Job no: 941755
Work type: Full time
Location: Adelaide Metro Northern
Categories: Allied and Scientific Health, Mental Health
Northern Adelaide Local Health Network – Modbury Hospital – MODBURY SA 5092
Salary: $94,997 - $110,052 p.a. plus Superannuation and Salary Sacrifice benefits – AHP2
Temporary/Full-Time up to 8 November 2026
About the Role:
Mental health support for older people in our community demands both clinical rigour and genuine human connection. If you're a qualified Social Worker who understands the complexities of ageing, mental health, and community-based care, the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) has a full-time, short-term contract opportunity open until 8 November 2026.
Embedded within the NALHN Older Persons Mental Health Service, you will deliver specialist social work assessment and intervention to older adults experiencing mental health challenges across Adelaide's northern metro region. Your key responsibilities will include:
Conducting comprehensive biopsychosocial assessments and developing individualised care plans in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team
Providing therapeutic counselling, crisis intervention, and psychosocial support to clients and their families or carers
Coordinating community-based services, NDIS linkages, and aged care pathways to support safe, sustained recovery
Contributing to clinical reviews, case conferencing, and service improvement within the Older Persons Mental Health Service
What You Bring
Qualified Social Worker eligible for membership with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW)
Demonstrated experience in mental health assessment and intervention, ideally within older adult or community mental health settings
Sound knowledge of aged care frameworks, including My Aged Care and relevant legislative requirements in South Australia
Proven ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams across community and inpatient interfaces
Strong communication skills with older adults, families, carers, and external service providers
Current driver's licence and willingness to travel across the northern Adelaide metropolitan area
To be eligible for this position, you must possess an appropriate degree or equivalent qualification which gives eligibility for full membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.
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.
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 Social Worker 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 aged care sector screening – 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: 941755
Enquiries:
Nicole Banfield
Team Leader
Phone: 0468 603 362
E-mail: [email protected]
Application Closing Date:
10 July 2026 – 11.55PM
Role Description and Further Information:
For more information about Mental Health Allied Health at NALHN visit our Mental Health Allied Health page.
- Refer to the SA Health Career Website – How to apply for further information.
Advertised: 26 Jun 2026 Cen. Australia Standard Time
Applications close: 10 Jul 2026 Cen. Australia Standard Time
