MMPO offers a range of locum services. The page details the Rural Locum Service, our new Urban Emergency Locum Service and provides information about becoming an MMPO Locum.

Rural Locum Service

The Rural Locum Service is designed to support time off for education and annual leave for rural midwives, as well as cover in emergencies.

Prior to establishing the service in 2009, many rural midwives had limited access to regular time off-call due to geographic isolation. Some communities simply have a limited number of midwives to provide back up for each other. The Rural Locum Service is designed to support time off for education and annual leave for rural midwives, as well as cover in emergencies. The Rural Midwifery Recruitment and Retention Service has over 300 experienced locum midwives nationwide.

If you are an LMC midwife who has a minimum caseload of 20 women per annum and whose caseload is 50% rural/remote rural (semi-rural women do not qualify) you may be eligible for 9 days funded locum cover through the RMRRS. In addition to the 9 days annual leave, our service provides an emergency service allowing up to 5 days locum cover for accident or illness, bereavement, family emergencies or in special circumstances.

If you are unsure if you meet these criteria, please contact us on 0800 MIDWIFE

Sign up for Rural Locum Cover

Urban Emergency Locum Service

In late 2018 the MMPO secured funding to provide locum support services to midwives with predominantly urban caseloads for emergencies.

The caseloads of urban midwives are often large, making it difficult to plan for the management of their caseload when emergencies arise. Despite its infancy, the service already has over 100 experienced locum midwives in urban areas nationwide.

If you are an LMC midwife who has a minimum caseload of 30 urban/semi-rural women per annum (and do not meet the criteria for rural locum cover) you may be eligible for 5 days annual emergency locum cover. Situations for which emergency locum cover may be provided include accident or illness, bereavement, family emergencies or in special circumstances.

If you are unsure if you meet these criteria, please contact us on 0800 MIDWIFE

Sign up for Emergency Urban Locum Cover

Become a Locum

We are always looking to recruit locums for our services.

Many midwives report back to us the positive experience they have had providing locum cover through the RMRRS locum services. Requests for locum cover come from all over the country, from remote areas to urban centres. Midwives can sign up to become a locum through either the rural or urban services, or both, depending on their background and experience.

We are always looking to recruit locums for our services.

If you have been a registered midwife for 3 years, have a current APC with no ‘Conditions on practice’, have experience as an LMC midwife and feel confident birthing women in rural primary maternity facilities and/or at home (rural locums only) you may be eligible to become a locum through our service.

Locums are paid a daily rate through the RMRRS and may provide cover for up to 9 days at a time. Locums usually provide cover within their own region but can also choose to travel to other regions throughout the country to provide locum cover.

Become a locum