- Career benefits and opportunities
- Qualifications, eligibility and registration
- Leap into school psychology – Department-funded short courses
- Advanced skills school psychologist
- Senior school psychologist
- Lead school psychologist
Being a school psychologist is highly rewarding and has many benefits including a competitive starting salary, Board approved supervision, ongoing professional development opportunities and a highly regarded 2-year Graduate Induction Program.
Opportunities for our school psychologists include:
- career development into senior positions and leadership roles
- flexibility for part-time work arrangements
- the possibility to work in specialised settings
- access to housing support in select regional areas
- travel concessions in some locations.
Our school psychologists can access:
- professional resources
- collegiate networking
- professional learning opportunities.
Our graduates and all new school psychologists are provided with comprehensive, fully funded support:
- Psychology Board of Australia approved supervision for graduates completing the 4+2 or 5+1 internship program
- a 2-year Graduate Induction Program of professional learning.
In Western Australian public schools, you are able to work as a school psychologist if you hold or are eligible for provisional or general registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.
Refer to the Psychology Board of Australia website for information about:
- the retirement of the 4+2 internship program
- overseas qualifications
- approved programs of study (with the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council)
- eligibility for registration as a psychologist.
To work as a school psychologist you are not required to have registration with the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia.
Apply on JobsWA to our Graduate School Psychologist Pool.
Our Leap into school psychology program provides graduate and experienced psychologists an opportunity to learn about the work of psychologists in Western Australia’s public schools.
The first part of the program focuses on school-specific psychological interventions and how psychologists work directly, indirectly and at a whole school level to improve outcomes for students in public schools.
You will then be given the opportunity to work shadow our school psychologists in a metropolitan or country location, gaining hands on experience working in schools.
Our Leap program is suitable for:
- psychologists with general registration with the Psychology Board of Australia, looking to make a ‘leap’ into a school psychology career
- psychologists with provisional registration considering employment as a graduate school psychologist.
The unique blended design of our Leap program involves online and self-paced learning, together with face-to-face experience in schools. Modules 1 to 5 consist of online self-paced learning and discussion over the course of the week, and a 2-hour online interactive session with guest speakers in the morning (8:30 am to 10:30 am), repeated in the evening (6 pm to 8 pm). The choice of times will enable participation for psychologists who may be on placement or working elsewhere. Participants come together at the end of the program to share their learning.
Our next Leap into school psychology program is scheduled for Term 4, but an additional program may be held on demand.
Term 4, 2023 program dates
- Module 1 – Wednesday 1 October
- Module 2 – Wednesday 18 October
- Module 3 – Wednesday 25 October
- Module 4 – Wednesday 1 November
- Module 5 – Wednesday 8 November
- Work shadowing Part 1 – week beginning Monday 13 November (2 days)
- Work shadowing Part 2 – week beginning Monday 20 November (2 days)
- Presentation Day – Wednesday 29 November
Submit your Leap program 2023 expression of interest.
As highly skilled and experienced practitioners, advanced skills school psychologists demonstrate exemplary practice in the delivery of psychological and specialist support services to schools. They contribute to influencing the system and the school psychology profession.
Advanced skills school psychologists status recognises expert knowledge and exemplary standards of professional practice. Those who achieve this status are part of a select group of highly skilled school psychology professionals in the Department. School psychologists achieving this status have attained all the competency standards at Phase 3 of our Competency Framework for School Psychologists.
Senior school psychologist status recognises the professional skills and competencies of experienced practicing school psychologists at Phase 2 of our Competency Framework for School Psychologists.
Lead school psychologists support the professional practice of school psychologists in over 800 public schools, with the Department's Chief Psychologist, Chris Gostelow, as the leader of the School Psychology Service.
They undertake a key region and system role in supporting the professional practice of school psychologists. Lead school psychologists also work with regional executive directors and provide advice to the system on the most complex of cases.
