Brighter Beginnings Paediatric Occupational Therapist in St Leonards

Help children and their families get the right support before starting school. Join the Brighter Beginnings Health and Development Checks Preschool Team, part of the Northern Sydney Local Health District Child, Youth and Family Community Health Service. You’ll be a key member of an interdisciplinary team delivering developmental surveillance screening in early childhood education settings, working alongside experienced colleagues and in partnership with educators and families. It’s a collaboration between NSW Health and the NSW Department of Education, supporting the NSW First 2000 Days Framework.

Employment Type: Permanent Part Time

Position Classification: Occupational Therapist Level 1/2

Remuneration: $40.05 - $57.14 per hour

Hours Per Week: 32

Who we are: We are a health service that touches thousands of lives across the Northern Sydney Local Health District, together as a team of like-minded people. We are passionate, driven and have the skills and knowledge to care for our patients whilst creating the best services possible. Our teams have meaningful, interesting and rewarding work every day. We challenge and nurture each other, sharing our knowledge and experience so that we can deliver better care for everyone. There’s a real sense of belonging here because we value and respect our patients, employees, and teams’ voices. You’ll feel a real privilege being a trusted caregiver in our patients, their families, their carers, and our communities’ lives. NSLHD is proud of our diverse and inclusive workplaces, a place where health care professionals can thrive and feel they belong. We are committed to ensure that all our people feel respected and participate safely within a work environment without aggression, sexual harassment, discrimination and racism.

Where you'll be working: Royal North Shore Community Health Centre as part of the Brighter Beginnings Health and Development Checks Team

What you'll be doing: As an Occupational Therapist (Level 1/2), you’ll be a member of the interdisciplinary Brighter Beginnings Health and Development Checks in Preschool Team, within the NSLHD Child, Youth and Family (CYF) Community Health Service. You’ll help deliver developmental surveillance screening for preschool-aged children in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services across Northern Sydney. BBHDC is a collaboration between NSW Health and the NSW Department of Education. Its purpose is early identification of children’s health and developmental needs before school entry. The role operates within a structured service model across pre-screening, screening, and post-screening phases, with primary responsibility for conducting screening assessments, observing developmental indicators, and contributing to outcome classification and referral pathways within their scope of practice. When required, the role also provides timely clinical assessment and group-based intervention for children identified through developmental surveillance screening.

People of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander background are encouraged to apply.

Candidates will need to meet the following criteria:

• A bachelor or postgraduate degree in Occupational Therapy which provides eligibility for membership of Occupational Therapy Board of Australia.
• Demonstrated clinical experience in Occupational Therapy assessment, goal development and evaluation, with a client- and family-centred approach.
• Demonstrated ability to apply clinical reasoning within scope of practice, including recognising when to seek guidance or elevate.
• Demonstrated effective communication skills, with the ability to engage respectfully with families and Early Childhood educators about developmental observations, including when views differ or concerns are sensitive.
• Demonstrated ability to work both independently and collaboratively within a multidisciplinary team, and to manage workload and prioritise tasks in a structured, high-volume service with minimal day-to-day supervision.

This is a NSW Health Category A position which requires immunisation and screening for certain diseases. The full list of requirements are outlined in the NSW Health OASV Policy. You will be required to complete the OASV Undertaking/ Declaration Form and TB Assessment Tool during the recruitment process. Please upload this with your application along with any other vaccination evidence that you may have.

Applications Close: 2 November 2026

Tentative Interview Dates: 17th and 24th November 2026