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find your place at headspace
headspace would like to acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia’s First People and Traditional Custodians. We value their cultures, identities and continuing connection to country, waters, kin and community. We pay our respects to Elders past and present and are committed to making a positive contribution to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, by providing services that are welcoming, safe, culturally appropriate and inclusive.
Register your interest in the headspace Graduate Program
Read all about the graduate program, what’s involved, who we’re looking for, how you’ll be supported, and what you’ll get out of it in the Applicant Pack.
Download the Applicant Pack
Submit an expression of interest
Want to know more? Watch an information session recording
About the headspace graduate program
The headspace graduate program offers you a 24-month position, with the opportunity to experience two 12-month rotations across two different headspace services. As a headspace clinician, you will play a pivotal role in delivering services to young people and their families within headspace’s internationally renowned model of youth mental health care. You will contribute to developing and providing high quality intake/assessment and ongoing psychological services to young people and their families and will make meaningful impact in the local community.
The program also offers you:
- 40 days equivalent of professional education in foundational youth mental health skills and knowledge, spread across the program.
- Regular Clinical Educator/Senior Clinician contact to support you in applying learning to practice
- Discipline matched one-on-one clinical supervision on a weekly basis for the first three months, then fortnightly for the remainder of the program.
- One day a week of protected time from clinical work to engage in graduate program activities such as the education program and clinical supervision, to support your development.
- Opportunities to engage with other graduate clinicians in the program and connect to the broader headspace network.
- The opportunity to undertake one or more rotations in a regional, rural or remote community and have exposure to a greater diversity of clinical work
- Practical and financial support for relocation to ensure you land well in a new community.
About the First Nations graduate program stream
For First Nations clinicians, headspace offers opportunities that meet you where you’re at, and allow you to develop your skills working in youth mental health. We offer support and choice: you decide if you want opportunities to work closely with Community or focus on other areas of development - or both! You can choose to apply through the First Nations stream and be supported and in contact with Indigenous staff throughout the process. But you can also apply through the general stream.
What support is offered under the First Nations’ stream?
Assumptions aren’t going to be made about what you need, but support is there if you want it. This support includes:
- Access to dedicated information sessions to have a yarn about the program
- Support and contact with Indigenous staff throughout the recruitment process 
- Considerations of cultural needs during the placement process (for example, staying near Country, or practicing away from community and family)
- Cultural supervision throughout the program, to support your cultural safety and yarn about your journey as a worker, a practitioner, an individual and all the other roles you hold.
- Connection to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Staff Network
- The opportunity to work with young First Nations people and develop professional and cultural practices for First Nations clients (e.g., the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Model)
Our commitment to cultural safety: First Nations candidates and graduates are not assessed on, expected to share, or expected to develop their cultural knowledge as part of the graduate program.
Who we're looking for
We are looking for clinicians who have recently qualified as Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, or Social Workers in the last three years.
- Occupational Therapists and Psychologists must have full registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency by 1 February 2025.
- Social Workers must have or be eligible for full registration with the Australian Association of Social Work by 1 February 2025.
Beyond qualifications, we’re looking for early career clinicians who are:
- motivated to participate in a graduate program that provides a hands-on comprehensive introduction to the youth mental health sector
- engaged and energetic – those who bring enthusiasm to their work, embracing the challenges and rewards of working in youth mental health
- committed to self-development – those who take ownership of their growth and actively seek learning opportunities and feedback
- resilient and reflective – those who are resilient in the face of challenges, and understand how to support their own self-care in order to stay well and be effective in their role
- passionate and driven – those who are looking to make a difference and strive to provide good care to those they work with
- open to new experiences – those who are willing to learn by engaging in a range of work opportunities, and working in a new community, including in regional, rural and remote settings.
Key dates
| Mon 5 Aug 2024 at 9am AEST | Applications close |
| Mon 19 Aug to Fri 6 Sept 2024 | Interviews held with shortlisted candidates |
| Mon 26 Aug to Fri 13 Sept 2024 | Reference checks undertaken for interviewed candidates |
| Commencing Mon 16 Sept 2024 | Verbal offers made to preferred candidates* |
| Fri 18 Oct 2024 | All candidates notified of their outcome of application |
| Mon 3 Feb 2025 | Graduate clinicians commence in their role |
* Finalising offers during a large intake can take time – if we do not contact you in this time, please note we will contact you with the outcome of your application by Fri 18 Oct. Please refrain from contacting us before this date requesting an update.
Graduate clinicians provide clinical work to young people and their families accessing support at the headspace centre they are placed at. The types of clinical work provided at each headspace centre differs based on the needs of that community, however it’s common for graduate clinicians to engage in activities such as undertaking intake and assessment, providing brief and ongoing intervention work, and facilitating clinical groups. Graduate clinicians are provided their own case load and are a part of the service delivery team in headspace centres.
As each headspace centre operates a bit differently based on the local community’s needs, your day-to-day work may change as you move into your second rotation, and we’ll support you to land in a second rotation that suits where you are at personally and professionally.
The headspace graduate program supports clinicians to be placed in a headspace centres or in the Digital Mental Health Program. In 2025 graduate clinicians will be placed in headspace centres across New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia in both metro, rural, regional, and remote areas.
A number of factors contribute to the placement decision-making process, including your personal and professional needs and preferences, as well as the opportunities that each centre can provide for individuals.
During the recruitment process we will ask for more information on your personal circumstances and preferences that will provide us insights into what will contribute to a great placement experience for you. We’ll provide shortlisted candidates with more information on centres available for placement before gaining your placement preferences.
We provide practical and financial support to anyone who relocates over 100km from their home to their first placement (and then for subsequent placements). Our relocation support process connects anyone relocating with a dedicated team member who will help you to develop a relocation plan. Relocation plans are not just about how you’ll get from A to B – but get you thinking about what’s important to you in your new community. Based on your relocation plan we support you by:
- Helping you connect to local networks in your placement location to support you in finding ongoing accommodation (we’ve even supported graduates who are moving to a new placement to secure a rental by organising a lease transfer with another graduate who is leaving that placement)
- Reimbursements for relocation expenses such as travelling to your placement location, and the cost of transporting or storing your belongings.
- The cost of temporary accommodation while securing ongoing housing.
While ensuring you don’t incur significant costs is important, it’s not just about reimbursement. Our relocation policy is designed to ensure you land well in a new community.
You are able to submit an application without having obtained registration, however the following conditions must be met based on discipline by 1 February 2025 in order to commence in the role:
- Occupational Therapists must have full registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) by 1 February 2025.
- Psychologists must have full registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) by 1 February 2025.
- Social Workers must have or be eligible for full registration with the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) by 1 February 2025.
Unfortunately, the graduate program is limited to those with Psychology, Social Work and Occupational Therapy qualifications. headspace recognises that PACFA and ACA registered professionals are a valued part of the clinical workforce at headspace centres nationally. While the headspace Early Career Program currently focuses on building the Social Work, Psychology and Occupational Therapy workforce in our network, there are many other opportunities to work with us across our 150 headspace services. Check out our careers page for clinician roles currently available.
To be eligible for the graduate program, psychologists are required to have general registration, not provisional registration with AHPRA. Unfortunately, that means 5+1 and 4+2 interns are not currently eligible to apply. We would encourage you to apply once you have completed your 6th year and are eligible for general registration.
headspace acknowledges that 5+1 interns and provisional psychologists are valued and important members of many of our headspace centres. You are very welcome to reach out to a headspace centre directly and ask if they have the capacity to employ an intern. Find a headspace centre.
Only those who have completed the following qualifications are eligible for the program:
- A qualifying degree in Social Work (Master or Bachelor) and have or be eligible for full registration with the Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) by 1 February 2025.
- A qualifying degree in Occupational Therapy (Master or Bachelor), and have general registration with AHPRA by 1 Feb 2025
- A Masters, Combined Masters/PhD, or Doctoral degree in Psychology, and have general registration with AHPRA by 1 Feb 2025
To be eligible for this position, you must be able to live and work in Australia full time (37.5 hours) for two years. Please note this is not a sponsorship and we are not able to sponsor Visa applicants for this role.
We will be looking to employ 40-45 graduate clinicians for Intake 2025 of the headspace graduate program.
Toward the end of the program, we work with graduate clinicians to understand their plans for the future and think about your next career move. We connect graduate clinicians to job opportunities in the headspace network, and if you’re successful in securing a role in the headspace network, provide support to help you transition to your next role.
Beyond the program, graduate clinicians stay connected to their peers through the headspace graduate program alumni network.
Unfortunately, positions in the graduate program are currently only offered at a full-time capacity. This is to ensure you have enough time to engage with all elements of the program, and to get the full benefit out of the program.
The graduate program is a great next step for those who have completed a clinical placement at headspace or have experience working at headspace, and we encourage you to apply.
headspace centres will be invited to endorse candidates who they have previously hosted for a clinical placement. While receiving a Centre endorsement does not guarantee a candidate a place in the program, it allows us to hear from a senior centre staff member who has observed your practice to give us an understanding if you’d be a good fit for the program.
Yes – any appropriately qualified clinicians are eligible to apply even without experience in youth mental health. We encourage people from a range of backgrounds and experience to apply. If you think this is the role for you – please apply!
If you are a psychologist and are working towards gaining endorsement in an area of practice, engaging in the clinical work and supervision requirements in the graduate program will contribute to you meeting the eligibility requirements for endorsement. Completing the program will not automatically provide you with endorsement, but you’ll have considerable experience which can help you met the eligibility criteria and to commence the process through with AHPRA.
If you are thinking about working towards becoming an AASW Accredited Mental Health Social Worker, the education provided, and features of the graduate program have been designed to contribute to supporting you to meet the accreditation criteria. Completing the program will not automatically provide you with your accreditation as a Mental Health Social Worker, but you’ll have considerable experience which can help you met the eligibility criteria and to commence the process through the AASW.
If you have any accessibility requirements to access, view, engage with or apply for the headspace graduate program – please don't hesitate to reach out to graduates@headspace.org.au and we can discuss how we can best support you.
If you have a question that have not been answered on this website, in the applicant pack, or at an information session, or wish to discuss your personal circumstances, please contact us at graduates@headspace.org.au.
What is headspace?
headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds. headspace can help young people with mental health, physical health (including sexual health) alcohol and other drug services, and work and study support. Each year, headspace helps thousands of young people access vital support through our headspace centres across Australia, our online and phone counselling services, our work and study services, and our presence in schools. You can find a map of headspace centres here.
headspace’s vision is that all young people are supported to be mentally healthy and engaged in their communities. For this vision to become a reality, we must ensure that our services are culturally safe and responsive to the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, their families, and by extension, communities. In recognition of this, we are committed to continuous improvement in the ways in which our services connect and engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.
headspace is a place like no other. It’s a place where people listen and support one another, working collaboratively to help build brighter futures. If you’re looking for a graduate role where you can hit the ground running, where you’ll gain unique experience and where you’ll continue to develop your skills with professional training – you’ll find your place at headspace.