Student placements

NT Health student placement policy and guidelines

These policy and guidelines do not apply to school work experience students.

All student placements in NT Health for courses of study leading to vocational, undergraduate and postgraduate awards and/or registration for health professionals including, but not limited to, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner, allied health, nursing and midwifery, and medical students must comply with the Student Clinical Placement Policy DOCX (84.9 KB) and/or Non-Medical Student Placement Procedure DOCX (217.0 KB).

View the Non Medical Student Placement Flowchart PDF (95.6 KB) for non-medical student placement.

Prerequisites for course providers

All course providers that place students in Northern Territory (NT) health facilities are required to sign the NT student placement agreement:

• The student placement agreement is drafted by the Solicitor for the NT and is the only legal form. Please do not sign any other documents or agreements.
• This agreement is signed by the chief executive officer of the Department of Health and the course provider.
• The NT student placement agreement has recently undergone a review, requests for updates to the agreement will not be considered.
• List of student placement agreements.

To secure student placements with NT Health, the course provider must:

1. Have a current NT student placement agreement or request permission from the Department of Health to enter into an agreement.
   • If a course provider does not have a current government agreement, the Office of the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer (OCNMO) will oversee the signing of an agreement.
2. Submit a request in writing to the health service placement coordinator at the relevant health service or clinical site.
   • Administered by the relevant health service placement coordinator. Email nursingmidwifery.doh@nt.gov.au for contact information regarding NT Health placement coordinators.

If a course provider is intending to place students in the NT within 3 months of making their enquiry, they should provide as much information as possible to the health service placement coordinator while the agreement is being processed.

Of particular consideration will be the type of experiences the student requires, the supervision and assessment requirements provided by them, and the support and supervision requested.

Once a placement has been negotiated

The course provider must submit a student placement request form the health service placement coordinator. The form and a list of all the relevant requirements can be found here - Before you start your student clinical placement | NT Health

Priorities for student placements

The existence of a current NT student placement agreement does not guarantee a placement. Once the agreement is in place the health service placement coordinator can approve placement requests based on the following:

• All requirements as stated in the agreement can be met by the placement site, course provider, the placement supervisor and the student.
• High demand for student placements is guided by departmental strategies such as the Northern Territory Health Aboriginal Cultural Security Framework 2016-2026 PDF (7.4 MB) and the NT Health Strategic Plan 2023-2028 PDF (5.8 MB). Therefore, when there is competition for placements, the following priorities apply:
  • Priority 1. Aboriginal students
  • Priority 2. Domestic NT residents enrolled with a NT education provider
  • Priority 3. Domestic NT residents enrolled with an interstate education provider
  • Priority 4. Domestic interstate resident enrolled with an NT education provider
  • Priority 5. Domestic interstate residents enrolled with an interstate education provider
  • Priority 6. International students enrolled with an NT education provider
  • Priority 7. International students enrolled with an interstate education provider

Overseas applicants

Applicants from overseas universities need to have an Australian university partner and will only be considered with prior consultation with the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, Chief Allied Health Officer or Chief Medical Officer.