How to apply

Eligibility

To apply for a graduate position with us, you must apply through our graduate portal. This portal is open from Monday 17 July 2023 to Sunday 13 August 2023. We recommend you prepare all the documents you’ll need in advance so you’re ready to submit them through the portal when it opens.

The recruitment process can take between 2 to 3 months and if you don’t complete all the necessary paperwork, there can be delays.

To be eligible for the graduate program, you must meet the following requirements:

• graduated within the past 2 years (domestically or internationally) from your first undergraduate nursing degree, midwifery degree, or graduate-entry Master of Nursing or Master of Midwifery. That is, between July 2021 to July 2023, or be due to complete your qualification by March 2024.
• hold Australian citizenship, Australian permanent residency, New Zealand citizenship (with a subclass 444 Special Category Visa or right to be granted), or a visa with non-employer sponsored work right.
• haven’t worked as a registered nurse or registered midwife for more than 960 hours (equivalent to 6 months full-time), unless you’ve been part of the COVID-19 pandemic surge response workforce.
• be eligible for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), including all necessary documentation and identity checks.

If you applied in the previous recruitment campaign and meet the above criteria, you're still eligible.

Completing the application

Completing the application form will take about 1 hour, providing you have all of the information and uploads available. Please make sure you prepare early. If you need to gather other information, you can 'save and continue later'. Don’t leave your application to the last few days, plan to start and complete your application early.

Education, clinical placement and employment history

The application will include an online resume section. This is to make sure we have your history captured in a standard format. To complete this section, you’ll need to include information about your education, clinical placements and employment.

You’ll need to include information about your principal midwifery or nursing qualification. You can also add 3 related nursing or midwifery qualifications and any other relevant qualifications, these can be non-clinical qualifications.

For each qualification, you’ll need to provide the name of the University or other institute issuing the qualification and your Grade Point Average (GPA).

You’ll also need to list the clinical placements you did for each year of your study. When you do, include how many weeks you were placed and the clinical type, for example unit, ward or service.

In addition, you’ll need to list your current or most recent work or volunteer history. When you do, include the name of the organisation, the nature of work and your commencement and end dates.

Other things to consider

Work out your availability to start work, taking into account the time you need to get AHPRA registration and any personal commitments you have.

Once the graduate portal is closed, you won't be able to make changes or edit your application. However, you can email the Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer about any changes at NursingMidwifery-GraduateEnquiries@health.qld.gov.au, they’ll make a note on your application.

There'll also be a section for you to provide a cover letter.

Your cover letter is essential to the application process and you must upload one with your application.

It should be one A4 page in length and outline your motivations for applying for the role, your passion for the profession and what you'll bring to the team.

Watch our Prepare to Succeed webinar for more information about preparing your cover letter.

If you are accepted into the graduate program, you will be employed by Queensland Health and are required to fulfil functions as outlined in the Graduate Registered Nurse [PDF 794.14 KB] or Graduate Midwife Generic [PDF 853.28 KB] role descriptions. Read the role description as it will help you decide if the program is suitable.

Choosing your preferences

Choosing a Hospital and Health Service

Group A has HHSs that are in remote, rural or regional locations. If you live in these areas and want to work for one of these HHSs, you only need to provide one preference. You can select up to 6 HHSs if you want.

Group B contains HHS who receive significant number of applications compared to Group A. These HHSs are typically in metropolitan or large regional centres. HHSs in Groups A and B will be stated at the time of application.

Group A

• Central Queensland HHS
• Central West HHS
• Mackay HHS
• North West HHS
• South West HHS
• Torres and Cape HHS

Group B

• Cairns and Hinterland HHS
• Children’s Health Queensland HHS
• Darling Downs HHS
• Gold Coast HHS
• Metro North HHS
• Metro South HHS
• Sunshine Coast HHS
• Townsville HHS
• West Moreton HHS
• Wide Bay HHS

You have 3 options for your application:

1. If your first preference is a HHS in Group A, you aren’t required to provide any other preferences. You can select up to 6 HHSs if you want.
2. If your first preference is a HHS in Group B, you must provide a second preference. If your second preference is a HHS in Group A, you aren’t required to provide any other preferences. You can select up to 6 HHSs if you want.
3. If your first 2 HHS preferences are from Group B, you must provide a third preference. You can select up to 6 HHSs if you want.
4. For each HHS selected, you must select at least one facility (hospital or other healthcare delivery location), but you can select up to three.

To help select your work location preferences, refer to our list of Hospital and Health Service Facilities and Associated Speciality Areas [PDF 486.96 KB].

Preferencing midwifery

Midwifery isn’t considered a clinical preference because it’s a separate profession from nursing. If you have dual qualifications, you can indicate your preference for the midwifery pathway. In this case you'd preference: Midwifery Group Practice or Continuity of Midwifery Care Model, Rotational shifts across all areas of midwifery practice, or Work in one specific area of midwifery practice (e.g., postnatal ward).

Modifying Your Application

You can save your application and return to it later to continue or modify the application.

Once you submit your application, it cannot be modified. If you have made an error and want to correct this, you will need to:

1. withdraw your application on the application portal
2. click into your withdrawn application and scroll to the bottom of the first page
3. click on ‘delete’ to remove your application
4. use the ‘Apply now’ button on the home page to access the application portal again
5. resubmit your application with the correct information.