Paediatric Occupational Therapist — Contractor

Most contracting roles offer you flexibility and then leave you to get on with it alone. We'd like to try something better than that.

Bright Sparks is a paediatric practice working with children and families across the Perth metro area. It's a one-woman operation at the moment, and I'm looking for a second OT to come on board as a contractor for at least 15 hours a week, with room to build from there.

The kind of practice we are

Small, and happy that way. We'd rather see fewer children well than more children quickly, so sessions get planned properly and reports get the time they need. Nobody here is chasing billable targets.

Our clients are all children, mostly NDIS-funded, seen in homes, schools, early learning centres and out in the community. The caseload runs from early intervention, sensory and regulation work, fine motor and self-care skills and school participation, through to complex physical and neurological presentations involving assistive technology, seating and postural care.

What flexibility actually means here

You choose your days and hours. You have a say in the referrals you take. If school hours suit you, or term time only, or three long days instead of five short ones, that works.

There's an established caseload with children ready to transition across, so you won't be waiting around for referrals while you're trying to get set up.

And what the culture looks like

Independence shouldn't mean isolation. There's regular supervision if you want it, team meetings, and someone to think through a tricky presentation with rather than sitting on it alone. Second opinions, joint problem-solving, and the occasional debrief when a session doesn't go the way you'd hoped.

Beyond the clinical side, there's coffee, lunches and the odd celebration when something goes well. Come along when you feel like it. No obligation either way.

Who we're hoping to hear from

• An OT registered with AHPRA, with around five years' experience

• Solid paediatric experience across assessment and intervention

• Confident writing NDIS reports — functional capacity assessments, AT applications, progress and plan review reports

• Experience with assistive technology: trials, prescription and the paperwork that goes with it

• Comfortable working autonomously, but happy to think out loud with someone

• Warm and clear with families, schools and colleagues

Experience with seating and postural care, AAC, switch or eye gaze access is a bonus rather than a requirement.

If you're a little short of five years but the rest of this sounds like you, get in touch anyway.

What you'll need in place

As an independent contractor, you'll need:

• An ABN, and GST registration if applicable

• Professional indemnity insurance

• Public liability insurance

• A current WA driver's licence and a reliable vehicle

• A Working with Children Check and NDIS Worker Screening Check, or willingness to obtain both

What's on offer

Competitive contractor rates across everything billable, including reports, non-face-to-face time and travel. On top of that:

• A professional development budget, for the areas you actually want to grow into

• A small resources budget — assessment tools, therapy equipment, the bits and pieces you'd usually fund yourself

• Paid meeting time

• Established templates, processes and NDIS resources so you're not reinventing paperwork

And the part that matters just as much: a friendly place to work. The work itself is independent, but there's plenty of room to lean on each other with regular catch-ups, joint problem-solving, supervision if you want it, and coffee when the week's been a lot. Paediatric OT is better when you're not doing it on your own.