- Northern Adelaide Local Health Network – Northern Mental Health
- Salary: $118,887 - $129,427 p.a. plus Superannuation and Salary Sacrifice benefits – AHP4
- Ongoing Full-Time - 37.5 hours per week
Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) is eager to recruit an experienced Principal Social Worker to work in our dynamic, growing and supportive team, to help us deliver exceptional care to our community.
This full-time permanent position within our Executive Mental Health Service offers an exceptional opportunity to lead social work practice in mental health service delivery. You will provide clinical leadership, supervision, and advanced social work interventions while contributing to service development and quality improvement initiatives.
About the Role:
In this role, you'll work within a multidisciplinary team providing the development, implementation, coordination and evaluation of quality mental health therapy services for patients of the Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN).
To ensure best practice standards are achieved, the Principal Social Worker works in partnership with key stakeholders on service development initiatives, facilitates profession-specific input into human resource processes, ensures compliance with the clinical supervision policy and credentialing requirements, leads relevant quality improvement initiatives and facilitates access to relevant professional training and clinical support activities.
The Principal Social Worker plays a leadership role as a member of the Executive Team, in applying National and State health reforms and in service quality and workforce development initiatives, working in partnership with key stakeholders.
The Principal Social Worker works in collaboration with the other Principal Discipline Leads and Nursing Directors on inter-professional initiatives, acts as a consultant and professional advisor on Social Work professional issues, and convenes or sits on internal and external committees.
The Principal Social Worker consults about complex consumer issues, clinical performance of social workers and is responsible for the clinical supervision and support of AHP3 Senior Social Workers and other Social Workers and designated staff across the NALHN Mental Health Division.
To be eligible for this position, you must hold an appropriate degree or equivalent qualification which gives eligibility for full membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers.
About You:
To excel in this role, you will possess proven strong clinical reasoning, problem solving, report writing skills and clear communication skills. Also, the ability to work effectively within a multidisciplinary team.
This is an excellent opportunity to contribute to a passionate, highly driven, dedicated and progressive team.
About Us:
The Northern Adelaide Local Health Network (NALHN) is a leading provider of public healthcare services in South Australia.
NALHN serves over 400,000 people in northern Adelaide with a comprehensive range of high-quality medical services, including emergency, surgical, obstetric, neonatal, paediatric, oncology, geriatric, palliative care and rehabilitation, and mental health care. Recently, NALHN has upgraded its facilities and plans to expand further. The network provides primary health care with a focus on community health promotion and chronic disease management. With nearly 6,500 employees, NALHN emphasises quality care and a supportive work environment guided by respect, integrity, and accountability. Our core values foster excellence, innovation, and equitable health outcomes.
Our 300-plus Allied Health professionals play an integral role in multidisciplinary teams delivering outstanding care to patients across our acute, subacute and hospital avoidance services.
At NALHN Everyone Has a Story, Everyone Matters, Everyone Contributes and Everyone Grows.
At NALHN, we have a strong commitment to providing a clinically interesting professional experience, with structured and supportive education and professional development, and career progression pathways.
Some feedback from current employees about working as Allied Health Professionals in NALHN includes:
“My favourite part about working in NALHN is the close working relationships we have across Allied Health to optimise patient care.”
“I feel like I’m part of a growing and developing service.”
“I love the great team dynamic and the culture of learning and support.”
Benefits of working at NALHN:
From salary packaging to flexible working arrangements, a large range of opportunities for movement and career progression, you’ll find there are lots of benefits of working with Northern Adelaide Local Health Network.
You will have access to professional development opportunities during work hours, plus ability to apply for the Allied Health Professionals + Professional Development Reimbursement Program (AHP+PDR) for financial reimbursement of professional development activity up to a capped amount per financial year.
Incremental wage increases in-line with the incremental wage increases in-line with the Allied Health Professionals, Assistants and Psychologists Enterprise Agreement 2025
Access to experienced clinicians across a broad range of expertise, who are supportive of collegial sharing of skills and knowledge in different therapies and client presentations.
Salary packaging is an option for saving money by paying for some of your everyday expenses from your salary before it is taxed.
Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants from interstate or overseas.
NALHN supports and fosters a culture in which employees feel they belong and feel safe at work. The culture aims to encourage all people to use their talents and to be valued and rewarded for their contributions.
In addition to this, other benefits of working as a Social Worker in NALHN include:
- professional development opportunities. We have a well-established Allied Health Education unit which offers high-quality, targeted in-house training, and staff are also eligible for external, funded professional development via the Allied Health Professionals Plus Professional Development Reimbursement Program, to allow you to continue to build upon your professional foundations
- opportunities to participate in research. NALHN have an Allied Health Research Chair, who is able to work with clinicians and teams to support clinical research
- regular clinical supervision, allowing you to receive individualised support, learning and development to help you achieve your career goals
Relocation assistance may be available for successful applicants from interstate or overseas.
NALHN supports and fosters a culture in which employees feel they belong and feel safe at work. The culture aims to encourage all people to use their talents and to be valued and rewarded for their contributions.
SA Health is committed to providing an inclusive workplace that embraces diversity and inclusion for all employees. We strongly encourage applications from people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, culturally diverse backgrounds, members of the LGBTIQA+SB community and people who live with disability and/or neurodivergence.
We are committed to making workplace adjustments to provide a positive and supportive work environment. You are encouraged to let us know if have any support or access requirements during the recruitment process and beyond to ensure you can perform at your best.
The South Australian public sector promotes diversity and flexible ways of working including part-time. Applicants are encouraged to discuss the flexible working arrangements for this role.
Appointment will be subject to a satisfactory Criminal History Check.
Check(s):
- DHS Working With Children Check (WWCC)
- National Police Check (National Police Certificate) for general employment probity, vulnerable person-related employment and aged care sector screening – apply to any of the accredited bodies approved to offer a service direct to the public. Accreditation is provided by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission. See our National Police Certificate accredited bodies page for links to lodge screening requests.
Immunisation Risk for this position is – Category A (direct contact with blood or body substances)
SA Health Services are required to implement the Addressing vaccine preventable disease: Occupational assessment, screening and vaccination policy in the workplace.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants are encouraged to apply. Job Ref: 927453
Enquiries:
Sarah Burden
A/Divisional Director Allied Health & CMH
Sarah.Burden@sa.gov.au
7425 6300
Application Closing Date:
6 February 2026 – 11.55PM
Role Description and Further Information:
927453 - Principal Social Worker - Northern Mental Health - AHP4 - role description.pdf
* Refer to the SA Health Career Website – How to apply for further information
