Child Life Therapist

The Hospital:

The Royal Children's Hospital's (RCH) Vision is "A world where all kids thrive".

RCH is a cornerstone member of the Melbourne Children's Campus, partnering with Murdoch Children's Research Institute, The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and The Royal Children's Hospital Foundation.

RCH has cared for the children and young people of Victoria for more than 150 years since it was founded in 1870. A full range of paediatrics and adolescent health services are provided plus tertiary and quaternary care for the most critically ill and medically complex patients in Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW and other states around Australia and overseas. The Hospital has more than 6,000 staff, a budget of $850M, 12 wards and 350 beds. Annually, the RCH has 300,000+ Specialist Clinic appointments, 90,000+ Emergency Department presentations and 20,000 elective surgeries.

The RCH is committed to the Child Safe Standards. 

RCH enjoys high employee engagement and is committed to staff safety and a positive culture through enactment of our Compact.

For further Information on RCH is available here.

Child Life Therapist (Grade 1 or 2)

• Friendly and supportive team environment
• Parkville, Melbourne location
• Pro-active and supportive leadership

About the Role:

We have a part time Grade 1/ Grade 2 ongoing fulltime position within the Child Life Therapy department. Potential occasional evenings and weekend shift work available. 

You will provide a comprehensive Child Life Therapy service to patients of RCH, as part of a multidisciplinary team who work with children and families across a range of clinical areas. By working in close collaboration with medical, nursing and allied health staff at RCH you will ensure that services provided to children are innovative, evidence based and provided in a child and family centred context.  This role would be suitable for a person with an education background and/or Allied Health discipline with a strong background in child development. 

Classification for this position will range from Grade 1 Year 2 to Grade 2 Year 4 PT61-PT70 (base salary $ $103725 per annum, plus superannuation).

What you'll achieve:

• Provide a Child Life Therapy service as required by the department to support children and families
• Prioritise and co-ordinate service delivery to maximise Child Life Therapy service availability
• Support children through their medical interventions and assist them in their ability to cope with illness and hospitalisation through evidence based play and developmentally appropriate paradigms
• Build and maintain effective working relationships and partnerships with others including patients/families and other clinicians
• Develop individualised procedural support plans in partnerships with children, families and treating teams to enhance coping and procedural compliance

Your skills and experience:

• Recognised Tertiary Qualification in Education, Occupational Therapy, Psychology, Social Work, and/or other relevant Allied Health. 
• Current VIT/AHPRA/Professional Association registration.
• Eligibility for Membership in Victoria with the appropriate Professional Body
• A minimum of 2 years continuous and relevant work experience in a relevant discipline
• Thorough understanding of childhood development between the ages of 0-18 years

If this sounds like you, click here to view the position description.

About the Department:

Child Life Therapy engages children, young people and their families to support their understanding and help them cope with the stress and uncertainty associated with hospitalisation. We educate by using evidence-based, developmentally appropriate interventions including procedural preparation, distraction, medical and therapeutic play to empower children and young people to gain mastery of their hospital experience.

For more information on the role of a Child Life Therapist please refer to the following websites:

You are also welcome to attend an open information session about Child Life Therapy. This will be held via MS teams. Please email for the session link.

What we offer:

• Salary Packaging – Increase your take home pay
• Staff Wellbeing Hub

Other requirements:

• Current National Criminal Record Check, or willing to obtain
• Valid Working with Children Check
• Current NDIS Worker Screening Check, or willing to obtain (if applicable)
• Compliance with RCH "Staff Immunisation - Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases" procedure

Application process:

To apply, you will need a resume and a tailored cover letter outlining your skills, experience, and suitability for the position in line with the requirements of the position description. Shortlisting for this position will commence immediately, we encourage you to apply promptly
For more information about this position please contact Beth Dun, Manager Child Life Therapy Ph: Email:

Why work at the RCH?

RCH enjoys high employee engagement and is committed to staff safety and a positive culture through enactment of our Compact. We offer the opportunity to work in world-class facilities, surrounded by Royal Park and only a short tram trip from the heart of Melbourne city.

We also offer discounted staff parking, salary packaging, and an award-winning health and wellbeing program.

The RCH is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse background, all members of the LGBTQI community and people with disability.

It is a requirement of your employment that you be vaccinated against Influenza annually for Category A and B roles, in compliance with any public health orders in place at the relevant time, unless you have a medical exception in line with those public health orders, which has been accepted by The Royal Children's Hospital.  Applicants will be required to provide their Australian Government Immunisation History Statement, it is a requirement of the RCH to collect, record and hold vaccination information.

It is also a requirement of your employment that you comply with any direction given by The Royal Children's Hospital that you be vaccinated against, or prove immunity to, any other disease, unless you have a relevant exemption, and offers of employment are conditional on successful completion of background checks including reference checks. 

Are you ready to join our team? 

 Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" button

Applications close 16 October 2025