2026 Graduate Occupational Therapist

The Role

We are looking for kind, caring and reliable Occupational Therapist student that is graduating from their studies at the end of 2025 or beginning of 2026 to join our team located in the Hunter, Newcastle and Surrounding areas. We are looking for new or future graduates to train in practice of occupational therapy and enter into the allied health space. This program aims to provide extended levels of support and training to know the system and role before starting in a clinical position when you graduate.

Be rewarded in contributing to empowering our young people and people living with disability offering high quality, holistic care and support for individuals to build their capacity and achieve their goals. In this role you will be working directly with young people living with complex trauma and psycho-social challenges, as well as people living with disability.

We are looking for people with strong professional values of care, social justice, creativity, and joy to join our team in providing care, happiness, and supporting independence to those we support. We are looking for individuals who are able to remain calm under stressful situations and be natural problem solvers.

You will join our multidisciplinary team of social workers, speech therapists, psychologists, behaviour support practitioners and support workers who provide support to children, young people or people with a disability to help them to achieve their goals and build their independence into the future.

Within this role, you will be part of a collaborative, fun and creative team in reducing the barriers to people accessing appropriate supports for their needs and setting people up for success into the future. You will be trained in and complete functional assessments and will carry a case load of clients for ongoing occupational therapy.

You will have access to weekly supervision, as well as significant peer-based support in an organisation that is based in providing a structure where all are equal, and the people we support's needs are the focus.

We are a flexible workplace provider, and rely on you choosing what hybrid model works best for you. This means we are flexible to working from home where appropriate, working from the office, and creating an office/ clinical space that you envision is best for the work we do.

About Us

River Community Services is a community-based organisation that provides support across the allied health, mental health, child protection, and disability sectors.

This includes:

Psychology, Speech Therapy, and Occupational Therapy

Behaviour Support Therapy

Disability Support Work

Youth Work and Mentoring

Foster Care Support

Family Finding

EAPS

Cultural Planning

Out of Home Care and Youth Justice Consultancy

River Community Services is based across the Maitland, Newcastle, Northern Rivers, Taree, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Sydney and Wollongong regions.

River Community Services was developed based on the aim to provide the highest quality care to those we support, while bringing joy, creativity and love to the work we do. We understand that we have the capacity and the potential to change people's lives with our actions and words, and take responsibility and accountability in walking alongside those we support to create a better future for all.

Skills and experience

• Qualifications - Minimum working towards Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
• Highly developed capacity for emotional self-regulation when working in high stress and supporting children or individuals to regulate their own big emotions
• The skillset to bring love, care and joy to the work we do.

If you have the skills, values and passion to be successful, we want to hear from you

How to Apply

If you have the skills, experience and passion to be successful, we want to hear from you

Please click the "APPLY" button and attach your resume and cover letter.

You are required to address each of the selection criteria in your covering letter in addition to your resume.  For further enquiries and/or a copy of the position description please email