Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker Advanced Role in Townsville, Supporting Adults, Families and Community
A Powerful Opportunity for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker to Support Adults, Families and Community in Townsville
When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people access mental health care, it matters who is walking beside them.
It matters whether they feel culturally safe.
It matters whether their family, kinship structures, community obligations, lived experience and cultural identity are understood.
It matters whether someone in the room can help translate not just words, but meaning, context, trust and connection.
That is why this role with Townsville Hospital and Health Service is so important.
Townsville Hospital and Health Service is seeking an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker, Advanced to join the Cultural Assessment and Liaison Team within the Adult Program Area. This is a permanent full-time identified role based in Townsville, supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, families and communities who are accessing acute mental health care.
This opportunity is about more than a job. It is about culture, care, advocacy, connection and strengthening the way mental health services work with our people.
Why this role matters for our community
For many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, accessing health and mental health services can feel overwhelming, especially when systems have not always understood our cultural ways of knowing, being and doing.
For our mob, wellbeing is not just individual. It is connected to family, community, Country, culture, spirit, identity and belonging.
This role helps make sure those connections are respected in care.
As an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker, Advanced, you will help support consumers, families and carers throughout their care journey. You will work alongside clinicians, Elders, families, carers and community organisations to help people feel heard, understood and supported.
You will help strengthen trust between services and community. You will help make mental health care safer, more respectful and more connected to the lived realities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and families.
Bringing culture into care
Cultural safety is not a side task. It is central to this role.
The successful applicant will provide culturally informed guidance in assessment and care planning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people accessing adult mental health services.
This includes helping clinical teams better understand the cultural needs, family structures, community connections and lived experiences that may shape a person’s care journey.
It also means advocating for consumers and families, supporting culturally appropriate engagement, and helping ensure people are not treated as just a file, a diagnosis or an appointment.
They are people with family, story, culture, responsibilities, strengths and connections.
That cultural lens can make a real difference.
What the role involves
As a key member of the Cultural Assessment and Liaison Team, you will support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and families through culturally safe, respectful and community informed care.
Your work will include:
Providing culturally informed guidance in assessment and care planning
Supporting and advocating for consumers, families and carers throughout their care journey
Helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people feel safe, respected, heard and understood
Strengthening relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations and key stakeholders
Working alongside clinicians to support culturally safer mental health practice
Contributing to cultural education across the service
Providing cultural supervision and guidance to strengthen practice
Supporting better engagement and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults, families and communities
This is work that requires heart, cultural strength, professional skill and deep respect for community.
Who should apply?
This role is for an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person who is passionate about supporting adults, families and communities through the mental health system.
You may already have experience in:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care
Mental health
Alcohol and other drugs
Peer work
Community services
Cultural support
Advocacy
Family support
Social and emotional wellbeing
Health service navigation
This role would suit someone who understands that healing and wellbeing are connected to culture, family, Country, identity and community.
You do not need to leave your cultural knowledge at the door. In this role, your cultural knowledge is part of the work. Your voice matters. Your lived experience matters. Your community connection matters.
Identified role requirement
This is an identified role.
Under section 25 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, there is a genuine occupational requirement for the person appointed to this position to be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.
Qualifications
Applicants will hold one of the following qualifications.
For appointment between HWF3.1 to HWF3.5:
Certificate IV in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care
Certificate IV in Mental Health Peer Work
Certificate IV in Mental Health
Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs
For appointment between HWF3.2 to HWF3.7, or HWF3.8 limited to employees who meet the requirements of HED 04/23:
Diploma of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Primary Health Care
Diploma of Mental Health
Diploma of Alcohol and Other Drugs
Suitable applicants without the Certificate IV may be appointed temporarily at the HWF3 no qualification level, with support to complete the required qualification under HR Policy G10, Study and Research Assistance Scheme. Once completed, the appointee will progress to a permanent HWF3.1 level.
This means the right person may be supported to continue developing their qualifications while contributing to important community centred work.
Salary, benefits and support
Townsville Hospital and Health Service offers a strong employment package, including:
Base salary from $77,342 to $106,358 per annum, HWF3
Remuneration up to $121,351 plus benefits
12.75% employer superannuation contribution
4 to 6 weeks annual leave per year
14% to 17.5% annual leave loading
10 days paid cultural leave per year
Cultural professional development allowance
Salary packaging options to increase take-home pay
Supportive team environment with strong cultural leadership
Ongoing training, development and clear career pathways
Job security within a large regional health service
Flexible working arrangements may be available
Short commutes, family friendly workplace and an affordable North Queensland lifestyle
Why Townsville?
Based in Townsville, this role offers the opportunity to build a meaningful career while staying connected to community, family and lifestyle.
Townsville offers a relaxed North Queensland way of life, shorter commutes, strong community networks and access to a large regional health service where your work can make a visible difference.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Townsville or looking to return home, relocate closer to family, or step into a stronger career pathway, this is an opportunity worth considering.
Why Indigenous Job Match supports this role
Indigenous Job Match proudly endorses this opportunity with Townsville Hospital and Health Service.
This role matters because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults and families deserve care that respects culture, family, kinship, community and lived experience. Mental health care must be culturally safe, and roles like this help make that possible.
We strongly encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants with experience in health, mental health, community care, cultural support, peer work, alcohol and other drugs, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care to apply.
This is a role where your cultural knowledge is valued. Your voice is needed. Your connection to community can help strengthen the care journey for our people.
If this sounds like you, or someone in your family or network, please share this opportunity.
Apply now
Role: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Worker, Advanced
Organisation: Townsville Hospital and Health Service
Location: Townsville, Queensland
Employment Type: Permanent Full Time
Salary: Remuneration up to $121,351 plus benefits
Applications Close: Tuesday, 16 June 2026
Apply online:
https://apply-springboard.health.qld.gov.au/jobs/QLD-TV681898
For enquiries, contact:
Sally Gela
Phone: 07 4433 9480
Email: sally.gela@health.qld.gov.au
