Public health careers

Public health is a unique type of healthcare that is provided to whole populations, not just one person at a time. This means public health professionals look at the big picture.

By understanding the many things that can affect our health, like where and how we live, our cultures, and our environments, public and population health professionals:

• prevent and lower the risk of diseases linked to how we live, like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.
• keep communities safe from infectious diseases and other health risks in the environment.
• keep the community informed about health risks and how to stay healthy.
• enforce public health and safety legislation and regulations within the community to protect the health of everyone.
• track and monitor data trends to predict and respond to disease outbreaks.
• make it possible for everyone to take steps toward better health.

Public and population health professionals are the unsung heroes who work behind the scenes to keep us healthy and ultimately, out of hospital!

Public and population health is all about working as a team to keep whole communities healthy - not just treating people once they get sick.

Does any of this sound like you?

• You like the idea of helping people - but not necessarily in a hospital or clinical setting.
• You're into solving big problems and making a difference for lots of people at once.
• You want a career that’s varied, interesting, and meaningful.

Join Gold Coast Health’s Public Health team and help protect and improve the health of our community.

Public health roles are varied, offering exposure to a wide range of programs, priorities and population health initiatives.

Opportunities include roles such as:

• Environmental Health Officers
• Epidemiologists
• Health Promotion Officers
• Nurse Immunisers
• Public Health Nurses
• Public Health Registrars and Physicians
• Data Officers
• Business and Administration Officers.

Career pathways may include progression into:

• Senior advisory or specialist roles
• Program leadership and coordination
• Policy and strategy development
• Research and population health specialisations.

Early career entry pathways

We offer a range of entry pathways to support your career in public health:

• Graduate and entry-level roles in environmental health, public health and health promotion
• Student placements, cadetships and internships
• Work experience opportunities.

We recognise that early career development is critical and provide strong supervision, education and support to help you build capability and confidence.

Education and development

We provide a range of education and professional development opportunities to support career growth.

Our development opportunities include:

• On-the-job training across public health programs
• Mentorship and supervision from experienced professionals
• Opportunities to build expertise in disease prevention, environmental health, health data surveillance and health promotion
• Exposure to multidisciplinary and cross-sector work.

We work closely with government agencies, universities and community organisations to deliver public health outcomes and improve population health.
Partnerships and collaboration

• Collaboration with commonwealth, state and local government
• Partnerships with universities and research organisations
• Engagement with community and non-government organisations.

Our initiatives

• Communicable and non-communicable disease control
• Immunisation programs in schools and community settings
• Health promotion and prevention programs and initiatives
• Public health planning, strategy and evaluation
• Community engagement and outreach programs
• Environmental Health and public health regulation
• Disaster management and pandemic preparedness.

Research and innovation

• Public health research and evaluation
• Health surveillance and data analysis
• Risk assessment and evidence-based decision making.

Culture and benefits

We offer a supportive and inclusive workplace where employees are encouraged to contribute to meaningful work that improves population health outcomes.

Explore our culture and employee benefits and learn more about working at Gold Coast Health.

Join a workforce focused on promoting and protecting health, managing risks and preventing disease, overall improving the health of our community.

Where you’ll work

• Public Health Units and program teams
• Community and outreach settings
• Cross-sector and government partnerships.

You’ll work in collaborative, multidisciplinary teams focused on delivering effective, evidence-based and community-centred health outcomes.

Explore opportunities

View current vacancies via Queensland Health Careers or join talent pools for upcoming opportunities.

Useful links