The Application Process

2023 applications are now closed via the central process.  

There are still some positions available for 2023 - please see the tile for this on the home page.  

You will need to contact the health service directly to apply for 2023 positions

The applications for 2024 positions will open in approximately July 2023

If you would like a specific Position Description for any of the jobs you are interested in, please email the contact person at that site/department who will be able to forward one to you.

Information below is for the central process - currently disregard - you must apply directly to the health service with a vacancy.

To apply you will need to:

1. Register and complete the online process through the Victorian Paediatric Advanced Trainee portal (https://vpat.au). You will need to create a profile when you get to this site.  You do not have to load a picture of yourself (this is optional).  Once you have successfully created a profile, you will then see the menu to apply.  If you don't see the menu - click the blue suitcase with a plus sign on the top banner to open it.

You cannot see the preferences drop-down list until you have done your initial application submission (please come back to this vprat.org site to review the jobs). 

ALL  REFEREE EMAILS AND UPLOAD OF YOUR DOCUMENTS needs to be completed BEFORE you finalise and submit your application, as you are unable to edit the initial submission once you have done the first steps.  You cannot change your submitted documents once you have uploaded.

If you have made an error in this first stage - then you will need to withdraw your application and recommence using a different email account.

2.  Fill in the registration form and upload your CV and cover letter.   You are strongly encouraged to load several cover letters if the roles you are applying to have specialist aspects - but these will need to be in a single document to upload.   We recommend a separate letter for Chief Registrar or Fellow roles / Community Roles / General Paediatric Registrar roles (so up to 3 letters).

• If you are applying for RCH Community Fellow positions you must include a cover letter for those positions, in addition to any General Paediatrics cover letter you are submitting (again - in the one document for uploading please).
  • What should my cover letter address?
    • information on your skills and attributes for the type(s) of jobs you are applying for
    • what your outstanding AT requirements are to allow us to try and match you appropriately - this is particularly important if you are near the end of training.
    • whether you have completed you AT project, or where you are up to in this process - and any experience in clinical audit or safety and quality processes

3.  Nominate 3 referees, supplying email and (ideally a mobile) phone number.  Please carefully review the email before you submit, as incorrect email addresses mean your referees won't get the link.  The website will automatically email your referees.  Once they complete their reference, then you will be notified by return email that this has been completed.

You will require a minimum of 2 referees to respond in order for your application to be complete.  Your referees have 2 weeks following the close of applications in order to get their report returned.  If your referee is having difficulty, please send them this form XXX  and have them email directly to vpat.recruitment@gmail.com

Do NOT put in "test" referee emails. 

4.  Submit the application

5. Once your application has been submitted, you will then be able to make your preferences from the Menu.

• Do NOT preference a position that you are not fully committed to accepting should it be offered. (If you are genuinely prepared to accept any offer at any health service, then please tick the "Yes" box at the top of the preference form - but you should ALSO fill in preferences). 

 

• For RCH positions:  you may preference "Any Rotating Registrar Position" at RCH, rather than choosing each position separately - but if you preference as "Any Rotating Registrar Position" you will not have an option to negotiate the offered rotations unless there are vacant roles.

 

• You do not have to select all 10 preferences - you may choose to preference only 1 or 2 jobs if they are the only things that you want/need! However, a number of candidates put only community roles as preferences for 2023 recruitment, and then in second round many jobs they might have considered had already been allocated - so it is prudent to put in a couple of "next-best" options.

 

• Combination roles are listed once, with roles offered in either order - you cannot preference which order to do the rotations.
  • If you want 2 x 6 month roles (ie. your own combined job), you will be able to list 10 preferences for the 1st 6 months and 6 preferences for the 2nd 6 months.  Do not preference rural sites in both first half of the year and second half of the year unless you are prepared to do 2 x rural rotations!

 

6. Click the link to record your interview - this MUST be completed between 4th July and 31st July or your application cannot be considered in the first round.  Please note that this will direct you to an external site (PMCV Vidcruiter) to record this.  Once you click on the link to record your interview - you must complete this within the one sitting.  You will have only FIVE (5) minutes in total to record your answers to the 3 questions which will be shown to you for a couple of minutes prior to starting.   You will only receive one attempt to record the interview, but there are opportunities to test your microphone and camera beforehand.  You will not receive a notification in your application submission about the interview completion, as this is via an external site.  

You may also be invited to an additional interview for particular positions or sites, at their discretion.  These will occur in the 3 weeks after job applications close.  All jobs will still be offered via this central process even if you interview separately.  You should not be receiving job offers from participating sites/departments prior to the allocation period.  If this occurs, the central application process will be compromised for future years.

 

7. If you have accepted another position (from a site that is not participating in the central recruitment) prior to the end of August, PLEASE withdraw from VPAT, or update your length of contract requested (from 12 months to 6 months).  We request you do this prior to XX if possible, as this is when allocation processes will begin in the background.  If you do not withdraw, another candidate may miss out on their preferred position - and the position you have been matched to may remain empty.  This is not good for anyone.   

 

6. You will only receive ONE offer via this process (if you have put in for 2 x 6 months positions that are not currently combined, then both of these will be offered at this time).  The department/site you have been allocated to will contact you to make the VPAT offer.  This will be the best possible match from your preferences and the health service rankings of candidates for their service.

 

7. If you are not successful for one of your 10 nominated preferences - don't panic!  There are usually a range of positions unfilled after the first round and you will be asked to re-preference available positions.  

 

8. Any vacant positions at the end of 2 rounds of offers will be re-advertised by the individual health services, and applicants who have not been allocated one of their preferred positions will be notified what roles are still available.

 

6.  Once you have been offered a position, you will have 24 hours to accept (or decline) the offer by notifying the nominated contact person for that role, as well as sending notification to the central email.  vpat.recruitment@gmail.com   

• Please be aware that if you decline your initial offer, you will not be offered another role in a subsequent round.  Any vacant positions at the end of 2 rounds of offers will be be recruited directly by sites with vacancies and you will need to apply when these are opened if you are still seeking a position.

 

Other Queries:

Who can apply via this website?

• Advanced Paediatric Trainees with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP)
• Basic Paediatric Trainees who have completed all their time-based requirements, but are still waiting to complete their exams (Continuing Basic Trainees with the RACP)
• Fellows of the RACP wishing to complete an additional year
• International Medical Graduates with sufficient paediatric experience, including those who require Peer Review 
• Unaccredited registrars who are not in the Paediatric training program, but who wish to work as a paediatric registrar
• ACEM / PEM trainees
• GP trainees

Job-Sharing - if you are applying with a job-share partner, this must be stated in your cover letter, and you will also need to nominate this in the application form.  If you need help finding a job-share partner, please contact MWFU at RCH:   mwu.enquiries@rch.org.au

Part-time - some roles are specifically part-time and are listed like this on the department's page.  Other roles might be suitable for part-time, but you will need to contact those services to enquire about this PRIOR to making preferences as not every service can accommodate part-time applicants.  

Changing job preferences or required length of position:

• Prior to the application closing date:  this can be done on the trainee portal application page 
• After the application closing date, but before allocations:  Length of contract may be changed by updating this on the trainee portal application page under the preferences menu.  However:
• Job preferences may not be changed after the application closing date.  If you are dropping from a 12 month request to a 6 month request and you had preferenced combination roles, you may change your preferences to either of those health services for your 6 month role. If you have difficulties with this - please email vpat.recruitment@gmail.com to indicate which jobs you are leaving in your 6 month request.  

Withdrawing completely:

• Prior to the application closing date:  this can be done on the trainee portal application page by simply entering the portal and clicking on the tab that indicates "withdraw"
• After the application closing date, but before allocations:  You will need to withdraw on the trainee portal page but ALSO need to email the central email to ensure your withdrawal has been noted   vpat.recruitment@gmail.com

3 month positions - these are not available.  All positions are either 6 months or 12 months in duration

I don't see the job I wanted on here - please contact the department you want to work for directly.  Not all jobs in Victoria are listed here.  Even within one department or health service, some jobs are not recruited via this process for various reasons.  We are hoping to expand this over the coming years.

I have advanced IT and coding skills - OK, this isn't a question.  But if you are interested to help us make this better for future years, please contact alison.pearce@wh.org.au  - we would love to have someone do us a "simple" electronic matching algorithm to help us with the process as our positions expand!

If you having difficulties applying please email vpat.recruitment@gmail.com

Accreditation for Basic Trainees 

Please note that the Royal Australasian College of Physicians will not accredit Basic Trainees who are appointed to positions that are not employed directly through a site with a Director of Paediatric Physician Training (DPPT), currently either RCH or Monash.  This rule will be strictly enforced, thus positions through this recruitment process may not be accredited for Basic Trainees - please discuss this with the relevant health service prior to application.  

International Medical Graduates

Please note that you should contact the Royal Australasian College of Physicians to determine your pathway.  You should please indicate in your cover letter what requirements you have been asked to complete to help the Health Services determine whether their role will meet your needs.  You must also be registered with AHPRA (Australian Health Practitioners Registration Authority).