Registered Nurse - Phone Counsellor

Health; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 78,000 - 106,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary sacrifice benefits

Flexible working arrangements

Job summary

Southern Adelaide Local Health Network – Stepney is seeking a Registered Nurse – Phone Counsellor in Adelaide's southern metro region to provide evidence-informed telephone counselling and clinical support to callers dealing with drug or alcohol issues.

You will work in a recovery-oriented multidisciplinary team delivering assessments, brief interventions, and referrals, with opportunities for quality improvement and staff mentoring.

Qualifications

• Registered nurse with NMBA registration and current practicing certificate.
• Experience in substance misuse counselling and related therapies.

Responsibilities

• Provide telephone counselling, assessments and referrals for drug/alcohol related concerns.
• Deliver brief interventions and connect callers with appropriate care within a multidisciplinary team.
• Contribute to quality improvement activities and support staff onboarding and guidance.

Skills

Effective communication

Problem solving

Conflict resolution

Negotiation skills

Multidisciplinary teamwork

Empathy and resilience

Harm minimisation counselling

Motivational interviewing

Education

Nursing registration (NMBA)

Job description

Job no: 952008
Work type: Full time
Location: Adelaide Metro Southern
Categories: Nursing/Midwifery, Public Health

• Southern Adelaide Local Health Network – Stepney – DASSA Outpatient Services/ Alcohol and Drug
  Information Service (ADIS)
• Salary $77,824 - $106,187 p.a. (Pro Rata) RN/M1| Multiple Positions Available, Contract Until October 2027

Supporting Recovery, One Call at a Time | Registered Nurse – Phone Counsellor

Join SALHN's Drug and Alcohol Services team as a Registered Nurse – Phone Counsellor, delivering evidence-informed telephone counselling and clinical support to people across Adelaide's southern metro region. Working within a recovery-oriented, multidisciplinary team, you'll conduct assessments, provide brief interventions, and connect callers with the right care at the right time.

About the role:

Reporting to the Manager, this role is responsible for providing telephone counselling in the prevention, intervention and minimisation of related harm through the provision of a telephone assessment, counselling, treatment and referral options for people with drug or alcohol related problems and/or assistance to their family and significant others.

Duties for the role will include:

• Participate in quality improvement activities that contribute to client safety, risk minimisation and safe work activities within the service,
• Being solution focused when gaps in knowledge, resources or processes are identified,
• Participate in quality improvement activities that contribute to client safety, risk minimisation and safe work activities within the service,
• Assisting in the orientation and induction of new team members and providing support and guidance to less experienced team members,
• In collaboration with unit Manager, acting to resolve local and/or immediate nursing or service delivery problems

About you:

• Registered or eligible for registration as a Nurse by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and who holds, or who is eligible to hold, a current practicing certificate.
• Effective communication skills including, problem solving, conflict resolution and negotiation skills,
• Ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team and to prioritise workload,
• Ability to be, resilient, innovative, solution-oriented, adaptable to change and flexible when approaching issues within a healthcare setting,
• Experience in working with clients with substance misuse concerns including the use of appropriate counselling techniques such as harm minimisation, relapse prevention and motivational interviewing

Please see the attached Role Description for additional information.

Want To Know More? Contact:

Gerald Yeoh, Nurse Manager ADIS, 0412 028 721, [e-mail]

Application Closing Date:

11.55 pm Sunday 1 November 2026

Attachments:

• Registered Nurse - Phone Counsellor Role Description
• Australian applicant guidelines
• International applicant guidelines

Applicant Information:

• We also offer salary sacrifice benefits which provide the opportunity to save money by paying for some of your everyday expenses from your salary before it is taxed.
• 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 and Immunisation compliance as indicated on the Role description.
• 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: 952008

Advertised: 15 Oct 2026 Cen. Australia Daylight Time
Applications close: 01 Nov 2026 Cen. Australia Daylight Time