VACANCIES
Melbourne Hand Rehab
Melbourne/Moorabbin, Melbourne, Australia
05/10/2026
Senior Hand Therapist | Melbourne/Moorabbin, Melbourne, Australia.
For New Zealand therapists already thinking about the move across.
Melbourne Hand Rehab is one of Australia's largest dedicated hand and upper limb rehabilitation networks. We have 11 clinics across metropolitan Melbourne, with a twelfth opening soon at Coburg North, and a team of more than 30 hand therapists, which means a depth of collective expertise you will not find in a solo practice or a small clinic. We treat hands and upper limbs only: complex post-surgical, trauma, neural and musculoskeletal presentations, with established direct referral relationships with Melbourne's hand and plastic surgeons.
We are seeking an experienced Hand Therapist (Occupational Therapist or Physiotherapist) to join our team at Mill Park. Full-time or part-time, with a start date we can build around your move.
What the role offers
- A specialist caseload from day one, not a mixed musculoskeletal list
- A large peer group of hand therapists to learn from, with regular in-house case discussion and clinical development sessions
- Direct surgeon relationships and complex post-surgical work
- Structured clinical supervision tailored to your experience level
- Support toward AHTA accreditation and the Australian hand therapy pathway
- Movement across our network as your career develops, including clinical leadership pathways
- Flexibility on location if Mill Park is not where you end up living
- Relocation support
- A confirmed role before you get on the plane
The practical side
Two things stop most New Zealand therapists from looking at Australia, and neither is the barrier people assume.
Visa. As a New Zealand citizen, you are granted a Special Category Visa (subclass 444) automatically on arrival. No sponsorship, no application, no processing time, no cost. You can work full time and stay indefinitely.
Registration. If you hold a current New Zealand practising certificate, you can apply to AHPRA under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act and be registered in the same category. Most therapists find the process manageable on their own, and we will help you with the sequencing, the document list and how it lines up with a start date. Our team handles provider numbers once you are registered.
Interested, or just curious?
Email Paul Fitz-Patrick, Group Clinic Lead, at for a confidential conversation. Happy to talk timing, locations and what the transition actually looks like, with no obligation, even if the move is still six or twelve months away. If you are at the stage of wondering rather than deciding, that is a fine time to talk.
https://melbournehand.com.au/health-professionals/careers-at-melbourne-hand-rehab/
