Steps to apply
Applications for the registered nurse and midwife graduate program are open twice a year, during January to February, and August to September.
If you want to apply:
You must do all 3 steps to successfully apply for the program.
Who can apply
You must meet all of the following criteria to apply for the program.
You’re a recent graduate
- You graduated in the past 2 years from a nursing or midwifery course in Australia or overseas.
- Your course is recognised by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) for registration.
You can apply during our August to September 2026 round if you graduated after July 2024, or will finish your course before December 2026.
You’re able to work in Australia
You’re one of the following:
- Australian citizen
- Australian permanent resident
- New Zealand citizen with a Subclass 444 Special Category visa or the right to get one
- on a visa that lets you work for any employer in Australia.
You’re able to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
You must be registered, or able to register with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). This includes having all needed documentation and identity checks.
You’re new to work as a nurse or midwife
If you’re applying for a graduate nurse position, only your hours worked as a registered nurse count. If you’re applying for a graduate midwife position, only your hours worked as a midwife count.
You can apply if you’ve worked:
- less than 960 hours (equal to 6 months full time) as a registered nurse or midwife
- less than 1,976 hours (equal to 12 months full time) as a registered nurse or midwife in a non-government residential aged care facility, general practice, disability service or other community health organisation.
Reapplying for the program
If you applied in a previous round, you can apply again if you still meet our criteria.
What happens after you apply
After you apply, we’ll assess your application.
If you meet all the criteria, we’ll assess your application to make sure you’ve included all the information we need. We’ll consider a number of things, including your preferences.
- If one of your preferences is available, well send your application to the HHS.
- If your preferences aren’t available, we’ll contact you to see if you’re interested in other locations.
- If you’re not interested in other locations, we’ll keep your application and keep reassessing as more HHS placements may become available.
Other career opportunities
If you can’t apply or don’t get a role in the program, you can find more opportunities in our careers portal.