Speech Pathologist - Private Practice - Adults

Most adult-focused Speech Pathology work in Australia sits inside the public hospital system. Most private practice work is paediatric. And most Territory roles don't come up often enough to plan a career around. This role is the exception on all three counts.

About the role: An established Darwin private practice is looking for a Speech Pathologist to build and lead an adult caseload on a permanent basis. Referrals come from GPs, specialists, aged care providers, NDIS coordinators and self-referring clients — the caseload is genuine, varied, and yours to shape.

• Adult clinical work across post-stroke communication, cognitive-communication, voice, dysphagia (screening and community-level management), progressive neurological conditions, and adult NDIS
• Mix of clinic-based sessions, in-home visits, aged care outreach and telehealth
• Autonomy to develop the caseload in the direction of your clinical interests — voice, MND/Parkinson's, adult AAC, cognitive rehab
• Realistic caseload agreed with the clinical lead — not driven by billable-hour targets
• Full admin, scheduling and billing support so your day stays clinical
• Structured supervision, peer case discussion and a genuine PD culture
• Close working relationships with local geriatricians, neurologists and rehab physicians for cross-referral

What's on offer:

• Salary $90,000–$130,000 + super, benchmarked to experience (mid-career and senior clinicians particularly encouraged to apply)
• Annual PD budget and paid PD leave — including support for VFSS/FEES training, LSVT LOUD certification, and other adult-specific credentialing
• Genuine flexibility on hours (4-day weeks and school-hours arrangements welcome)
• Clinical career pathway — this role has genuine scope to grow into a senior or lead adult SP position
• Autonomy that comes with being the adult clinical lead in your patch

About you:

• AHPRA registration as a Speech Pathologist with adult clinical experience (public hospital, community rehab or aged care backgrounds all welcome)
• Australian work rights (skilled migration pathways available for the right international candidate)
• Comfortable working independently and building referral relationships
• Interest in developing a subspecialty area (voice, MND/Parkinson's, cognitive-communication, adult AAC) welcomed but not required
• Ochre Card (NT Working with Vulnerable People clearance), or willingness to obtain
• Openness to the Top End way of life

Why Darwin — for the adult SP specifically: The clinical case for Darwin is different at this end of the caseload. The adult population is small enough that you get to know your referrers by name, big enough that the work stays varied, and served by a hospital and community sector that genuinely values private-practice partners rather than treating them as an afterthought. Ten-minute commutes, harbour on your doorstep, a cost of living well below Sydney and Melbourne, and evenings at Mindil Beach markets or on the water at Cullen Bay that quietly reset what work-life balance is supposed to feel like. Dry-season weekends are boating, fishing, national parks in Litchfield and Kakadu; direct flights to Bali and Singapore are shorter than the one to Perth. For mid-career adult SPs who've been thinking about a change of pace without stepping back from serious clinical work, this is one of the few roles in the country that delivers on both.