Temporary employment

Have you considered a career as a School Counsellor? If so, apply for the KickStart School Counselling Program today.
 

This graduate program offers eligible teachers, who have completed their fifth year of psychology studies, tailored training and supervision to become registered psychologists and join the NSW Department of Education's School Counselling Service.
 

As a KickStart participant, you will work collaboratively with a team of dedicated professionals to make a positive impact on the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people in NSW public schools.
 

If you have approval to teach in NSW and are a psychology graduate who has successfully completed a 5-year psychology degree and are ready to start or have started your internship year of your 5+1 psychology registration pathway, then this opportunity is for you.
 

Working with Australia's largest provider of public education and one of the largest employers of psychologists in NSW, the NSW Department of Education will provide opportunities for you to engage with diverse school and student communities like no other child/adolescent psychologist role can. This is a chance to develop and use your skills to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people when it matters most.
 

What we offer you

As a participant of the KickStart program, you receive:

• Temporary full-time employment as a School Counsellor with provisional registration.

• Professional support and supervision to complete your provisional psychologyinternship with the Psychology Board of Australia.

• A comprehensive onsite tailored training program to equip you with the necessary skills to work full-time within the School Counselling Service within NSW public schools.

• Upon successful completion of the KickStart program, you will have gained the knowledge, skills and experience to apply for permanent School Counsellor roles within the NSW Department of Education. 

Selection Criteria

We are looking for eligible teachers with dual qualifications in education and psychology. To be successful in these roles you will have:

• Full approval to teach or eligibility for approval to teach in NSW Department of Education schools.

• Completion of the required psychology studies with available transcripts to make you eligible to undertake your 5+1 internship program as a provisional psychologist.

• Be a provisionally registered psychologist, or eligible for registration with the Psychology Board of Australia ready to start or continue your 5+1 internship program. 

• Have demonstrated understanding of the mental health needs of children and young people. 

• Training and/or experience in counselling children and young people using evidence-based interventions. 

• Training and/or experience in cognitive, emotional and behavioural assessment of children and young people. 

• Well-developed interpersonal, oral and written communication skills, including report writing. 

• Ability to work collaboratively and liaise with key stakeholders to enhance outcomes for children and young people. 

• Knowledge of and commitment to the Department's Aboriginal Education Policy and upholding the Department's Partnership Agreement with the NSW AECG and to ensure quality outcomes for Aboriginal people.

Conditions

• An unconditional full approval to teach is a requirement. If you do not hold full approval to teach with the NSW Department of Education, you are required to commence the application process at the same time as you apply for this opportunity.

• Provisional psychology registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.

• Australian citizenship or permanent residency. 

• Valid and current Working with Children Check clearance.

•  Ability and willingness to travel between worksites with a valid and current driver’s license.

   

Locations: Opportunities are available in a range of staffing areas state-wide. Applicants must nominate at least three staffing areas in which they are willing to work (priority will be given to applicants who are prepared to work in areas of high demand).

Priority will be given to applicants who nominate the following staffing areas: Queanbeyan, Deniliquin, Griffith, Armidale, Lismore, Orange, Taree, Bourke

Staffing areas include: Albury, Armidale, Bankstown, Batemans Bay, Bathurst, Blacktown, Bondi, Bourke, Broken Hill, Campbelltown, Central Coast, Clarence/Coffs Harbour, Deniliquin, Dubbo, Fairfield, Granville, Griffith, Hornsby, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Liverpool, Maitland, Moree, Mount Druitt, Muswellbrook, Newcastle, Northern Beaches, Orange, Parramatta, Penrith, Port Jackson, Port Macquarie, Queanbeyan, Ryde, Shellharbour, St George, Sutherland, Tamworth, Taree, Tweed Heads/Ballina, Wagga Wagga, Windsor, Wollongong.

Successful applicants will be placed in a base school within their selected staffing area and may also work in other schools within that area, or neighbouring areas.

To view a list of the staffing areas please Click here

Special Notes

Please note that successful applicants are provided with temporary employment only. Should applicants wish to gain permanent employment, they must apply separately for permanent employment after successful completion of their kick start program.

Successful applicants will be provided with a Departmental induction program, ongoing professional learning and professional supervision.

Visit the Department’s School Counselling Service pages to discover more about working as a school psychologist or school counsellor in NSW public schools.

Expected Start date:  27 January 2026

Documents
Aboriginal Education Policy

As this is a child-related position, you will also be required to obtain a Working with Children Check (WWCC) Clearance number as a condition of employment (if you do not already have this). For more information, please visit the Office of the Children’s Guardian

About the NSW Department of Education

The Department of Education is the largest provider of public education in Australia with responsibility for delivering high-quality public education to two-thirds of the NSW student population. We welcome applications from all ages and genders, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, culturally and linguistically diverse groups, the LGBTQIA+ community, veterans, refugees and people with disability. If we can make some adjustments to our recruitment/interview process to better enable you to shine, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Team ([email protected]) or visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion

New merit selection application guidelines for classroom teachers (including School Counsellors), executives and principals have been introduced to provide greater clarity to applicants and selection panels. The guidelines are located here. To ensure that your application complies with the guideline page limits, your attachments must be in PDF format.

Applications must be lodged electronically. No paper-based application will be accepted

Please apply online at www.iworkfor.nsw.gov.au. Job reference 0000B2IP.  Applications Close - Monday 27 October 2025 at 04:00pm.