New Graduate Occupational Therapists 2026, Mental Health Services

Full-time, permanent & fixed-term positions

New Entry to Specialist Programme (NESP) at AUT

Remuneration as per PSA Allied Health MECA guidelines 

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is firmly grounded in the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and is committed to building a health system that serves all New Zealanders. 

Kia ora and warm greetings, if you are about to qualify as an Occupational Therapist and if you are interested in mental health, we would like to invite you to apply to our New Graduate programme!

Counties Manukau is offering new graduate roles to Occupational Therapy students who are currently in their final year of study and would like to continue to do post graduate study in 2026. The Postgraduate Certificate in Health Science in Mental Health and Addictions at the Auckland University of Technology (AUT) is part of the foundational papers to start your career in the mental health and addictions sector. You will be a part of the New Entry to Specialist Programme (NESP) group of new graduate clinicians, this includes the nursing cohort. You will be supported with group supervision and professional supervision. You will be given time for study leave while working full-time. If working in the Mental Health and Addictions sector is your passion, then please apply.

We have new graduate roles in the following areas: 

(Please indicate your preferred team from 1st, 2nd, 3rd)

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services CAMHS – South Team, Te Puawaitanga (fixed term until January 2027). This is a CAMHS Service that covers the Southern district of Counties Manukau. The service provides assessment and treatment for children and adolescents presenting with serious emotional, social and/or behavioural problems. Based in East Tamaki, you will join a very caring and considerate team.
• Maori Integrated Care South – Nga Raukohekohe, Pukekohe (fixed term until January 2027). The service provides a range of high quality, integrated and comprehensive mental health assessments, treatment interventions and support for adults experiencing mental health and co-existing drug and alcohol issues. Located in the deep south, this team serves a rural community.
• Adult Inpatient Unit, Tiaho Mai (permanent). Tiaho Mai inpatient unit provides high quality and comprehensive acute mental health assessment, treatment interventions and support for adults aged between 18-64years old. The unit provides treatment of care for adults experiencing acute mental health and co-existing drug and alcohol issues. The occupational therapy role includes individual assessments and group interventions plus whanau engagement. The unit is located in Middlemore Hospital.

Essential:

• Completing your Occupational Therapy degree at a New Zealand University in 2025
• Ability to gain registration and an APC by January 2026 – highly important to obtain before starting employment
• A full, clean driver’s licence

Important notes:

• Interviews will be held on 26th and 27th November 2025
• You must be available for an interview if you wish to apply. If you are not in Auckland on this date, interview can be conducted via MS Teams
• The start date for these roles will be 19^th January 2026, when you will commence with your two-week onboarding, offered by one of our highly experienced clinicians

We do expect you to complete your Mental Health & Addictions post-grad certificate by the end of 2026 – this will be supported from your manager with time off and funding paid by Te Pou.

Working at Health New Zealand

Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora is dedicated to ensuring excellent healthcare for the people of New Zealand. We embrace a workforce that is diverse and inclusive so that we are better positioned to understand and service our community. We welcome applications from our diverse Maori, Pacific, disabled, and rainbow communities.

How to apply

To apply please click 'apply now'. All applications must be submitted through our online career's portal by 20th November 2025. Attach the following to your application:

• CV & a cover letter outlining the reasons you want to work in mental health and addictions
• including preferred team in order of 1st, 2nd, 3rd 
• academic transcripts or provisional results
• Evidence of initiation for APC

To view the job description, please click here. For more information, please contact Amy on amy.lin@middlemore.co.nz.

We will review applications as received and may proceed with the recruitment process, before the closing date of this advert.

At Counties Manukau Health people and their lives matter to us. We are a values based and inclusive organisation that is committed to delivering the best health outcomes for our community. To help us achieve this we need a workforce that reflects the population we serve. We strongly encourage applications from all backgrounds who share our values and have a passion to work in our community and would greatly value seeing applicants from our Maaori and Pacific communities. We are also committed to our Disability Strategy, which focuses on people with disabilities; they are our patients, whaanau, community and our staff - all carefully considered in our action plan. Together we will improve the accessibility needs for everyone who has a disability. Our values are Valuing Everyone- Whakawhanaungatanga , Kind –Manaakitanga, Together –Kotahitanga, Excellent- Rangatiratanga. If these are your values too, then join us today.