About the organisation:

Established in 1996, Peer Based Harm Reduction WA (PBHR WA) is a peer-based consumer-led organisation and the state’s largest provider of health and harm reduction services for people who use drugs. PBHR WA has a reputation for developing innovative and pragmatic models of service delivery to address systemic barriers that inhibit equitable access to health care.

This is an opportunity to join an innovative multidisciplinary team based in Perth City and delivering health & harm reduction services in communities throughout the greater Perth metropolitan area.

About the Health Team:

We deliver accessible, culturally responsive, inclusive services; including clinical care in the community and education & training programs that support health professionals working across the reproductive and sexual health sector.

The teams’ position, embedded within a peer-based harm reduction service, grants a unique level of engagement and trust with at-risk populations who are poorly served by more traditional health care providers. Peer workers are valued colleagues whose lived/living experience informs and strengthens our approach at every level. The Health Team consists of clinical staff and peers working in partnership to increase health equity, reduce harm, foster connection, promote dignity, and support individuals to remain safe, healthy and engaged with services and community.

The Health Team operates from fixed-site clinics in Perth and Bunbury, and utilises self-contained mobile health clinic vans to provide outreach clinics throughout the greater Perth metropolitan area and the South West Region of WA. The team employs state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment, including GeneXpert point-of-care-testing (POCT) Instruments and portable FibroScan and Ultrasound devices.

About you:

Under the direction of the Nurse Practitioner and the CEO this role will provide high-quality trauma-informed clinical care in both clinic and outreach settings, as part of a multidisciplinary NP-led Health Team. The nurse supports the delivery of sexual & reproductive health (SRH), blood borne virus (BBV), and wound care services to marginalised communities experiencing health inequity, with a particular focus on people who inject drugs, and people who face significant barriers to accessing mainstream healthcare.

This role will be primarily based at the Perth clinic and will extend to outreach locations within the greater metropolitan area. The responsibilities of this role may include but are not limited to the following duties:

Key Responsibilities:

Clinical Care

• Provide assessment, treatment, and follow-up for sexual health presentations including sexually transmitted infection (STI) and BBV screening.
• Perform wound assessment and management, including injection-related injuries and infections.
• Administer medications, including vaccinations.
• Participate in recall, reminder, and results follow-up processes.
• Support cold chain management and infection control practices.
• Deliver harm reduction-focused care.
• Assist with contraception counselling and provision (including oral contraceptives, long-acting reversible contraception support, and emergency contraception).
• Provide health promotion and prevention intervention to people at risk of or presenting with STIs and BBVs as per local and state policies.
• Support the provision of SRH services under NP direction.
• Perform POCT and collection of pathology specimens as required.
• Venepuncture (or willingness to work towards competency).
• Restock clinic rooms and stores, stock management.
• Maintain appropriate waste & sharps disposal and collection requirements.
• Document clinical care accurately and in accordance with organisational and regulatory requirements.
• Complete mandatory training as relevant to the role.

Outreach & Service Delivery

• Work from the PBHR WA Perth clinic and the mobile health clinic van at various locations throughout the metropolitan area.
• Adapt clinical workflows to non-clinical environments, maintaining safety and quality care without relying on infrastructure that may not be available off-site.
• Contribute to pre-session preparation, post-session restocking, and mobile health clinic readiness.

Peer Partnership

• Work respectfully and collaboratively alongside peer workers, acknowledging their expertise and lived experience as foundational to the service.
• Work with peers regarding community needs, client preferences, and cultural and social context.
• Actively avoid hierarchical behaviour; in this organisation clinical staff and peer workers collaborate as equals within an integrated team.
• Participate in team debriefs, reflective practice, and supervision processes.

Organisational Participation

• Commit to providing respectful, inclusive, person-centred care.
• Attend regular team meetings and contribute to service planning.
• Participate in supervision, professional development, and clinical consultation with the NP.
• Contribute to data collection for program reporting and quality improvement.
• Participate in training and professional development relevant to the role.
• Maintain current registration, professional indemnity, and mandatory certifications.
• Maintain awareness of current and new legislation to ensure practice complies with all regulatory and statutory obligations including medicines & poisons regulations, infection control, hazardous materials, records management, WHS, and Accreditation.
• Actively participate in the development and review of relevant policies and procedures within the service.

What this Role is:

• This role is grounded in a non-judgemental harm reduction approach and supports individual autonomy and the right of the person to define and pursue their own goals. Abstinence or cessation of substance use is only explored when it is identified by the client as their desired outcome. This role recognises and respects an individual's right to make informed decisions about their own life and wellbeing. While professional knowledge and guidance are provided, individuals remain the experts in their own lives and retain the right to make decisions about their health, wellbeing, and personal circumstances.
• This role recognises that expertise comes from both professional training and lived & living experience, fostering a culture of mutual respect rather than traditional hierarchical practice.Applicants must be comfortable working alongside people who use drugs and engaging in open, non-judgemental conversations about substance use, harm reduction, and safer drug use practices. This role may involve regular exposure to drug-use equipment and environments where substance use is openly discussed.
• Applicants must be comfortable working alongside people who use drugs and engaging in open, non-judgemental conversations about substance use, harm reduction, and safer drug use practices. This role may involve regular exposure to drug-use equipment and environments where substance use is openly discussed.

Essential Criteria:

• Current AHPRA registration as an Enrolled Nurse (with Advanced Skills notation) or Registered Nurse.
• Current C class driver’s licence valid in WA.
• Current first aid certification.
• Demonstrated wound assessment and management skills, including complex or infected wounds.
• Demonstrated understanding of trauma-informed care and its application in clinical practice.
• Understanding of the social determinants of health and a commitment to health equity.
• Non-judgmental approach to people who engage in drug use, sex work, and other stigmatised health behaviours.
• Demonstrated flexibility and problem-solving in dynamic, unpredictable environments.

Desirable Criteria:

• Evidence of completion of harm reduction, needle & syringe program, or SRH-specific clinical training.
• Competence in STI/BBV clinical care including specimen collection and POCT.
• Previous experience with SRH including contraception provision.
• Previous experience providing care to people who inject drugs in any clinical or community setting.
• Previous experience using MediRecords software.
• Demonstrated ability to deliver high-quality clinical care in austere or non-traditional environments with limited resources.
• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully within peer-led or consumer-led frameworks.
• Emotional resilience and an ability to self-regulate in the context of vicarious trauma.

Other information:

• This position works from PBHR WA Perth Fixed-Site, Aberdeen St Perth.
• A 6-month probationary period will apply.
• Salary packaging is available to all employees.
• Hours of work are in accordance with the Health Team operating hours and may include occasional after-hours shifts.