Paediatric and PICU Nurses jobs in Australia

Licensing

Licensing by state

Registration is national, not state-based — one NMBA registration through Ahpra covers paediatric nursing in every state and territory, and there is no paediatric-specific endorsement or state licence. What genuinely varies is the working-with-children clearance, which is issued separately by each jurisdiction and is legally required for this field: a Blue Card in Queensland, a Working With Children Check in NSW and Victoria, a Working with Children Check in WA and SA, an Ochre Card in the Northern Territory, Registration to Work with Vulnerable People in Tasmania and Working with Vulnerable People registration in the ACT. Also varying: the employer (each state's public health system, tertiary children's hospitals or private paediatric services), the applicable enterprise agreement rather than the federal Nurses Award 2020, mandatory child protection reporting obligations set by state legislation, and the state drugs and poisons law governing paediatric medicine administration and nurse-initiated medicines.

the Australian Capital Territory

Canberra Hospital's paediatric service, operated by Canberra Health Services, covers the territory and a large NSW catchment under the ACT Public Sector Nursing and Midwifery Enterprise Agreement, with tertiary PICU cases retrieved to Sydney. Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) registration is mandatory, and medicines follow the Medicines, Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Act 2008 (ACT).

New South Wales

The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network (Westmead and Randwick) and John Hunter Children's Hospital provide tertiary paediatric and PICU care, with paediatric units across the Local Health Districts under the Public Health System Nurses' and Midwives' (State) Award. A Working With Children Check from the Office of the Children's Guardian is mandatory, alongside Category A vaccination compliance and mandatory reporting under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998.

the Northern Territory

NT Health provides paediatric care at Royal Darwin and Alice Springs hospitals under the Northern Territory Public Sector Nurses and Midwives' Enterprise Agreement, with intensive care children retrieved interstate. An Ochre Card is mandatory. NT paediatric nursing involves a high proportion of Aboriginal children, conditions such as rheumatic heart disease and skin and respiratory infections, remote family engagement and strong cultural safety expectations.

Queensland

Queensland Children's Hospital, run by Children's Health Queensland, is the tertiary paediatric and PICU centre, with general paediatric units across the Hospital and Health Services under the Nurses and Midwives (Queensland Health and Department of Education) Certified Agreement. A Blue Card is mandatory. Medicines follow the Medicines and Poisons Act 2019 (Qld), and mandatory child protection reporting applies under Queensland law.

South Australia

The Women's and Children's Health Network operates the Women's and Children's Hospital in Adelaide, including the state's paediatric intensive care capability, under the Nursing/Midwifery (South Australian Public Sector) Enterprise Agreement. A DHS Working with Children Check is mandatory. MedSTAR Kids provides paediatric retrieval, and medicines follow the Controlled Substances Act 1984 (SA).

Tasmania

Paediatric services sit within the Department of Health Tasmania at the Royal Hobart, Launceston General and North West Regional hospitals, under the Nurses and Midwives (Tasmanian State Service) Award and Agreement. Tasmania has no standalone PICU, so critically ill children are stabilised and retrieved to Victorian tertiary centres. Registration to Work with Vulnerable People (RWVP) is mandatory.

Victoria

The Royal Children's Hospital and Monash Children's Hospital provide tertiary paediatric and PICU care, with paediatric wards across Victorian public health services under the Nurses and Midwives (Victorian Public Sector) (Single Interest Employers) Enterprise Agreement, including legislated ratios under the Safe Patient Care Act 2015. A Victorian Working with Children Check is mandatory; PIPER coordinates paediatric and neonatal retrieval statewide.

Western Australia

The Child and Adolescent Health Service runs Perth Children's Hospital, the state's only tertiary paediatric hospital and PICU, with regional paediatric care through the WA Country Health Service, under a WA state industrial agreement. A Working with Children Check (WA) is mandatory. Medicines follow the Medicines and Poisons Act 2014 (WA), and long-distance retrieval from regional and remote areas is routine.