About allied health careers
Allied health is part of a passionate multi-disciplinary workforce. Professionals play a vital role in our teams, with almost 2,000 staff across 19 disciplines working collaboratively to achieve the best outcomes for our patients.
The diversity of settings across the District means that there are always new skills to learn, or different clinical areas to try. From inpatients to community services, and across the lifespan, there are professional interest areas for everyone. The geographical scale of Hunter New England LHD provides exciting opportunities to gain valuable and unique experiences in regional and rural areas.
Allied health professions include:
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Allied health new graduate program
Kickstart your allied health career with support from our graduate program at Hunter New England. We offer a range of scholarships designed to help you grow, learn, and lead in your field.
The allied health new graduate opportunities are open for applications from July until December. Each service and team will complete their own recruitment to entry level and new graduate role, with recruitment and interviews being completed for each position.
New graduates are eligible to apply for new graduate, early career and level 1/2 positions.
Our allied health teams will provide orientation and supervision, facilitating your learning experiences throughout your new graduate year.
To be eligible to apply for allied health new graduate positions you must be:
- an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident (New Zealand citizens residing in Australia who hold a current Special Category Visa are considered to have permanent residency status)
- completing or completed an Allied Health qualification with eligibility for general registration with AHPRA (if applicable) and eligibility for membership with your National Professional Board.
New Graduate opportunities are offered across varied sites within Hunter New England and are specific to each allied health profession.
Facilities that commonly offer new graduate/entry level positions for Allied Health include:
- John Hunter Hospital
- Maitland Hospital
- Singleton/Muswellbrook Hospital
- Manning Base Hospital (Taree)
- Tamworth Hospital
- Armidale Hospital
Other sites and services offer level 1/2 positions within their teams that you are eligible and encouraged to apply for.
The Allied Health Early Career Rural Generalist Program is a two-year development program that provides health professionals the exciting opportunity to work across a diverse range of clinical settings within Hunter New England. The program aims to take great clinicians and support them to become excellent, generalist professionals who can confidently provide the highest quality healthcare.
The Allied Health Early Career Rural Generalist Program is unique, offering rural training opportunities and supported professional development that facilitates career progression. Having the chance to rotate through different sites and services across the district allows for broad experiences and skill set development.
Throughout this program, Allied Health professionals are offered the chance to not only make a difference to local communities but shape the future of rural healthcare. Working on quality improvement projects, with innovative practices such as telehealth models, and being involved in service development and evaluation are some of the other benefits of being involved in this program.
Allied Health professionals who have completed their qualification within the past 3 years in the following disciplines:
- social work
- occupational therapy
- physiotherapy
- podiatry
- speech pathology
- nutrition and dietetics
For further information on the program, contact: hnelhdalliedhealthdirectorate@health.nsw.gov.au.
Applying for jobs can feel overwhelming, but here are some simple tips to help you out:
- Read about the job you're applying for and make sure your application shows off the skills and experiences that match. Talk about your clinical skills, but also your people skills like teamwork and communication.
- Before you apply, contact the manager to ask questions and learn more about the team and the role. It shows you're interested and helps you prepare.
- Think about what you’ve learned during placements or other jobs. Try answering some common interview questions and look over the job description to get ready.
- If you make it to the interview, ask for feedback afterwards. It can help you improve for next time.
All new graduate positions within Hunter New England are listed on our website. You can also follow us on social media for updates and reach out directly to our team if you'd like to stay in the loop.
For all Allied Health graduate program enquiries email alexandra.holt@health.nsw.gov.au.
To register your interest, you can complete this survey.
Allied health scholarships
Level up your allied health career with the various scholarships available here with us at Hunter New England LHD.
Explore our current scholarship opportunities:
Get a $3,000 scholarship to complete the Allied Health Assistant qualification and use funds for associated training fees, technology, travel, accommodation, or childcare.
Allied health assistants are crucial in providing care in our communities and if you're thinking that a career in health could be for you, becoming an Allied Health Assistant in rural NSW is a great choice.
Rural Allied Health Undergraduate Scholarships are offered to students from a rural background undertaking "entry-level" studies in allied health (leading to a degree that qualifies the student to practice).
Up to 20 NSW Rural Allied Health Scholarships, valued up to $10,000, are offered each year.
The Allied Health Rural Generalist Program Scholarship (Level 1) provides financial assistance of up to $12,000 to complete the Level 1 Allied Health Rural Generalist Program through James Cook University. Scholarship funds can be used for course fees, technology or other costs associated with completing this training program within your local health district.
The scholarship is available for new graduates and early career (less than 3 years’ experience) NSW Health allied health professionals working in a rural setting.
Scholarships of up to $10,000 are available to fulltime or parttime allied health clinicians employed by, and currently working in, a rural located public health service, to assist with educational expenses directly associated with postgraduate study.
Aboriginal Allied Health Workforce
Hunter New England LHD is committed to Closing the Gap, with the aim to improve the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. It is important to grow the Aboriginal Allied Health workforce as these professionals provide the opportunity to enhance cultural safety for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and help to enhance overall cultural responsiveness and understanding in the system.
The NSW Aboriginal Allied Health Cadetship program is for Aboriginal peoples living in NSW who are undertaking full-time study in an eligible undergraduate allied health qualification, or eligible postgraduate allied health course.
Visit NSW Aboriginal Allied Health Cadetship Application App to express your interest in the Aboriginal Allied Health Cadetship program with Hunter New England.
For any queries about the program, email MOH-Cadetship@health.nsw.gov.au.
Allied Health Work Experience Program
Hunter New England LHD is focused on unlocking the potential of local students and supporting the development of the future Allied Health workforce through the Allied Health Work Experience program. The program offers Year 10 students an opportunity to explore different allied health careers within NSW Health to see what truly sparks interest.
Students will dive into the world of allied health and gain invaluable insights into the diverse roles and responsibilities of allied health professionals.
We encourage students who are interested in an allied health career to discuss applying for our work experience program with their school careers advisor or school’s education and training support team.
The work experience program will be held in Tamworth and Armidale on the dates below:
Tamworth:
- Term 1: 19 - 21 March 2025 (completed)
- Term 2: 10 - 12 June 2025
- Term 3: 29 - 31 July 2025
- Term 4: 18 - 20 November 2025
Armidale:
- Term 2: 17 - 18 June 2025
- Term 3: 4 - 5 November 2025
Note: We will be rolling out the Allied Health Work Experience Program in other select rural towns across our district in 2025. Details of additional program details will be released soon.
Please be aware of the following before applying:
- The Hunter New England Local Health District Allied Health Work Experience program will run at select locations across our district. We are currently only accepting applications from students attending school in these areas and who can attend the full program.
- You can register your interest in a program in another HNELHD area by contacting the Allied Health Directorate via email hnelhd-alliedhealthdirectorate@health.nsw.gov.au
- Completion of the application form does not guarantee a place in the program.
- All eligible applicants will be notified by their school about the result of their application.
- Correspondence about the program will be via the HNELHD Allied Health Directorate.
- Successful applicants will be required to:
- Be a current year 10 student when undertaking the program
- Obtain consent from their parent or guardian
- Complete the Allied Health Work Experience Program attendance form, including media and image consent, medical management plan (if applicable) as well as a permission for long-term follow-up
- Sign the Student Agreement form
- Complete the Student Placement Record, as required by the school.
- Places are strictly limited. Students who are not successful are encouraged to re-apply for subsequent programs.
We encourage students meeting the following criteria to apply for our Allied Health Work Experience program:
- High school students who attend school in Tamworth or Armidale (or surrounding areas with transport access to these locations)
- Are currently in Year 10
- Interested in one or more allied health careers:
- Allied Health Assistant
- Art Therapy
- Audiology
- Child life therapy
- Counselling
- Dietetics
- Diversional therapy
- Exercise physiology
- Genetic counselling
- Medical radiation therapy
- Music therapy
- Nuclear medicine technology
- Occupational therapy
- Orthoptics
- Orthotics and prosthetics
- Pharmacy
- Physiotherapy
- Podiatry
- Psychology
- Radiography
- Sexual assault worker
- Social work
- Speech pathology
- Welfare work
- Discuss with your school career advisor: we suggest visiting your school’s career advisor or other school training to discuss the program and your interest in applying.
- Complete the application: carefully fill out the application. Be sure to include all requested information and tell us why you’re interested in the allied health field as well as what you hope to gain from the work experience program. Parent/guardian permission is required.
- Submit your application: complete the online Allied health work experience application form.
Tamworth
- Term 2 - closed
- Term 3 - open until 15 July 2025
- Term 4 - open until 24 October 2025
Armidale
- Term 2 - open until 23 May 2025
- Term 4 - open until 10 October 2025
For more information contact your school’s careers advisor or the work experience team via hnelhd-alliedhealthdirectorate@health.nsw.gov.au
Allied Health Early Career Generalist Program
The Allied Health Early Career Rural Generalist Program is a two-year development program that provides health professionals the exciting opportunity to work across a diverse range of clinical settings within Hunter New England. The program aims to take great clinicians and support them to become excellent, generalist professionals who can confidently provide the highest quality healthcare.
The Allied Health Early Career Rural Generalist Program is unique, offering rural training opportunities and supported professional development that facilitates career progression. Having the chance to rotate through different sites and services across the district allows for broad experiences and skill set development.
Throughout this program, Allied Health professionals are offered the chance to not only make a difference to local communities but shape the future of rural healthcare. Working on quality improvement projects, with innovative practices such as telehealth models, and being involved in service development and evaluation are some of the other benefits of being involved in this program.
Allied Health professionals who have completed their qualification within the past 3 years in the following disciplines:
- social work
- occupational therapy
- physiotherapy
- podiatry
- speech pathology
- nutrition and dietetics
For further information on the program, contact: hnelhdalliedhealthdirectorate@health.nsw.gov.au.
Clinical supervision and support
Clinical supervision, also known as professional practice supervision, is an important part of being an allied health professional. Hunter New England LHD acknowledges the importance of professional practice supervision and is committed to ensuring all allied health staff members participate in clinical supervision throughout their career.
What is professional practice supervision?
Professional practice supervision is usually provided by a more experienced clinician to a less experienced clinical to improve knowledge, skills, self-reflection, and clinical ability within clinical practice.
It runs across the continuum of a health professional’s career and is part of a lifelong learning journey. It is considered a vital part of healthcare delivery, safety, competence, and confidence in clinical practice.
The minimum frequency and length of supervision provided in Hunter New England LHD employees will be an average of one hour per month occurring at least bi-monthly.
A greater number of hours and more frequent sessions or other arrangements will be required for new graduates and staff commencing employment in a new area of professional practice.
As a staff member of Hunter New England LHD, it is mandatory to have a professional practice supervision contract in place as a requirement of your employment.
Contracts will detail the service to be delivered including frequency, location, duration, and reporting arrangements. This is an agreement between you as a supervise and your supervisor.
We're committed to developing you as an allied health clinician to be the best you can be through:
New graduate and early career opportunities:
- New graduate programs.
- Early Career Rural Generalist Program.
Professional development and ongoing education:
- site-based in-services
- profession and allied health forums
- support to attend external training, conferences, and education
- case review meetings
- online continuing education opportunities
- opportunities are often available at remote sites via videoconferencing.
If you would like any more information regarding professional practice supervision and support options please visit Clinical Supervision | HETI or contact the Allied Health Directorate at hnelhd-alliedhealthdirectorate@health.nsw.gov.au
Meet the team
Contact us
Find your dream Allied Health career with Hunter New England.
To learn more about Allied Health opportunities email Aly Holt, Hunter New England LHD Allied Health Recruitment Coordinator: Alexandra.holt@health.nsw.gov.au.