Receive Job Alerts Applicant Login

About the Women’s and Children’s Health Network (WCHN)

The Women's and Children's Hospital (WCH), Ngankiku Ngartuku Kukuwardli is South Australia's largest specialist facility for women's and children's health. In Kaurna language, the WCH is known as Ngangiki Ngartuku Kukuwardli, which means "A place of health that cares for women during pregnancy and birthing, babies, children and young people."

We are the leading provider of care for children with acute and chronic conditions in South Australia, and the State's largest maternity and obstetric service. The network also spans over 150 community-based cites with 7 statewide health services.

The WCH cares for women and children, across the areas of paediatric medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, neonatology, mental health and disability, rehabilitation, and allied health, seeing more than 230,600 outpatients and 33,400 inpatients annually.

Each year more than 4,500 babies are born at the WCH. The WCH supports women and families across the pregnancy continuum across all risk groups providing health services for newborn babies and women in the area of reproductive health including maternity and gynaecological care. The WCHN’s Maternal Fetal Medicine Service (MFMS) provides multi-disciplinary care, with medical and midwifery experts providing diagnosis, surveillance, management and care for women whose pregnancies are complicated by maternal and/or fetal conditions.

The WCH have proudly been supporting Midwifery Group Practice (MGP) model of care to the women and families of South Australia for over 20 years. MGP emphasises continuity and collaboration between midwives and the broader healthcare team, fostering strong relationships with women throughout pregnancy, birth, and the postnatal period. This collaborative approach is associated with improved maternal and neonatal outcomes, including enhanced safety, satisfaction, and overall wellbeing for both mother and baby.

A comprehensive Neonatal Service provides specialised, culturally respectful care for newborns across SA through an 18-bed intensive care unit for critically ill or premature babies and a 49-bed special care unit offering ongoing monitoring, developmental support, and early discharge programs with home-based follow-up.

The WCHN are highly regarded as a centre for research and education. As one of the State's major teaching hospitals, we partner with South Australian Universities and Registered Training Organisations in the training of hundreds of health professionals across several disciplines each year.
WCHN is committed to ensuring we develop an Aboriginal workforce across the state that achieves representation of at least 4% of Aboriginal employees. Our Aboriginal Workforce Strategy – Discovering Potential, Growing Together strengthens a focus on improving representation in areas across the organisation where consumer need is at it’s greatest. A highly skilled, well supported and culturally competent workforce will support us to develop and grow our Aboriginal workforce and emerging leaders. By increasing Aboriginal employment opportunities across our Network, we will support our Aboriginal workforce in all stages of their careers which will improve the way we deliver our services.

The Hospital forms part of the WCHN, Ngangitya, ngartu-itya kangkawardli, the largest paediatric and maternity health service in South Australia, which also reaches into parts of the Northern Territory, Western Victoria, and New South Wales.

Find out more about the Women’s and Children’s Health Network.

Program information

Rotations

Registered Midwifery TPPP’s will rotate to 4 maternity areas as part of their 12-month program. Postnatal Service and Delivery Suite are mandatory rotations, and each TPPP will be able to preference 2 maternity areas of interest in their SA Health TPPP application.

The WCHN are proud to support a TPPP rotation pathway for working in continuity care model Midwifery Group Practice as a rotation option. Successful candidates to the South Australian SA Health TPPP application progress will undergo a further written expression of interest process within accordance of WCHN local health network process to determine MGP rotation pathways.

Supernumerary days and orientation

The Women’s and Babies division supports clinical theoretical and practical orientations to prepare the TPPP for each rotation. You will be supported with a robust orientation and supernumerary shift pathway with a nominated preceptor at the commencement of each new rotation.

Professional development days

Midwifery TPPP graduates will be provided 6 professional development study days as part of their 12-month program in 2027. Study Days encompass the 70:20:10 learning model and incorporate engaging and interactive skills, practical application, and theoretical evidence-based education to support professional development opportunities to transitioning to practice graduates. Midwifery TPPP’s will be supported to achieve Maternity Safety Education and RANZCOG© Fetal Surveillance Education as part of the TPPP curriculum.

Full time/part time opportunities and WCHN career progression

The WCHN TPPP offers midwives a 24-month temporary contract of 0.84 FTE – equivalent to 4 days per week on a 7-day rotating roster. The initial 12 months of this contract will be supported undertaking your TPPP, with the additional 12-months supporting WCHN Early Career Pathway opportunities. 0.84 FTE is strongly encouraged to support consolidation of knowledge and skills as you transition to practice. Negotiations may be considered in consultation with Midwifery Unit Managers about FTE that supports your individual graduate learning journey.

  • You will receive renumeration in accordance with the Nursing/Midwifery (South Australian Public Sector) Enterprise Agreement 2022
  • rostered hours of duty that follow a 4-week roster cycle and include early, late and night shifts over a 7-day rotating roster
  • annual Leave accrued according to actual hours worked with 2 weeks of leave pre-programmed into TPPP rotations

Clinical mentoring support and supervision

The Women’s and Babies division offer a robust program underpinned with preceptorship. The WCHN is a tertiary teaching hospital that is committed to the ongoing development of our nursing and midwifery workforce to ensure we meet our commitment of our Realising Potential Strategy to develop a capable and confident workforce. The WCHN offer a number of ongoing learning and development opportunities to preceptors and mentors in areas of leadership, clinical coaching, and mentorship to ensure our nurses and midwives are equipped to support graduates and early career staff.

Wellbeing

The WCHN are committed to building and sustaining a mentally healthy workplace and supporting staff wellbeing. Through contemporary rostering and allocation efficiencies, we aim to ensure all those we serve continue to receive high level care in our services.

Workplaces are now recognised as a key setting to promote good health and wellbeing and the WCHN is committed to building a culture of care through living the CREATE values of compassion, respect, equity, accountability together for excellence to improve the overall health and wellbeing of the WCHN workforce. The WCHN Staff Wellbeing Strategy provides a vision for the future and is our roadmap to improved outcomes for all. It provides individuals, teams and the network with a common foundation to build on the ways we work together to reach our shared goals.

Key benefits

Midwifery transition support pathways at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital will facilitate a learning environment which empowers newly qualified midwives to transition to:

  • their Professional role and responsibilities
  • the WCHN organisation
  • the workplace/unit

During your TPPP Program you will be supported to:

  • understand and function confidently and competently within the role as a midwife
  • develop and consolidate a wide range of clinical midwifery skills
  • work in partnership with women and their families to plan care, in conjunction with other health professionals
  • critically analyse and reflect on your developing practice
  • actively engage in continuing development opportunities
  • develop a network of collegial support.

To achieve this, the WCHN Transition Support Pathways recognise:

  • Stages of Transition/Transition Shock© Model by Dr. Judy Duscher
  • learning activities which incorporate critical thinking, best evidence-based practice, reflection, and simulation.
  • individual learning styles, personality types, and character strengths.

The WCHN Transition Support Program will provide:

  • comprehensive onboarding and orientation to the WCHN organisation
  • clinical ward support from dedicated educators that promotes bedside teaching
  • regular Clinical Feedback (each placement) and performance conversations
  • Transition to Midwifery Practice Professional Development Days (x6 for TPPP RM Program)
  • fortnightly reflection and regular debrief opportunities with transition educators and TPPP peers
  • regular transition support correspondence, TPPP & Early Career resource SharePoint
  • simulated learning activities
  • 1:1 transition support coaching
  • self-care program
  • career pathway planning
  • workshops.

During your TPPP you will be supported by

  • TPPP Coordinators
  • Nurse/Midwifery Mangers and Nursing/Midwifery Unit Managers
  • Ward/Divisional Clinical Nurse/Midwife Educators
  • Clinical Coach Mentor’s
  • Preceptors/ Peer Support Buddies
  • ward colleagues.

Site locations and specialty rotations

Midwives TPPP rotations are offered across all acute clinical areas in the Women’s and Babies Division and TPPP’s working in Midwifery Group Practice continuity of care models.

As part of your application, you will be asked to preference 2 to 3 clinical areas which you wish to work throughout your TPPP.

Women’s and Babies Division (WABS)

4 x 3 month rotations:

  • Women’s Outpatient Department (WOPD)
  • Women’s Assessment Service (WAS)
  • Antenatal Gynaecological Ward (AG)
  • Birthing Suite (B.S)
  • Neonatal Services – Special Care (NSC)
  • Postnatal Service (PN)

Midwifery Group Practice TPPP Pathway

  • Midwifery Group Practice (MGP).

Successful applicants of the SA Health TPPP WCHN – will be asked to formally complete written expression of interest to WCHN to be considered for MGP.

Intake dates

  • 6 February 2027
  • 6 March 2027

Information session

Monday 25 May, 11:00 am to 12:00 pm

  • Tirkanthi Kuu, Queen Victoria Lecture Theatre
    Level 1 Queen Victoria Building – Zone D
    WCH Campus 72 King William Road, North Adelaide SA 5006
    Map (PDF 188KB)

You can choose to attend in-person, or online using Microsoft Teams. A recording of this presentation will also be made available on the WCH website.

Further information

For further information about undertaking a Midwifery TPPP at the WCHN please contact TPPP Coordinators by emailing Health.TPPPWCHN@sa.gov.au or mobile 0481 477 831.