Essential Worker Partner Employment Support
Supporting the partners of essential workers to secure relevant and meaningful employment in their new regional community.
What is ‘Partner Employment’?
Many regional NSW communities are experiencing a shortage of workers in frontline services, including teachers, nurses and police.
These essential workers have indicated a lack of employment for their partners is often a barrier to relocating and working in regional, rural and remote NSW.
The NSW Government is supporting essential workers to move to regional areas through new initiatives, including The Welcome Experience. This support also involves helping partners find employment in their new regional communities.
Supporting partners of key workers to secure employment in the regions will help attract and retain them, increasing the delivery of local services and improving the quality of life for regional NSW. It also means workers and their families are more settled and feel more at home in their new community.
The Welcome Experience
The Welcome Experience is a new initiative to help essential government workers relocate to one of eight pilot locations currently in the program. As part of the service, a ‘Local Connector’ in their new regional community is on hand to provide support, information and resources to help make the move easier and settle in quicker.
Visit The Welcome Experience page for more information.
Register your interest
If your partner is an employee of any of the below agencies and you are relocating to regional, rural or remote NSW, you may be eligible for support to help you secure relevant, meaningful employment in your new location.
- NSW Health
- NSW Department of Education
- NSW Police
- NSW Fire and Rescue
- NSW Department of Communities and Justice
Please register your interest for Essential Worker Partner Employment Support by completing the form below.
Are you an existing NSW public servant? Take your NSW Government role with you
If you are an existing NSW Government employee and the partner of an essential worker relocating to regional NSW, you will be supported to take your job with you to your new regional location, where it is practical to do so.
This is designed for roles that can realistically be performed anywhere, including communications officers, policy officers, accountants, recruitment advisors, data analysts, IT support specialists, web developers, legal officers, executive assistants, business coordinators, business managers and administrative assistants. Approval will be at the discretion of your delegated approving officer and excludes financial support.
FAQs
An essential worker is any employee of the following NSW Government agencies:
- NSW Health
- NSW Department of Education
- NSW Police
- NSW Fire & Rescue
- NSW Department of Communities & Justice
A person is considered to be your partner if you and the person are living together, or usually live together, and are:
- Married; or
- In a registered relationship; or
- In a de facto relationship
This includes all of NSW, with the exception of the metropolitan areas of Greater Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong.