Are you a GP looking for work at a grass-roots, not-for-profit clinic in inner Melbourne that also has salary packaging? Located in St Kilda, First Step has a strong focus on mental health and addiction, and includes a uniquley multi-disciplinary team of GPs, mental health clinicians and others.

At First Step we believe that everybody deserves every chance to turn their lives around. We also believe that addiction is generally the long-term and painful response to trauma and should be treated with compassion and dignity. If the thought of having a significant impact on the lives of vulnerable people gets you out of bed in the morning . . . then keep reading.

At First Step you will experience:

✅ TEAM MEDICINE and COLLABORATION

You will find yourself in a team of 5 GPs with decades of experience in general medicine and opiate substitution therapies.  Your work will be integrated into a constantly collaborating team including:

     - clinical and counselling psychology

     - mental health nurses

     - healthy liver clinic (hep C nurses, gastroentorolgy and infectious disease specialist)

     - case managers and care coordinators

     - onsite psychiatry

✅ SALARY PACKAGING

As a not-for-profit we can offer salary packaging, but uniquely to First Step your wage will be a factor of your billing.

 ✅ JOB SATISFACTION

If you want to work with a team to have a huge impact on people's lives, there is no better place for you than First Step. You will really feel like you are part of something important here . . . because you will be!

✅ LOW-THRESHOLD, SUB-ACUTE PRIMARY CARE

We work hard to remove all barriers to care by bulk-billing all clients, offering appointments as well as drop in clinic, allowing self-referral, and allocating greatest resources to those at greatest risk of harm such as homelessness, incarceration, self-harm or life-threatening circumstances.

✅ PROFESSIONALISM

First Step is accredited by Australian General Practice Limited (AGPAL) and also by the National Association of Community Legal Centres because . . . we also have a community legal centre! Ever worked side-by-side with a legal team. Because of our high level of innovation we are also focussed on policy and process.

✅ PARTNERSHIP

First Step has a number of key relationships with highly respected education and clinical institutions in Melbourne. We provide hep C care in collaboration with the Alfred and and Royal Melbourne hospitals, we are research partners (into ADHD and substance use) with the University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health and we work with the South Eastern Melbourne Primary Health Network to deliver a number of medical commissions (eg. Mental Health Integrated Complex Care) in our local area.

If you are interested in this role, we are offering full-time and flexible part-time positions.  Please contact our CEO Patrick Lawrence if you would like to come and meet the team.  You can learn more about First Step from our website: www.firststep.org.au or call us on (03) 9537 3177 and ask for Gayle (Operations) or Patrick (CEO).

We strongly encourage female doctors to apply to help us achieve a greater balance in the GP team (though the whole First Step workforce has more women than men).  We are also interested in doctors with a specific interest in women's health.  If you are not currently a prescriber of opiate substitution therapies we will require you to undertake that training, and we can happily mentor you on that path. 

First Step is a completely independent not-for-profit organisation (primarily 'funded' by Medicare) that provides a safe and nurturing work environment for people of all backgrounds, genders, religions, sexualities, ethnicities or any other factor.