APS 6 Clinician

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs; Sydney; On-site; AUD 105,000 - 119,000; Full time

Job summary

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs – Sydney NSW is seeking APS6 Clinicians for Open Arms – Veterans and Families Counselling. You will provide evidence-based counselling, risk assessment, and case management to current and former Defence personnel, their partners and families, ensuring confidentiality and professional standards.

Role requires qualifications in psychology, social work, counselling, occupational therapy, or nursing, and entails collaboration with a multidisciplinary team

Qualifications

• Qualifications as a registered Psychologist / Occupational Therapist / Mental Health Nurse with full AHPRA registration.
• Qualification as a Social Worker eligible for AASW and Mental Health accreditation.
• Qualifications as a Counsellor with Level 4 ACA registration.

Responsibilities

• Provide high quality clinical services including risk assessment, intervention and counselling to Open Arms clients and develop care plans.
• Conduct reviews with clients on progress and determine further needs, including extensions to care episodes.
• Maintain confidential client files using the Client Management System with progress notes and care plans.
• Schedule and attend CPD activities and clinical supervision to maintain professional registration.
• Co-facilitate treatment and psychoeducation programs with Open Arms staff or external clinicians.
• Adhere to legislation, ethical guidelines and policies in client care.
• Liaise with the Assistant Director and clinicians to review cases and coordinate care extensions.
• Collaborate with clients’ families and other treatment providers to coordinate care.

Job description

Australian Department of Veterans' Affairs – Sydney NSW

• Location: Sydney, NSW
• Salary Range: $104,898 - $119,116 + 15.4% employer super contribution
• This vacancy has been identified to participate in VetPaths

JOB OVERVIEW

Clinicians (APS 6) work within the Clinical Operations Branch of Open Arms – Veterans and Families Counselling of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA), providing counselling services to current and formerly serving Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel, their partners and families. They apply extensive knowledge and experience gained from a relevant background in psychology, social work, counselling, occupational therapy, or nursing to build rapport with clients, understand their unique experiences and work with them to identify goals that will enhance mental health and wellbeing. Providing evidence-based assessment, formulation and treatment for a range of psychological conditions, and keep confidential care plans and clinical notes to reflect counselling progress. Required to make decisions, problem solve and navigate complex client issues, whilst adhering to relevant legislation, ethical guidelines and policies. Critical thinking, communication and interpersonal skills are paramount, and clinicians must demonstrate high levels of integrity and emotional intelligence. Bringing knowledge of veterans’ and their families’ experiences to the role, clinicians will demonstrate respect for all clients and uphold a strong commitment to confidentiality.

DUTIES

• Provide high quality clinical services including risk assessment and intervention, referral, evidence based individual, couple and family counselling, and case management to eligible Open Arms clients in order to achieve outcomes identified in care planning.
• Conduct reviews with clients on counselling progress to determine further approaches and establish additional needs, including extensions to episodes of care.
• Using the Client Management System, maintain confidential files for each client that include session progress notes, care plans, risk assessment, and additional client interactions.
• Schedule and attend Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities, including clinical supervision, to maintain professional registration.
• They may also provide co-facilitation for group programs alongside fellow Open Arms staff or external clinicians.
• Adhere to relevant legislation, ethical guidelines and policies pertaining to best-practice client care.
• Liaise and attend regular meetings with the Assistant Director and other Clinicians to review client cases, including those that may require extensions to episodes of care.
• Liaise with clients’ family members and additional treatment providers and/or other Open Arms/DVA stakeholders to coordinate care.
• Apply the principles of cooperative and safe working practices consistent with APS Values and the Department’s mission, vision, approach and values.
• Engage in other clinical tasks as directed by the Assistant Director based on organisational need. These may include:
  • Co-facilitate treatment and psychoeducation programs on a range of topics alongside other Open Arms staff or external clinicians.
  • Participate in community development and service promotion activities.
  • Participate in Open Arms program evaluation and research activities, contributing to project management activities that implement strategic directions and quality improvement recommendations, and provide feedback for ongoing development of clinical policies and procedures.
  • Facilitate the delivery of Open Arms counselling and other programs to veterans and families by applying quality assurance principles and procedures to ensure the clinical practice, and reporting of Outreach Program Clinicians (OPCs) meet contractual requirements.
  • Collaboratively manage the regional allocation queue through liaison and consultation with Open Arms Clinicians, OPCs and administrative staff.
  • Conduct regional intake assessments to inform allocation to appropriate services.

MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

• Qualifications as a registered Psychologist / Occupational Therapist / Mental Health Registered Nurse with full AHPRA registration, OR
• Qualification as a Social Worker eligible for membership of the Australian Association Social Workers (AASW) and eligible to apply for Mental Health accreditation OR
• Qualifications as a Counsellor with a minimum Level 4 Australian Counselling Association registration.

ELIGIBILITY

• Under section 22(8) of the Public Service Act 1999, employees must be Australian citizens to be employed in the Australian Public Service (APS).
• Any successful candidate external to DVA offered employment will be required to undergo pre-engagement screening checks, even if they currently have a security clearance. The screening checks are conducted in accordance with the Australian Government Protective Security Policy Framework requirements.
• Any successful candidate will be required to obtain and/or maintain, a Baseline Vetting (AGSVA) security clearance as a minimum.

NOTES

This recruitment process may be used to fill ongoing and/or non-ongoing position/s. For more information about the role, please see the Candidate Information Pack.

A merit pool of suitable applicants may be created which may be used to fill future ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies should they become available over the next 18 months.

Successful applicants engaged into the APS will be subject to a probation period.

We welcome people with diverse skills, experiences and perspectives. DVA is committed to building a workforce that reflects the community we serve and encourages applications from:

• Veterans and former Australian Defence Force members, whose skills and experience are highly valued across the APS
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
• People with disability
• People who identify as LGBTQIA+
• People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds

We are a Veteran Employer of Choice! This means you benefit from a workplace actively supporting veterans and families of veterans – one that understands and values military experience. You’re joining an organisation publicly recognised for its commitment to fostering veteran-friendly employment pathways and long-term career success.

The Australian Public Service (APS) values the unique skills, perspectives, and experiences that veterans gain during their Australian Defence Force (ADF) employment and encourage veterans to apply. Support may be available to veterans transitioning to meaningful APS careers through participation in VetPaths, which offers veterans an opportunity to participate in a six‑month program offering formal learning and development, career mentoring and activities for wellness and peer support. More information can be found on the DVA Website.

RecruitAbility applies to this vacancy. Under the RecruitAbility scheme, you will be invited to participate in further assessment activities for the vacancy if you choose to opt-in to the scheme, declare you have a disability and meet the minimum requirements for the vacancy. All requests for reasonable adjustments will be considered and managed in consultation with you. Further information can be found at https://www.apsc.gov.au/recruitability.

CANDIDATE INFORMATION PACK

The candidate information pack is available below.

Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window