Occupational Therapist - James Nash House

Job no: 946146
Work type: Full time
Location: Adelaide Metro Northern
Categories: Allied and Scientific Health

- Northern Adelaide Local Health Network – James Nash House – OAKDEN SA 5086
- Salary (plus Superannuation and Salary Sacrifice benefits):
- AHP1 $73,710 - $89,981 p.a /AHP2 $94,997 - $110,052 p.a.

- Temporary Full-Time - up to 7 May 2027

About the Role:

The Division of Forensic Mental Health is a multidisciplinary service that consists of inpatient secure psychiatric beds, Out-patient Service and Psychiatric Clinics, Prison In-Reach Service, Community Teamand Court Assessment Service. This role is in the inpatient service, whichis a secure psychiatric hospital(primarily located at James Nash House)providing services primarily to patients who have been declared not guilty by reason of mental impairment or unfit to plead of an offence by the SA court system.

Forensic mental health is one of the most specialised and rewarding areas of occupational therapy practice. If you're ready to apply your clinical skills in a secure, multidisciplinary workplace where your work directly shapes recovery pathways for some of South Australia's most complex consumers, James Nash House is where that work happens.

Please see this video from the Australasian Forensic Occupational Therapy Network about the role of OT in a Forensic Setting

Your Role at James Nash House

Based within the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN)Division of Forensic Mental Health, this full-time contract position (through to 7 May 2027) sits at the intersection of occupational therapy, mental health, and justice health. You will work as an integral member of a specialist multidisciplinary team, delivering:

- Comprehensive occupational therapy assessments and evidence-based interventions for forensic mental health consumers
- Treatment and rehabilitationplanning focused on recovery,skill development, and community reintegration, for individuals and groups. This may include group program facilitation and coordination, psychoeducation, sensory modulation, graded activity engagement, functional skilldevelopmentand transition programming.
- The Occupational Therapy team also includes Activity Supervisors (AHA’s). The OT’s provide leadership and collaboration with their team members to provide group and therapeuticprograms and service development projects.
- Collaboration with psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers,



nursingstaffand lived experience workforceto inform care planning and risk management

What You Bring

- Degree qualification in Occupational Therapy and current AHPRA registration
- Experience in mental health,disability,forensic, or acute inpatient settings
- Sound knowledge of occupational therapy frameworks applied to complex or high-acuity presentations
- Ability to conduct functional and risk-informed assessments within a secure clinical environment
- Strong written and verbal communication skills for multidisciplinary documentation and reporting
- Familiarity with SA Health policies or willingness to quickly orient to NALHN service standards and governance requirements

To be eligible for this position, you must havean appropriate Degreeor equivalent qualification which entitles registration as an Occupational Therapist with the Occupational Therapy Board of Australia.

About You:

In this role you will havestrong communicationskills, problem solving skills, sound clinical reasoning, ability to build andmaintaininterpersonal relationships and utilise aperson centredapproach. Thiswill enable you to successfullyengage consumers,problem solve, negotiate, navigatedifficult conversationsand challenging case load. An ability to effectively manage multiple,diverseand competing priorities anddemonstratedresilience within a stressful and complex environment is essential to this role.

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to a passionate, highly driven,dedicatedand progressive team

About Us:

The Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) is a leading provider of public healthcare services in South Australia, and one of the largest employers in northern Adelaide.

NALHNserves over400,000 peoplein northern Adelaide with a comprehensive range of high-quality healthcare services, including emergency, surgical, obstetric, neonatal,paediatric, oncology, geriatric, palliative care and rehabilitation, and mental health care, as well as primary health care services with a focus on community health promotion and chronic disease management.

With a commitment for ongoing upgrades to our facilities and the introduction of new services,



our priority is delivering exceptional health and wellbeing services that enhance the quality of life for our community.

Our 300-plus Allied Health professionals play an integral role in multidisciplinary teams delivering outstanding care to patients across our acute, subacute and hospital avoidance services.

At NALHN Everyone Has a Story, Everyone Matters, Everyone Contributes and Everyone Grows.

At NALHN, we have a strong commitment to providing a clinically interesting professional experience, with structured and supportive education and professional development, and career progression pathways.

Some feedback from current employees about working as Allied Health Professionals in NALHN includes:

“My favourite part about working in NALHN is the close working relationships we have across Allied Health to optimise patient care.”

“I feel like I’m part of a growing and developing service.”

“I love the great team dynamic and the culture of learning and support.”

Our Local Health Network Sites and Services:

NALHN provides a range of hospital (inpatient), outpatient, community and home-based services across multiple sites in Adelaide’s north and north-eastern suburbs, including Aboriginal health, mental health, and GP services.

Lyell McEwin Hospital – the major hospital in northern Adelaide for emergency care, complex and multi-day surgery, medicine, obstetric, paediatrics and outpatient services.

Modbury Hospital – a general hospital with emergency care, elective surgery, medicine, outpatient and sub-acute services, rehabilitation, geriatric and palliative care.

Mental Health Services – adult and older persons mental health services and statewide forensic mental health services, across hospital and community settings.

Watto Purrunna Aboriginal Primary Health Care Services – provides culturally responsive primary healthcare services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in-hospital and across four community sites.

Primary Health Care Services – including GP Plus sites at Elizabeth, Modbury and Gilles Plains.

Benefits of working at NALHN:

From salary packaging to flexible working arrangements, a large range of opportunities for movement and career progression, you’ll find there are lots of benefits of working with Northern Adelaide Local Health Network.

Incremental wage increases in-line with the Allied Health Professionals, Assistants and Psychologists Enterprise Agreement 2025

Access to experienced clinicians across

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📌 Occupational Therapist - James Nash House (Australia)
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📍 Australia