Mental Health Social Worker Graduate Programme
Graduate Social Worker - Rotating into our Allied Health Early Careers Programme (Fixed term 24 months)
To apply for this position, you must:
Have completed a Bachelor or Master's in Social Work and ready to commence work
Be eligible for AASW membership;
If your qualification was obtained overseas, please provide an International Qualification Assessment via AASW and attach this to your application
Hold a current Victorian driver’s license
The Allied Health Graduate Programme offers:
Supported learning across a range of mental health settings
24-month fixed term position.
Regular rotations, offering experiences in a variety of mental health clinical settings
Reflective practice (individual and group), professional development and learning opportunities
Support from the Social Work Clinical Educators and the Allied Health Early Careers Team
All applicants must possess:
A strong interest in mental health and passionate about pursuing a career in public mental health
Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written
An ability to work as a team member and contribute to team decisions, as well as the willingness to learn from those around you
A willingness to work under the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022
An understanding of the biopsychosocial issues experienced by consumers and their supporters
A commitment to helping meet the needs of consumers and their families, carers & supporters
A willingness to work under the MARAM and Information Sharing Framework.
A growth mindset and commitment to professional development
Be within twenty-four months of completion of tertiary Social Work qualification
Computer literacy
As a participant of the St Vincent’s Mental Health Allied Health Graduate Program (Social Work) you will have the opportunity to participate multiple rotations over 24 months. The program is designed to support newly graduated social workers to develop mental health competencies and successfully transition into the mental health workforce.
The Allied Health Graduate programme has a strong focus on growth learning, reflective practice, supervision and self-care. The positions are embedded in clinical settings, working as part of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary teams.
These positions will rotate through various areas of St Vincent’s Mental Health Service, across adult and older adult services, potentially including inpatient units, community teams and residential recovery services.
Allied Health Educators provide education opportunities, including regular individual and group supervision, localised mentoring and regular professional development.
The position seeks to build the capacity of the public mental health workforce, to attract Social Workers who are passionate about a career in public mental health. The roles also provide an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the lives of consumers with a mental illness, and their supporters.
Classifications for this position will range from Social Worker Grade 2 YC42 - YC45 ($74,885 - $87,141 per annum pro rata)
About St Vincent’s Mental Health
St Vincent’s Mental Health Service is an area-based mental health service operating in the inner-city areas of Yarra and Boroondara. It includes a range of inpatient, residential and community-based programs, providing treatment to adults and older adults who experience acute and complex mental health issues. Multidisciplinary teams provide a range of clinical and therapeutic interventions underpinned by a strong commitment to recovery focused practice and person-centred care.
Why Work in Mental Health at St Vincent’s?
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Work with people who are passionate about recovery.
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Experience a positive work culture within an historical, values-based organisation originally established to serve socioeconomically disadvantaged groups in the local community
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Participate in career development, training, and progression opportunities
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Receive support from staff who are continually motivated to provide the best possible care for consumers by building a confident and capable workforce
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Flexible working arrangements
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Discovery Days to experience a range of teams within our service
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Salary Packaging – increase your take home pay
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Great inner-city location. Easily accessible via public transport, extensive car parking options and close to Gertrude and Brunswick Streets in the heart of Fitzroy
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Employee Assistance Program
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Ability to join Fitness Passport - your pass to an extensive choice of fitness facilities
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Staff Health Centre
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Discounts and promotions are available through our Foundation
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Please attach your resume and cover letter to your application.
For more information, please contact:
Shortlisting for this position will commence immediately. We encourage you to apply promptly as the advertisement may close early should a suitable applicant be sourced.
We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and abilities. Inclusion is essential to our mission and diversity reflects the community we serve.
Please visit our website, for further information regarding our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Employment at SVHM
SVHA has a duty of care under work health and safety legislation to eliminate and/or control the risk of transmission of vaccine preventable diseases in healthcare settings. You may therefore be required to undergo mandatory immunisations/vaccinations
St. Vincent’s Mental Health (SVMH) provides high quality, recovery-oriented services across an adult and older adult mental health service for the inner-city areas of Yarra and Boroondara. The service utilises the Strengths Model of recovery and this model is embedded across all parts of the mental health service. In addition, the acute inpatient service utilises the Safewards Model. St Vincent’s is also committed to the ongoing development of a strong peer support workforce.
The mental health service components are:
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44 bed Acute Inpatient Service (AIS) located on the St. Vincent’s Hospital site. The Acute Inpatient Service includes 5 beds designated to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community and are linked to the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.
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20 bed Footbridge Community Care Unit (CCU).
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North Fitzroy PARC.
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Two community mental health services (CMHS) at Hawthorn (Hawthorn CMHS) and East Melbourne (Clarendon CMHS). Community mental health services comprise the Triage and Crisis assessment and Treatment (CAT) service, Continuing Care (CCT), Mobile Support and Treatment (MST) and Homeless Outreach (CHOPS) services. The Primary Intervention and Care Team (PICT) includes Primary Mental Health, Extended Triage and HOPE (Suicide Prevention).
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Consultation & Liaison Service.
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NEXUS Dual Diagnosis Advisory Service.
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Body Image and Eating Disorders Assessment and Treatment Service (BETRS).
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DePaul House – Drug and Alcohol Detox Service
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Normanby House – Older Adult Acute Inpatient Service
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State-wide services are the Victorian Dual Disability Service and the Victorian Transcultural Mental Health.
St Vincent’s Mental Health is committed the recruitment and retention of high-quality staff. We aim to support staff to maintain and develop their skills to provide excellent clinical care and to meet their own personal and career goals. The service has a strong education and research focus, in addition to affiliations with universities and educational institutions. All St Vincent’s Mental Health clinical staff are expected to be familiar, and practice in a manner consistent with the National Practice Standards for the Mental Health Workforce.
As a participant of the St Vincent’s Mental Health Allied Health Graduate Program (Social Work) you will have the opportunity to participate in two 6x month rotations over 12 months. The program is designed to support newly graduated social workers to develop mental health competencies and successfully transition to practice in mental health.
You will be supported by a Social Work Clinical Educator with a strong focus on growth learning, professional development, reflective practice, supervision, and self-care. This will include regular individual and peer supervision, localised mentoring, and regular professional development opportunities within the wider Mental Health Social Work Team.
The positions are located within clinical Adult Mental Health Community and Acute Inpatient settings, working closely with Grade 2 and Senior Social Workers and as part of multi-disciplinary teams. This enables learning and development in real-life practice related content in a positive and supported environment.
An individualised learning plan is designed to work towards meeting targeted social work competencies in the mental health program.
Following the program, you will be supported to apply for ongoing, long term employment opportunities within St Vincent’s Mental Health.
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Skilfully engage consumers, carers, families and supports
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Engage in mental health focused biopsychosocial assessments, family sensitive practice and interventions to promote Recovery
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Work collaboratively with consumers, carers, families and supports in the development and implementation of individualised recovery plans designed to promote, foster, and sustain personal recovery
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Undertake comprehensive mental state evaluation and risk assessment to inform planning and safe practice
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Contribute to multidisciplinary clinical reviews, meetings, handovers, and case conferences
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Provide social work consultation and support to other services, teams and agencies as required to promote appropriate service delivery and care
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Engage with and support community services and resources to facilitate effective community integration and referral
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Engage in reflective supervision and practice – individually, with social work colleagues and with allied health graduate colleagues. Participate in ongoing professional development sessions to ensure up to date skills and knowledge of contemporary recovery focused interventions in mental health
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Engage in the development of a comprehensive individual learning plan, working towards meeting the expected social work mental health graduate competencies
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Demonstrate relevant family violence practice according to St Vincent’s Mental Health guidelines. This aligns with the Multi-Agency Risk assessment and Management (MARAM) Framework, the Family Violence Information Sharing Scheme (FVIS) and Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) legislative requirements
In order to apply for this position, you must be eligible for AASW membership and hold a Bachelor of Social Work or Masters in Social Work (Qualifying), as well as a current Driver’s Licence
- Strong interest in mental health and well-being and considering a career in mental health
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Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills (verbal and written)
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Ability to work as a team member and contribute to team decisions, as well as the willingness to take advice and direction
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An interest in understanding the range of issues experienced by people experiencing mental illness presenting with high level needs, and a commitment to helping meet the needs of consumers and families/carers
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Computer literacy
Commitment to:
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The Values and Health Care Philosophy of the Sisters of Charity
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The Principles of the St. Vincent’s Hospital Patient Care Model
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The Hospital’s Code of Conduct
5 September 2026 11:59pm
At St Vincent's we acknowledge the importance of creating a work environment that is welcoming, safe, equitable and inclusive for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Employees. As part of our Commitment to Reconciliation and Closing the Gap in employment related outcomes, we encourage applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.
For further information, visit https://www.svha.org.au/about-us/reconciliation or get in contact at [email protected]
