Join AUSMAT

If you meet the minimum eligibility requirements as listed above, you can create a volunteer profile application via the secure online AUSMAT Volunteer Portal

https://webeoc.ncctrc.com.au/volunteerportal

As part of the registration process you must:

• Demonstrate how minimum eligibility requirements are met (i.e. inclusion of CV and include primary/secondary qualification certificates)
• Agree to the terms of use
• Complete all personal and professional information and supply supporting documentation as required
• Complete your referee details - this should be your line manager in the first instance
• Permission from your employer is considered essential for selection in order for release and engagement with AUSMAT training, exercises and deployment opportunities
• Complete all fields in the profile- the more information you can provide us the easier it is to for us to evaluate your candidacy
• Save and submit your application for review

To assist in determining suitability and selection for training applicants are encouraged to provide comprehensive information, details and supporting documentation in their applications.

No. The creation and submitting of a volunteer profile via the AUSMAT Volunteer Portal is equivalent to lodging a job application.  Your skill set, professional experience and employment history needs to be assessed against the minimum eligibility criteria and current AUSMAT recruitment and deployable role requirements.

As AUSMAT is a national programme, your profile application undergoes an initial assessment by your jurisdictional AUSMAT Coordinator to ensure all relevant information and documentation has been provided.

Upon the successful completion of the initial assessment, your application will undergo a secondary review to determine if you meet the minimum requirements for AUSMAT membership.  This secondary assessment will be conducted by a jurisdictional review committee composed of professionals from clinical, logistical and allied health backgrounds. The committee is responsible for evaluating the qualifications and experience in each candidate’s profile, to determine if the minimum criteria for training is met.

In most jurisdictions, application reviews are conducted annually, typically in alignment with the confirmation of the annual training calendar. Consequently, you may not receive correspondence regarding your application for six months or more. AUSMAT training and membership are highly sought after and competitive, with limited places available, so we appreciate your patience. . We recommend that you regularly log in and update your profile to ensure we always have the most current information. If you wish to inquire about the status of your application, you can contact your state or territory representative at any time.

When assessing applications, the following information will be reviewed:

• CV, primary & secondary qualifications and previous work/humanitarian experience
• Current employer and employment status
• Reference Checks
• +/- Interview

Additionally, consideration will be given to any high priority skill set requirements at the time of training.

Applicants who do not meet minimum criteria will be notified of the outcome of the review panel and the areas of their application to be addressed. Unsuccessful applicants will have their profiles removed from the AUSMAT Volunteer Portal but are encouraged to re-apply once minimum criteria is met.

Applicants who meet the minimum criteria will be notified and placed on a waiting list for AUSMAT Team Member training. Their profile details will remain on file, securely stored in the AUSMAT Volunteer Portal.

As training courses become available, states and territories will nominate their selected applicants (those who have previously been assessed as meeting criteria), to the NCCTRC for course placement and prioritisation.

The NCCTRC considers several factors when selecting candidates for training, including the number of available course places, priority skill set requirements, equitable state and territory representation, and a balance of professions and skillsets.

Before a final AUSMAT training placement can be offered, applicants are required to complete an online personality assessment, which is administered by Response Psychological.

Response Psychological has worked with AUSMAT for over 10 years, and their assessment tool is designed to gain an insight into an applicant’s personality traits and behavioural tendencies. All information provided to Response Psychological is confidential, with only a recommendation of a “suitable for AUSMAT training” or “not suitable for AUSMAT training” being communicated to the NCCTRC.

Final selection for training is confirmed through state and territory AUSMAT representatives. You will be notified by your state / territory AUSMAT representative if you are selected for a place in an upcoming AUSMAT Team Member training course. Upon confirmation of your training placement, your profile will be transferred to the AUSMAT WDMS.

If you are not selected for your nominated training course your details will remain in the AUSMAT Volunteer Portal for consideration of future training courses and activities.

Please be aware that previous nominations for training placements do not guarantee a spot in future courses.  Each year’s selections will be based on the above mentioned factors and any identified skill set deficits.

The AUSMAT Team Member training course is a five-day residential program held at the NCCTRC's training facility in Darwin, NT. All participants will be accommodated on-site for the duration of the training. This standardised national course is facilitated by the NCCTRC and features faculty from across Australia, as well as external humanitarian trainers, representing a diverse mix of professions and jurisdictions.

Darwin has a tropical climate with two distinct seasons:  the wet season (hot and humid) from October to April and the dry season (cooler and dry) from May to September. For the comfort and safety of participants and faculty team member courses will be conducted during the dry season only.

In addition to the five-day residential course, AUSMAT training includes a substantial pre-course learning component lasting up six weeks. This pre-course learning is managed through NCCTRC’s eLearning platform. Upon confirmation of their selection for training, participants will receive a link, login details to access the platform and details of the learning requirements.

AUSMAT Team Member training will cover subject areas such as:

• Australian Disaster Framework
• Emergency Medical Teams, health standards and Sphere principles
• Humanitarian systems and international frameworks
• Survival within austere environments
• Safety and security awareness
• Cultural awareness
• AUSMAT resource and equipment familiarisation
• Team operations and dynamics
• Psychological health
• Administrative (Code of Conduct and Conditions of Service)

Post Training Requirements

Successful completion of the AUSMAT Team Member training course is a mandatory requirement for deployment and inclusion on an AUSMAT Team.

Applicants that successfully complete AUSMAT team member training will also be required to:

• Complete an annual fitness check
• Maintain medical clearance, with a pre-deployment check required for deployments.
• Maintain vaccinations and provide serology evidence as requested by NCCTRC Pharmacy team to support vaccination assessments.
• Engage in AUSMAT activities/course outside of deployments through national EOIs coordinated by jurisdictions.
• NCCTRC encourages cache familiarity at the Darwin Head Quarters (HQ) 5 Lancaster Road Eaton Darwin Airport, to assist in development and knowledge of equipment. Local NT team members are engaged and encouraged to familiarise with the cache (where possible and applicable to team role) and should interstate team members find themselves in Darwin they are encouraged to contact the centre for a visit ausmat.ncctrc@nt.gov.au

The NCCTRC attempts to conduct Team Member training annually; however this is subject to outside influences such as those experienced in the COVID-19 pandemic (lock downs, lock outs, travel restrictions, faculty release etc.) and significant deployment operations.

Specialist AUSMAT Courses

The NCCTRC also conducts specialised courses such as:

• AUSMAT Surgical
• AUSMAT Leadership
• AUSMAT Logistics & Security Focal Points
• AUSMAT Rehabilitation

The short answer is no. Being an active AUSMAT member (with an approved WDMS profile) is voluntary. However, if you are deployed, the NCCTRC will reimburse your employer for costs related to your salary and approved allowances for the duration of the deployment, travel days, post deployment stand down days and quarantine period if required.  Entitlements may differ for domestic and international deployments.

During deployment your employer is required to continue paying your ongoing fulltime salary.  Any applicable ‘AUSMAT’ allowances will be paid post deployment.

Team members should not be on leave without pay and should not be taking annual leave for an Australian Government AUSMAT deployment. Your jurisdiction can assist facilitating these arrangements, and any issues can be flagged to your jurisdiction and also to NCCTRC for assistance as needed.

In summary this means that you continue to get paid from your primary employer as usual, in a full time equivalent (FTE) capacity if not already, for the duration of the deployment and any applicable allowances are paid upon your return.

Deployment conditions will be outlined in the deployment Expression of Interest (EOI) at the time of call-out.  Any queries regarding specific deployment conditions should be directed to your state or territory administrator before submitting an EOI.

The NCCTRC will follow up to ensure team members are paid by their employers and will assist with calculation of entitlements. The NCCTRC will also ensure that employers are reimbursed for salary and AUSMAT allowance costs that have been paid to the deployee. This ensures that neither the AUSMAT member nor their employer is out of pocket.

Your Personal Information will be used by your local AUSMAT Coordination team and the NCCTRC to:

• Manage and administer the national AUSMAT WDMS including the creation and maintenance of user accounts.
• Allow you to access your profile in the AUSMAT WDMS
• Assess your eligibility and suitability for Deployments, training opportunities and exercises
• Facilitate deployments, including preparatory steps such as advising you of education, training, vaccination requirements, planning travel and logistics and for packing of personnel specific kits and uniforms.
• Contact with next of kin (NOK) during deployments.
• Contacting you pre and post-deployment, in connection with wellbeing check-ups and debriefs;
• Facilitate the issuance of deployment specific documentation such as, but not limited to, international visas, international driver’s licences, border entry forms and Authority to Practice (ATP) documentation of the host country; and
• Facilitate other NCCTRC administrative activities in connection with AUSMAT, including process improvements in our management of AUSMAT and the recording and reporting of information regarding personnel (including the number of trained personnel, deployable status statistics, skill sets and skills mix information and statistics), the validity of participants’ personal information in the AUSMAT WDMS, further training requirements and priorities

When AUSMAT is activated for deployment, details of the selected deployment team may be shared with other jurisdictions and/or selected Commonwealth Departments (e.g., Commonwealth Health, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), National Emergency Management Australia (NEMA)) and associated third parties. The sharing of information will relate to deployment specific tasks and the associated regulatory documentation requirements only.

The NCCTRC may also use or disclose your Personal Information where required or authorised to do so by law.

Privacy Policy Information can be found by visiting https://webeoc.ncctrc.com.au/VolunteerPortal/#/privacy-policy

An AUSMAT deployment may be activated at any time in response to a sudden onset disaster, medical or humanitarian emergency, either domestically or internationally.

AUSMAT is activated when a request for assistance is received by the Australian Government from a local government authority for a domestic response,  a foreign government authority for an international response or in response to a World Health Organization (WHO) call out for Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs).  All international AUSMAT responses require final approval to be given by the Australian Foreign Minister for deployment.

For international assistance requests, approvals and requests to states and territories are coordinated through the Health National Health Emergency Management Sub-Committee (NHEMS) and Australian Health Protection Committee (AHPC) for representatives and collective Chief Health Officer (CHO) considerations. The Department Health and Aged Care, National Emergency Management Australia (NEMA), Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and DFAT Post (in country) and NCCTRC will coordinate as required to plan and deliver an appropriate and timely AUSMAT response.

Domestic deployments are coordinated through Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, NHEMS, AHPC, NCCTRC and NEMA for formal tasking under emergency response plans.

If an AUSMAT deployment is endorsed by the AHPC, the NCCTRC will be tasked with deploying AUSMAT trained team members. This will be coordinated through jurisdictional AUSMAT representatives and expression of interest pathways for required skill sets.

The notice period for deployment and the duration of the deployment can vary, ranging from as little as 6 hours to a few days, with a deployment period generally lasting up to four weeks.  The lead-time depends on the urgency of the request and response requirements. 

Typically, AUSMAT deployments are for up to 14 days in country however, they can be longer depending on the circumstances and specific requirements.  These details will be included in the deployment EOI and communicated by your jurisdiction and the NCCTRC. Recent COVID-19 related responses have been of longer duration.