SAAS/SAPOL Co-Responders

PageUp People Limited; Adelaide; On-site; AUD 130,000 - 136,000; Full time

Job summary

NALHN is seeking a Registered Nurse for the SAAS/SAPOL Co-Responder role in Adelaide's northern suburbs. You will deliver real-time mental health triage and crisis intervention, coordinating referrals and handovers to community and inpatient services.

Based at Salisbury Adult Service, you’ll work with SA Ambulance Service and SAPOL in a co-responder team, exercising autonomous decision-making within a dynamic, field-based environment.

Qualifications

• Registered nurse with current AHPRA registration.
• Experience in mental health assessment and crisis intervention.
• Ability to work autonomously in community settings.
• Strong liaison with emergency services and multidisciplinary teams.
• Current SA driver's licence.

Responsibilities

• Provide real-time mental health assessment and triage in the field.
• Divert individuals from emergency departments and custodial settings when appropriate.
• Coordinate referrals and handovers to community and inpatient services.
• Contribute to debriefs and quality improvement within the co-responder model.

Skills

Mental health assessment

Crisis intervention

Autonomous field work

Interagency collaboration

Driver's license

Education

Nursing degree (RN)

Job description

Job no: 951876

Work type: Full time

Location: Adelaide Metro Northern

Categories: Nursing/Midwifery

• Northern Adelaide Local Health Network – SALISBURY SA 5108
• Salary/Total Indicative Remuneration: $130,190 - $136,010 p.a. plus Superannuation and Salary Sacrifice benefits – RN/M3
• Temporary Full-Time - up to 28 September 2028 (Multiple Positions)

About the Role:

When someone in Adelaide's northern suburbs is experiencing a mental health crisis, the response they receive can shape everything that follows. As a SAAS/SAPOL Co-Responder with the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN), you'll be embedded alongside SA Ambulance Service and SA Police to deliver skilled, compassionate mental health triage directly in the community — meeting people at their most vulnerable and connecting them to the right care, right then.

What You'll Be Doing

Based at the NALHN Mental Health Service Salisbury Adult Service unit, you'll work as part of a co-response team attending incidents in the Adelaide Metro Northern region. Your day-to-day will include:

• Providing real-time mental health assessment and triage alongside SAAS and SAPOL colleagues in the field
• Diverting individuals from emergency departments and custodial settings where clinically appropriate
• Coordinating referrals and handovers to community and inpatient mental health services
• Contributing to debriefs and quality improvement within the co-responder model

What You'll Bring

• Registered nurse, with current AHPRA registration
• Demonstrated experience in mental health assessment and crisis intervention
• Confidence working autonomously in unpredictable, community-based environments
• Strong communication skills when liaising with emergency services and multidisciplinary teams
• Understanding of the SA mental health service landscape, including relevant legislation
• A current, unrestricted South Australian driver's licence

To be eligible for this position, you must be Registered or eligible for registration as a Nurse with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and who holds, or who is eligible to hold, a current practicing certificate, enrolled in an approved MentalHealth course or holds a qualification in mental health practice.

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.

You will be joining a dynamic and expanding Local Health Network that is committed to delivering contemporary, innovative and high‑quality health services within modern facilities.

This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to a passionate, highly driven, dedicated and progressive team.

About Adelaide:

Adelaide is consistently recognised as a city that artfully combines its compact charm and world‑class cuisine with picturesque nature escapes. Ranked one of the worlds “Most Liveable Cities” and “Most Beautiful Cities”, Adelaide provides something for everyone combining a wonderful mix of nature with nearby beaches, rolling hills and wildlife and culinary delights with fine dining restaurants, award‑winning cafes, bustling food markets and booming boutique bars. Events like the LIV Golf, SANTOS Tour Down Under, Adelaide Fringe and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival add extra appeal to living here.

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.

With over 7,000 employees, NALHN emphasises quality care and a supportive work environment guided by respect, integrity, and accountability. Our core values foster excellence, innovation, and equitable health outcomes.

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

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.
• 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.
• 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 you 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):

• 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)

Enquiries:

Marianne Schleicher

A/Nurse Manager

Phone: [phone]

E-mail: [e-mail]

Application Closing Date:

16 October 2026– 11.55PM

Role Description and Further Information:

951876 - SAPOL Co-Responder - Northern Mental Health - RNM3 - Role Description.pdf

951876 - SAAS Co-Responder - Northern Mental Health - RNM3 - Role Description.pdf

For more information about Mental Health Nursing at NALHN visit our Mental Health Nursing Careers page.