2026 Junior Resident Medical Officer

The Hospital:

The Royal Children’s Hospital’s (RCH) Vision is “A world where all kids thrive”.

RCH is a cornerstone member of the Melbourne Children’s Campus, partnering with Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, The University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics and The Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.

RCH has cared for the children and young people of Victoria for more than 150 years since it was founded in 1870. A full range of paediatrics and adolescent health services are provided plus tertiary and quaternary care for the most critically ill and medically complex patients in Victoria, Tasmania, southern NSW and other states around Australia and overseas. The Hospital has more than 6,000 staff, a budget of $850M, 12 wards and 350 beds. Annually, the RCH has 300,000+ Specialist Clinic appointments, 90,000+ Emergency Department presentations and 20,000 elective surgeries.

The RCH is committed to the Child Safe Standards. 

RCH enjoys high employee engagement and is committed to staff safety and a positive culture through enactment of our Compact.

For further Information on RCH is available here.

Paediatric training

The Victorian Basic Paediatric Training Consortium (VBPTC) oversees basic paediatric training across a network based at the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) and Monash Children’s Hospital (MCH), and a total of eighteen outer metropolitan, regional and rural adjunct training program sites.  Trainees will be exposed to a full range of clinical services provided in the care of children and their families.   

 In order to become a Basic Paediatric Trainee (BPT) with the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP), trainees must first secure an accredited position. In the JRMO year, recruitment for this will occur through the RCH and be coordinated by the VBPTC.   

The positions

Applications are now open for 2026 Junior Resident Medical Officer (JRMO) positions. Candidates can preference positions in either the Metropolitan Stream (MS), Extended Rural Stream (ERS) and prevocational/unaccredited stream.  All positions are full time for 12 months, commencing February 2nd, 2026.

The Metropolitan Stream is predominantly based in inner and outer metropolitan Melbourne centres, integrated with some regional and rural rotations. You can view a sample roster here.

The Extended Rural Stream allows six trainees to complete 18 months of the requisite 36 months of Basic Training predominantly in either eastern, northern or western rural and regional Victoria, integrated with some metropolitan Melbourne rotations. This is especially encouraged for applicants who are interested in pursuing a long-term paediatric career in regional and rural Victoria.    

Prevocational/unaccredited Stream - In addition to accredited training positions, the RCH offers JRMO positions that are suitable for anyone wishing to have experience in a paediatric setting outside of a college training program (e.g., for anyone planning on doing General Practice or Paediatric Surgery or anyone simply wanting to ascertain if Paediatrics is the right career for them). These positions will not count towards paediatric training with the RACP. These positions are also for 12 months.  Applicants for these positions should also refer to the application information provided below. The sample roster is also applicable to these positions. 

The RCH and the VBPTC join with the Royal Australian College of Physicians (RACP) in recognising a core responsibility to grow the Indigenous physician workforce. RCH is committed to employing Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander doctor/s to enter the Basic Paediatric Physician Training Program at BPT1 (JRMO) level.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for a 2026 JRMO position you must have successfully completed your intern year (or equivalent); AND be eligible for GENERAL medical registration in Australia by February 2026. Candidates already enrolled with the RACP in Paediatric Basic Training are not eligible to apply at JRMO level unless they will have completed less than 12 months of accredited paediatric training as of February 2026.

For further details regarding General registration, please refer to the Medical Board of Australia.  

Application Process

The application consists of three (3) parts, and all three parts must be completed within the timeframes specified for your application to be considered:

1. Three (3) written references via the Online Reference Nomination Form;

2. Online Application Form; and

3. Application through the RCH Careers Portal (including upload of current curriculum vitae).

Parts 1 and 2:

Please refer to the Medical Workforce Unit website for further details regarding the Application Process, including instructions.

https://www.rch.org.au/jms/careers/jrmo-hm02/

Part 3: Apply through the RCH careers portal 

Applicants are required to submit an application through the RCH Careers Portal. You will also be required to upload a copy of your current curriculum vitae.  

Curriculum vitae (CV) requirements:

• Maximum length 4 pages 

• No photo/headshot

PLEASE NOTE: the RCH careers portal requires mandatory upload of a cover letter despite this not being an application requirement.  Please ‘double upload’ your CV to the cover letter section.

Further information

• Victorian Basic Paediatric Training Consortia (VBPTC) - Getting into the program
• VBPTC Application Guide 2026 - please see VBPTC  website

If this sounds like you, click here to view the position description.

What we offer:

• Salary Packaging – Increase your take home pay!
• Early Learning Centre childcare
• Parkville location and close to public transport

Other requirements:

• Current National Criminal Record Check, or willing to obtain
• Valid Working with Children Check
• Compliance with RCHs “Staff Immunisation - Prevention of Vaccine Preventable Diseases” procedure

Why work at the RCH?

RCH enjoys high employee engagement and is committed to staff safety and a positive culture through enactment of our Compact. We offer the opportunity to work in world-class facilities, surrounded by Royal Park and only a short tram trip from the heart of Melbourne city.

We also offer discounted staff parking, salary packaging, and an award-winning health and wellbeing program.

The RCH is committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce. We encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people from culturally and/or linguistically diverse background, all members of the LGBTQI community and people with disability.

It is a requirement of your employment that you be vaccinated against Influenza annually for Category A and B roles, in compliance with any public health orders in place at the relevant time, unless you have a medical exception in line with those public health orders, which has been accepted by The Royal Children’s Hospital.  Applicants will be required to provide their Australian Government Immunisation History Statement, it is a requirement of the RCH to collect, record and hold vaccination information.

It is also a requirement of your employment that you comply with any direction given by The Royal Children’s Hospital that you be vaccinated against, or prove immunity to, any other disease, unless you have a relevant exemption

Are you ready to join our team? 

 Apply online by clicking on the “Apply” button