Territorians.

Our RUSoN/M work under the supervision of a registered nurse or midwife with a defined scope of practice, to deliver safe care across the hospitals within NT Health.

To be eligible for the role you must meet all of the following criteria:

• be enrolled in an eligible nursing or midwifery degree at an Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council ANMAC Accredited University, for example, an Undergraduate Bachelors of Nursing and/or Midwifery or Masters of Nursing (pre-registration).
• have successfully completed (with evidence required) of your first year clinical placement for an RUSON/M1 and second year clinical placement for an RUSON/M 2

Read the job description for the full list of essential criteria.

Apply now

Being a nursing or midwifery graduate with less than 6 months of experience gives you access to our 12-month support program.

Our program supports your transition from undergraduate student to graduate health professional in an easy-to-follow structured format. Best of all, it consolidates your clinical knowledge and skills. Annual recruitment start mid-year with multiple intake dates across all regions.

Find out everything you need to know about being a graduate in the Territory.

Read more about the Graduate Nursing and Midwifery Program PDF (6.0 MB).

Applications are now open until early February 2027.

Apply now

Enrolled nurses work under the supervision of a registered nurse or midwife and provide direct and indirect care. NT Health enrolled nurses work in a wide variety of settings including acute, subacute and primary health care settings.

Apply for an enrolled nurse role with NT Health

Midwives in the NT cared for approximately 3,500 women on their pregnancy journey in 2023. Birthing services in the NT are provided in 4 locations:

• Darwin
• Alice Springs
• Katherine
• Nhulunbuy.

Antenatal, postnatal, and the occasional surprise intrapartum care is delivered right across the NT and can range from urban hospital-based clinics, to outreach clinic care, to the unmatched opportunity to live and work with mothers and babies in a remote community.

Models of care provided by NT Health include:

• midwifery group practice - caseload/continuity of carer
• team midwifery
• remote area maternity care
• general practitioner obstetrician care
• shared care
• public hospital maternity care
• public hospital high risk maternity care.

Apply for a Midwife role with NT Health

• Domestic applicants
• International applicants

Watch testimonial from Eliza, Midwife, Central Australia.

Wherever you choose to work in the Northern Territory, the nursing and midwifery community will provide meaningful professional development, training and ongoing support.

Opportunities for registered nurses exist across a variety of services including:

• cancer care - oncology or chemotherapy
• critical care - ICU, ED or CCU
• medical - general, rehab, geriatric or HITH
• mental health and alcohol and other drugs
• neonatal, paediatrics
• outpatient clinics
• perioperative - anaesthetics, instrument, circulating or PACU
• renal services
• surgical - general or orthopaedic.

Apply for a  Registered Nurse role with NT Health:

• Domestic applicants
• International applicants

Watch testimonial from our nurses

• Kate, Registered Nurse, Gove Hospital
• Wendy, Perioperative Nurse, Top End
• Kate, Registered Nurse, Katherine
• Omar, Mental Health Nurse, Central Aus
• Rebecca, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Katherine
• Jessica, Mental Health Nurse, Top End

NT Health offers primary health care nursing and midwifery opportunities from urban community care centres to regional and remote communities.

The Primary Health Care Branch also provides services in:

• outreach teams
• schools
• police watch houses
• correctional centres.

Frontline roles provide direct nursing and midwifery care including:

• clinical assessment and management
• case management
• care coordination
• primary health care programs - child health, women's health, chronic disease
• urban and remote community visits
• after-hours emergency response.

NT Health Primary Health Care centres are found in both urban and remote areas and provide a wide range of services - such as preventative health checks and chronic disease reviews, immunisations, oral and hearing health, health promotion and education and allied health and aged care services within the home environment. NT Health also supports an after-hours on-call service for emergencies in remote settings.

If you would like to discover more of the Northern Territory remote service while working in health, go to the Northern Territory Government website.

Remote communities

There are currently over 76 remote communities in the Northern Territory. There are also several small communities of Aboriginal people, usually fewer than 100, in permanent or semi-permanent residences. These communities are often referred to as Homelands or Family Outstations.

Incentives

Establish your career in one of the Territory’s remote areas and receive a generous relocation package based on your commencement level, employment type (e.g. full time or casual) and location of your recruitment, as well as a flexible job role that fits around your lifestyle.

To search for current vacancies primary health, go to the
Employment Opportunities Online website

Watch testimonial from our nurses

• Rebecca, Remote Area Nurse, Central Aus
• Jennifer, Nurse Educator, Central Aus
• Geraldine, Registered Nurse, Central Aus

Contact

Barkly Region
Email: recruitment.barklypphc@nt.gov.au
Phone: 08 8962 4654

Central Australia
Email: recruitment.carhs@nt.gov.au
Phone: 08 8951 7586

Top End (includes Big Rivers, East Arnhem and Top End Regions)
Email: phcrecruitment.doh@nt.gov.au
Phone: 08 8922 7183

Nurse practitioners are important clinicians in the Australian health care system. NT Health is committed strategically implementing nurse practitioner positions within the unique context of the NT. NT Health is exploring current service provision, identifying gaps in services and expanding nurse-led models, including nurse practitioner services that will best meet the population and service needs.

To search for current nurse practitioner vacancies with NT Health go to the Northern Territory Government jobs website.

Nurse practitioner role

Nurse practitioners have the legal authority to practice both independently and autonomously at a level of practice that is beyond that of a registered nurse.

The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) outlines the expectations and responsibilities for nurse practitioners across all practice settings and patient/client populations. This ensures the provision of safe, high-quality care and enables nurse practitioners to autonomously manage complete episodes of care.

Read the NMBA’s Nurse practitioner Standards (March 2021).

Nurse practitioners are educated to a master’s level and are endorsed by the NMBA. The title ‘nurse practitioner’ is protected by National Law and may only be used by a registered nurse who has met the requirements for endorsement as specified by the NMBA.

A nurse practitioner provides clinically focused services which includes:

• clinical health assessments,
• ordering and interpreting diagnostic investigations,
• formulates diagnosis,
• prescribing, implementing and assessing response to therapeutic interventions, including medications
• referring to and accepting referral from other health professionals.

NT Health nurse practitioners/candidates have allocated non-clinical time to do activities of quality and system improvements.  This includes education, research and leadership in line with the nurse practitioner standards for practice.

NT Health currently has nurse practitioners working across all regions of the NT, in the acute, primary and community settings.

Become a nurse practitioner

To become a nurse practitioner, you will need to undertake an NMBA-approved program of study at a masters’ level.

Entry requirements into a masters NMBA-approved program are:

1. current general registration as a registered nurse,
2. a minimum of 2 years full time equivalent (FTE) as a registered nurse in a specified clinical field and 2 years FTE of current advanced nursing practice in this same clinical field,
3. a postgraduate qualification in a relevant clinical field.

Health service support staff are required to complete an approved program of study towards nurse practitioner and the formation of clinical support team within the clinical team.

Endorsement

To practice as a nurse practitioner, a nurse practitioner must hold endorsement with the NMBA and must be able to demonstrate all of the following:

1. current general registration as a registered nurse in Australia with no conditions or undertakings relating to unsatisfactory professional performance or unprofessional conduct
2. the equivalent of 3 years’ full-time experience (5,000 hours) at the clinical advanced nursing practice level, within the past 6 years, from the date when the complete application seeking endorsement as a nurse practitioner is received by the NMBA
3. successful completion of, either:
   • an NMBA-approved program of study leading to endorsement as a nurse practitioner, or
   • a program that is substantially equivalent to an NMBA-approved program of study leading to endorsement as a nurse practitioner as determined by the NMBA.
4. compliance with the NMBA’s nurse practitioner standards for practice.

Studies assistance

Bi-annual studies assistance is available to NT Health nurses and midwives (who meet the eligibility criteria) to provide reimbursement on course fees of completed units of study leading to an academic qualification.

For more information, go to the NT Health website.

HELP debt reduction for nurse practitioners

Nurse practitioners who live and work in rural, remote or very remote areas of Australia, are able to reduce their outstanding Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt, provided they meet the eligibility criteria and their obligations to complete the required amount of eligible work.

Read the factsheet.

Nurse practitioner candidates

In recognition of the significant investment and our commitment to ‘grow our own’, NT Health supports the development of nurse practitioners, by providing the option for nurse practitioner candidate applications for each nurse practitioner recruitment.

A nurse practitioner candidate is a registered nurse employed in a designated nurse practitioner position on a fixed term contract while they work towards nurse practitioner endorsement with the NMBA. Once the nurse practitioner candidate completes their program of study and has received their endorsement with NMBA, they transition within their position to nurse practitioner.

NT Health will clinically and professionally support the nurse practitioner candidate to undertake a NMBA approved program of study leading to nurse practitioner endorsement, including periods of integrated professional practice.

Nurse practitioner student placements

NT Health has opportunities for nurse practitioner students to experience life and work in the NT.

Nurse practitioners students can apply for clinical placements with endorsed nurse practitioners across practice settings in the NT.

To find out more go to the NT Health website.

NT Health has a range of professional development supports including:

• professional allowance development (as per the Northern Territory Public Sector Nurses and Midwives' 2022 - 2026 Enterprise Agreement)
• studies assistance through By Law 41 **
• transition/ employed model programs **
• graduate Diploma in Midwifery employed model programs **
• nurse practitioner candidate support **

** The above are dependent on operation need and are advertised for a short time only on the Northern Territory Government jobs website for a short time only.  Application opening and closing dates vary.

The Northern Territory can offer more than just a job. We offer a life-long career and professional success. We also believe that education and learning are key elements to support career development - whether that be through experience, mentorship, or education.

Opportunities are available for nurses and midwives in one of 4 career paths, including:

• clinical specialisation
• education
• research
• management

All health professionals wishing to practice in Australia must hold Australian registration, and have appropriate levels of education, skill and experience.

International applicants will need to have Australian registration prior to applying for employment. To read more information about the requirements, go to the NMBA website.

Find out about the process for gaining professional registration and immigrating to the NT.

For more information about working visas, go to the Australian Governments Immigration and citizenship website.

NT Health is committed to ensuring that all health care workers are protected from vaccine preventable diseases.

You must provide immunisation records before starting work.

If you're offered employment you will need to submit a national criminal history check and a working with children clearance (WWCC), also called an Ochre Card, at your own expense.

A criminal history check is a check of a person’s criminal history done by the Northern Territory police or an Australian State/Territory police service in the form of a national police certificate (NPC).

NPC issued by third party providers, such as Fit2Work, Healthoutcomes Australia and National Crim Check are not accepted.

To apply for a NPC and WWCC, go to the Safe NT Online services website.

Want to live how the locals live? Explore the Northern Territory’s hidden gems.

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