Paediatric and PICU Nurses jobs in Coffs Harbour

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.

Mid North Coast Local Health District (Coffs Harbour Health Campus), City of Coffs Harbour and Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour campus are among the largest employers in Coffs Harbour. Most paediatric and picu nurses here, though, are hired by small and mid-sized businesses rather than by the names everyone recognises — which is why so many local vacancies never reach a big job board.

The qualification is national, not local: Bachelor of Nursing (three years, AQF Level 7) and general registration as a registered nurse with the NMBA via Ahpra What changes between states is the licensing or clearance — see the New South Wales requirements above.

Modern awards are national instruments, so the same award applies in Coffs Harbour as anywhere else in Australia: Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034). Award coverage depends on the work performed rather than the job title, and pay rates change each 1 July — check the current rate for your classification with the Fair Work Ombudsman rather than relying on any figure quoted elsewhere.

No, general NMBA registration is the legal requirement. In practice, tertiary children's hospitals prefer or expect a Graduate Certificate in Paediatric Nursing for specialty roles, and PICU expects a paediatric intensive care qualification.

Yes. Children's hospitals and larger paediatric services run dedicated graduate programs. PICU normally requires prior paediatric or adult critical care experience before entry to a supported specialty program.

Yes, everywhere, and it is issued by each state or territory separately — a Blue Card in Queensland, WWCC in NSW, Victoria, WA and SA, an Ochre Card in the NT, RWVP registration in Tasmania and WWVP registration in the ACT. It does not transfer when you move interstate, even though your nursing registration does.

Tertiary paediatric intensive care is concentrated in the major children's hospitals — including Queensland Children's Hospital, the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network, the Royal Children's and Monash Children's in Melbourne, Perth Children's Hospital and Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital. Tasmania, the ACT and the NT stabilise and retrieve critically ill children interstate.

Doses are weight-based and often require dilution, so calculation errors carry higher consequences. Independent double-checking, paediatric-specific formularies and careful documentation are standard practice.

Nurses commonly cite distressed and frightened children, difficult procedures, supporting anxious parents, child protection cases and paediatric death. Good services provide debriefing, clinical supervision and employee support.

Into PICU, paediatric emergency, neonatal care, paediatric oncology or cardiac subspecialties, community and hospital-in-the-home paediatric teams, school and child health nursing, education and unit management, or nurse practitioner endorsement.

Licensing is the check most employers get wrong, because it is set by New South Wales rather than nationally. 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. Verify the licence number against the regulator's public register rather than accepting a photo of a card, and confirm the licence class actually covers the work you are hiring for — a restricted licence looks identical to an unrestricted one on paper.

Modern awards are national, so Coffs Harbour is no different from anywhere else in Australia: Nurses Award 2020 (MA000034). Coverage follows the work actually performed, not the job title on the contract, and classification within the award determines the minimum rate. Rates change each 1 July — check the current figure with the Fair Work Ombudsman before you make an offer, and keep a record of how you classified the role.

You are competing for the same people as Mid North Coast Local Health District (Coffs Harbour Health Campus), City of Coffs Harbour, Southern Cross University Coffs Harbour campus, who can usually offer more structured conditions than a small business can. What small employers win on is the things large ones can't move quickly on — starting date, variety of work, and a straight answer about pay. Advertising where candidates are already looking for that specific trade in Coffs Harbour, rather than on a national board where the listing is one of thousands, is the cheaper half of the problem.

This is a qualified profession rather than an apprenticeship trade. The entry pathway is set nationally — Bachelor of Nursing (three years, AQF Level 7) and general registration as a registered nurse with the NMBA via Ahpra — so the lever is the graduate and early-career pipeline, not on-the-job training. Smaller employers who compete well here do it by offering supervision and a named mentor, study leave, and a clear scope of practice in writing, because those are the things a graduate is actually weighing. If the constraint is time rather than intent, Valont People can design the role and the advert, place it, and shortlist against the must-haves you set.