Occupational Therapist - Swift

Eyre and Far North Local Health Network; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 112,000 - 120,000; Part time

Job summary

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network is seeking a Senior Occupational Therapist to join the SWIFT team at Lyell McEwin Hospital. This part-time, fixed-term role (15 hours per week) runs through to 30 June 2027 and focuses on early functional assessment and timely discharge planning in an inpatient setting.

The role requires registration as an Occupational Therapist in Australia, with experience in discharge planning and multidisciplinary collaboration to optimise patient flow.

Qualifications

• Experience in an acute hospital or subacute inpatient setting.
• Ability to work autonomously within a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong functional assessment and clinical reasoning for discharge planning.
• Familiarity with SA Health or public hospital documentation and referral processes.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across a busy ward.

Responsibilities

• Conduct timely occupational therapy assessments to support safe discharge pathways.
• Collaborate with medical, nursing and allied health colleagues to reduce length of stay.
• Provide recommendations for equipment, home modifications and community supports.
• Contribute to patient flow initiatives aligned with service improvement goals.

Skills

Acute hospital setting

Autonomous multidisciplinary teamwork

Discharge planning

Clinical reasoning

SA Health documentation

Education

Degree in Occupational Therapy

Job description

• Northern Adelaide Local Health Network – Lyell McEwin Hospital – ELIZABETH VALE SA 5112
• Salary: $112,139 - $120,284 p.a. (pro rata) plus Superannuation and Salary Sacrifice benefits – AHP3
• Temporary Part-Time – 15 hours per week, up to 30 June 2027

About the Role

Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) is eager to recruit a Senior Occupational Therapist to work in our dynamic, growing and supportive team, to help us deliver exceptional care to our community.

Lyell McEwin Hospital is one of South Australia's busiest metropolitan health services, and its SWIFT (Supported Ward-based Intervention and Flow Team) program sits at the heart of acute patient flow. If you're an Occupational Therapist who thrives in a fast-moving inpatient environment and wants your work to make a direct difference to how patients transition through care, this part-time contract role is worth your attention.

Your Role Within the SWIFT Team

Embedded within the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) at Lyell McEwin Health Service, you'll work as part of a multidisciplinary team focused on early functional assessment and timely, safe discharge planning across acute wards. This is a part-time, fixed-term contract through to 30 June 2027.

• Conduct timely occupational therapy assessments to support safe and appropriate discharge pathways
• Collaborate with medical, nursing, and allied health colleagues to reduce avoidable length of stay
• Provide recommendations for equipment, home modifications, and community-based supports
• Contribute to patient flow initiatives aligned with NALHN's service improvement goals

What You'll Bring

• Experience in an acute hospital or subacute inpatient setting
• Confidence working autonomously within a multidisciplinary team environment
• Strong functional assessment and clinical reasoning skills relevant to discharge planning
• Familiarity with SA Health or public hospital documentation and referral processes
• Ability to manage competing priorities across a busy ward caseload

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

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 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.

NALHN serves over 400,000 people in 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.

In addition to this, other benefits of working as a Senior Occupational Therapist in NALHN include:

• 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: ******

Enquiries

Allied Health Facilitator, Division of Allied Health

Phone: (*************

E-mail: ****************************************

Application Closing Date

20 November 2026 – 11.55PM

Role Description and Further Information

****** - Senior Occupational Therapist, SWIFT - Allied Health - AHP3 - Role Description.pdf