About Us

The Carlton Football Club is one of Australia’s oldest and most prominent sport institutions. Founded in 1864, the Club’s headquarters and training facilities are located in Carlton at IKON Park, our traditional home ground.

Our IKON Park redevelopment is now complete, and we are proud of our state-of-the-art facilities that supports our high-performance environment. When the Club set about undertaking this historic work, it was based upon achieving facilities for women’s sport that would be the equal of their male counterparts.

We are passionate about our contribution to the Community and foster an inclusive and welcoming culture where our values are at the core of who we are and what we do.

About the Role

The Carlton Football Club is committed to providing an industry-leading environment for players and football staff that supports high-performance outcomes and positive health.

The AFLW doctor is primarily responsible for overseeing the health and well-being of AFLW players, ensuring their safe and effective return to play following injury, and providing expert medical care across all aspects of their performance and health.

This role reports to the Head of AFLW and supports AFLW players with training as well as gameday health, fitness and injury management. The role will assume the responsibility within the team structure for contributing to medical decisions that affect the players’ safe participation and will integrate medical expertise with other health care providers, including medical specialist, fitness staff and allied health professionals.

The AFLW Doctor will be employed as an Independent Contractor on a Medical Services Agreement and as an AFL official, with a requirement to adhere to all AFL policies.  

Key Responsibilities

• Undertake player injury consultations inclusive of injury assessment, diagnosis and intervention or relevant referral if required, reporting findings and recommendations to AFLW Head Coach, and other members of sports science and medical team as necessary.
• Advise on injury prognosis and performance impact and collaborate on rehabilitation plans.
• Integrate medical expertise with other health care providers, including medical specialists, high performance staff and allied health professionals.
• Assume the responsibility within the team structure for making medical decisions that affect the players’ safe participation.
• Principally determine when a player is ready to begin a fitness program, join a team or return to play following an injury or illness.
• Organise appointments for medical imaging services, specialist opinions and other medical investigations and deliver reports on outcomes on each case.
• Conduct and attend meetings with all associated staff (allied, high performance, coaching, etc.) to continually monitor the health and fitness of all players on the list. Reports to be prepared in conjunction with medical and conditioning staff for dissemination to coaching staff and others.
• Monitor the rehabilitation programs as devised by the high-performance staff and other allied health professionals at the Club.
• Provide for proper document and medical record keeping, including keeping the club’s injury management system up to date as required by the club and AFL.
• Provide for the medical wellbeing of each player as required.
• Collaborate with AFL medical staff as required) to optimise player' health and performance outcomes.

Qualifications and Experience

• Medical degree is essential with significant postgraduate experience in the management of sports injuries within elite sporting teams.
• In-depth knowledge of Sport and Exercise Medicine.
• Appropriate medical and general liability insurance.
• Current AHPRA registration to be maintained throughout employment.
• Experience in an elite sporting environment, ideally AFL.
• Demonstrated experience in women’s health.
• Working knowledge of AFL Policies and Procedures (e.g., Concussion Management Guidelines)
• A current National Police Clearance, or the ability to obtain one.
• Current driver’s license.

Availability  

• Due to the nature of the role and the industry, the AFLW Team Doctor will need to be available for the following:
• Attend one training session in-season + game day and recovery sessions as required.
• Attend all Club pre-season games and Club home and away games, including interstate games.
• Attend key team meetings on training days.
• Available on call for phone contact or in-clinic consultations.
• Hours will vary depending on when the program is operating between out-of-season and in-season.
• AFLW preseason commences in May and official games commence in August and run through until November.

Skills and Attributes

• Ability to develop connection and professional relationships with AFLW players
• Strong communication skills including prompt and user appropriate communication on player availability, injuries, management and rehabilitation planning.
• Thorough understanding of sports culture.
• Proven ability to display sound judgment.
• Strong team skills with the ability to work with a multidisciplinary team and be a good team player.
• Exceptional organisational and planning skills.
• Proficient at assuming responsibility, and capable of working unsupervised and being professionally accountable.
• Deepened self-awareness and a motivation for professional growth.

Culture & Benefits

Carlton’s values underpin how the Club operates, describing how our people work together, interact and behave. The Club is passionate about its culture, focused on cultivating a unique sense of belonging and connection. In addition, we offer our people flexible working, learning and development opportunities, as well as employee benefits such as membership, café, retail & partnership discounts, working in a world-class sporting amenity.