Forensic Court Liason Officer

PageUp People Limited; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 95,000 - 110,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary packaging

Flexible working arrangements

Relocation assistance

Professional development opportunities

Career progression opportunities

Job summary

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) is seeking a part-time Forensic Court Liaison Officer to provide specialist mental health assessment and court-facing consultation in Adelaide's northern metro region. This fixed-term role runs to 14 March 2027 and offers meaningful work bridging clinical care and the justice system.

You will conduct court-focused mental health assessments, prepare court-ready reports, liaise with courts, SA Police and services, and support diversion where

Qualifications

• Registered health professionals with relevant mental health experience.
• Experience in forensic, acute, or community mental health settings.
• Ability to prepare concise clinical documentation for court proceedings.

Responsibilities

• Conduct mental health assessments of individuals appearing before court and provide timely clinical opinion to magistrates and legal stakeholders.
• Liaise with courts, legal representatives, SA Police and community services to coordinate care pathways.
• Prepare clear, accurate clinical reports suitable for court proceedings.
• Support diversion from the criminal justice system where clinically appropriate.

Education

Occupational Therapist (OT) registration

Clinical Psychology (Masters)

Social Work (SW) registration

Job description

Job no: 950104
Work type: Full time
Location: Adelaide Metro Northern
Categories: Allied and Scientific Health

• Northern Adelaide Local Health Network – Modbury Hospital – MODBURY SA 5092
• Salary: $94,997 - $110,052 p.a. plus Superannuation and Salary Sacrifice benefits – AHP2
• Temporary Full time – 37.5 hours per week, up to 14 March 2027

About the Role:

Forensic mental health sits at the intersection of clinical care and the justice system — complex, meaningful, and rarely the same day twice. If you bring a grounded clinical perspective and the ability to navigate court environments with confidence, the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) has a part-time opportunity that will put your skills to genuine use.

What You’ll Be Doing

As a Forensic Court Liaison Officer within the NALHN Forensic Mental Health Service, you will provide specialist mental health assessment and consultation across court and justice settings in Adelaide's northern metro region. This is a fixed-term part-time contract through to 14 March 2027.

• Conduct mental health assessments of individuals appearing before court, providing timely clinical opinion to magistrates and legal stakeholders
• Liaise effectively with courts, legal representatives, SA Police, and community services to coordinate care pathways
• Prepare clear, accurate clinical reports suitable for court proceedings
• Support diversion from the criminal justice system where clinically appropriate, connecting consumers to relevant mental health services

What You’ll Bring

• Registered with AHPRA as a Registered Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Psychologist, or Social Worker with relevant mental health experience
• Demonstrated experience in forensic, acute, or community mental health settings
• Sound understanding of the Mental Health Act 2009 (SA) and relevant legislation governing court-referred assessments
• Ability to prepare concise clinical documentation suitable for use in legal proceedings
• Experience working within or alongside justice, corrections, or court-based systems within SA Health or a comparable health network
• Strong interpersonal skills when engaging consumers in high-pressure or unfamiliar environments

To be eligible for this position, you must have an appropriate degree or equivalent qualification for one of the following Allied Health disciplines working in the service, specifically:

• Appropriate Degree or equivalent qualification which entitles registration as an Occupational Therapist with Occupational Therapy Australia
• Appropriate Degree (Master of Clinical Psychology) or equivalent qualification recognised by the PsyBA and general registration with PsyBA and an endorsed area of practice in Clinical area of practice. Hold approved supervisor status with the PsyBA at all levels of supervision; or
• Appropriate Degree or equivalent qualification which gives eligibility for full membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.

About You:

In this role you will have strong interpersonal and communication skills which will enable you to successfully problem solve, resolve conflicts and negotiate, including the ability to engage in difficult conversations, whilst building and maintaining relationships. An ability to effectively manage multiple, diverse and competing priorities and demonstrated resilience within a stressful and complex environment is essential to this role.

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to a passionate, highly driven, dedicated and 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 a broad range of expertise, who are supportive of collegial sharing of skills and knowledge in different therapies and client presentations.

Salary packaging is an option for saving money by paying for some of your everyday expenses from your salary before it is taxed.

Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants from interstate or overseas.

NALHN supports and fosters a culture in which employees feel they belong and feel safe at work. The culture aims to encourage all people to use their talents and to be valued and rewarded for their contributions.

• professional development opportunities. We have a well-established Allied Health Education unit which offers high-quality, targeted in‑house training, and under the current enterprise agreement staff are also eligible for a Professional Development Allowance and entitled to claim reimbursement of eligible professional development expenses to allow you to continue to build upon your professional foundations
• opportunities to participate in research. NALHN have an Allied Health Research Chair, who is able to work with clinicians and teams to support clinical research
• regular clinical supervision, allowing you to receive individualised support, learning and development to help you achieve your career goals

SA Health is committed to providing an inclusive workplace that embraces diversity and inclusion for all employees. We strongly encourage applications from people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, culturally diverse backgrounds, members of the LGBTIQA+SB community and people who live with disability and/or neurodivergence.

We are committed to making workplace adjustments to provide a positive and supportive work environment. You are encouraged to let us know if have any support or access requirements during the recruitment process and beyond to ensure you can perform at your best.

The South Australian public sector promotes diversity and flexible ways of working including part-time. Applicants are encouraged to discuss the flexible working arrangements for this role.

Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory Criminal History Check.

Check(s):

• DHS Working With Children Check (WWCC)
• National Police Check (National Police Certificate)for vulnerable person-related employment – apply to any of the accredited bodies approved to offer a service direct to the public. Accreditation is provided by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission . See our National Police Certificate accredited bodies page for links to lodge screening requests.

Immunisation Risk for this position is – Category A (direct contact with blood or body substances)

SA Health Services are required to implement the Addressing vaccine preventable disease: Occupational assessment, screening and vaccination policy in the workplace.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are encouraged to apply. Job Ref: 950104

Enquiries:

Sharyn Bayliss

A/ Administration Manager

Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Application Closing Date:

25 September 2026– 11.55PM

Role Description and Further Information:

950104 - Forensic Court Liaison Officer - Forensic Mental Health - AHP2 - Role Description.pdf

Advertised: 02 Oct 2026 Cen. Australia Standard Time
Applications close: 16 Oct 2026 Cen. Australia Daylight Time