Short summary: A graduate role built for the jump from uni to practice: weekly supervision, joint visits, and a caseload that grows as you do.

Key selling points:

- Weekly 1:1 supervision with our OT Department Lead
- Shadowing and joint visits before you go solo
- $80,000 + super, laptop, phone, $1,500 PD and 3 study days

Uni taught you the theory. Your first year is where you become an OT. For every new grads, the hardest part isn't the workload, it's the gap. At uni, the case study has an answer. When sitting across a client, the answer depends on the person, the house, the family, and the funding, and no two consults look alike. What you learned at uni turns out to be the starting point of the job, not the whole of it.

That gap is normal. How well you're supported through it decides what kind of clinician you become, so we've built our graduate program around it.

About us

Optimum Healthcare Australia is a multi-discipline allied health practice based in Essendon. Our occupational therapists, physiotherapists, osteopaths, speech pathologists and massage therapists see NDIS participants and Support at Home clients in their homes and communities across Melbourne's northern and north-western suburbs.

We've taken many new graduates through our program. Some are still with us and thriving. Others have gone on to work as independent OTs. We're proud of both.

How we get you from graduate to confident clinician

- Weekly 1:1 supervision with our OT Department Lead. This is where you bring your clinical reasoning, your tricky cases, and your questions.
- Shadowing and joint sessions first. You watch, then you co-treat before going solo with confidence.
- A graduate caseload that builds up. You start small.



KPIs are introduced gradually as your confidence and skills grow.
- Fortnightly learning workshops across NDIS and aged care, covering practical, on-the-job knowledge.
- $1,500 a year and 3 days of study leave for professional development, so you can go deeper into the areas of community OT that interest you most.
- A team around you. Other OTs and other disciplines are a message or a phone call away, so you never have to guess alone.

The work You'll see a mix of NDIS participants and Support at Home clients, so your caseload will be varied from the start:

- Assessments: functional capacity, home safety, housing and support needs, assistive technology, seating and mobility, pressure care, sensory processing, and manual handling.
- Therapy and capacity building: helping clients build independence in daily activities, routines, cognition and self-management, emotional regulation, and safe participation at home and in the community.
- Assistive technology: running trials, prescribing minor and complex AT, writing clinical justifications and funding applications, and working with suppliers.
- Home modifications: assessing and recommending minor and major modifications, working alongside builders and suppliers.
- Education and coaching: showing families and support workers how to carry therapy through into everyday life.





Who we're looking for We care less about your marks and more about how you think and how you work with people. You'll do well here if you:

- Think for yourself. When there's no textbook answer, you form a view, explain your reasoning, and bring it to supervision to be tested.
- Communicate clearly. You can effectively communicate recommendations to a client, their family, and their care manager or support coordinator, achieve great colloboration and outcomes.
- Take feedback and use it. You want to be mentored and coached, and you act on feedback.
- Solve problems. You see a barrier in someone's home as a exciting challenge and puzzle to be worked out.
- Are drawn to community OT. You want to work with clients in their own homes and communities, where a good recommendation changes how someone lives day to day.

You'll need

- A degree in Occupational Therapy and AHPRA registration (or eligibility). Final-year students are welcome to apply.
- A driver's licence and your own vehicle
- NDIS Worker Screening Check
- Police Check
- COVID-19 vaccination

What you'll get

- $80,000 per annum (pro rata) + super
- Permanent position, full-time or 4 days a week
- Kilometre reimbursement for travel
- Laptop and mobile phone
- $1,500 professional development allowance and 3 days of study leave each year
- Work from home when you're not seeing clients
- Adaptable start date: now, or when you graduate
- Annual "Doona" mental health day

How to apply Send us your resume and a short cover letter (one page is plenty) telling us why community OT is the work you want to do and why you're the right fit for this role.

Want to talk first? Call Peter on [1300 88 56 10](tel:1300 88 56 10) or email [email protected].

📌 Graduate Occupational Therapist – Community (NDIS & Support at Home) (Essendon)
🏢 Optimum Healthcare Australia
📍 Essendon