School Counsellor

Job Description - School Counsellor - Bourke Public School (0000B1HQ)

Job Description

School Counsellor - Bourke Public School - 0000B1HQ

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Regional NSW-Dubbo & West NSW

Advertisement Number A900147751

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Total Remuneration Package: Package valued up to $177,146. Base salary ranges from $98,177 - $156,294* plus leave loading and employer's contribution to superannuation. Base salary rates above the minimum are available dependent on professional experience. *Note there is no automatic progression to $156,294 - SCAC. Access to SCAC is available once a school counsellor has progressed through all salary steps and upon successful application for Advanced Certification level against the NSW School Counselling Service PPF.

School Name Bourke Public School

They provide counselling and psychological assessment of students to complement and enhance the work of teachers to strengthen student learning and wellbeing outcomes, and they help families understand and manage their children's learning and mental health needs. This is a truly collegiate role offering unique challenges and opportunities – both in your professional development and your ability to make an impact on the lives of children and young people.

The successful candidate will be based at Bourke Public School and provided with opportunities to work across the lifespan with both primary and high school aged students. Working as a school counsellor in a NSW public school will enable you to engage with a diversity of students (and school communities) like no other child and adolescent psychologist role can. This is a chance to use your skills to make a real difference in the lives of children and young people at a time in their lives when it matters most.

School counsellors receive regular, individual professional supervision with the Senior Psychologist Education and participate in group and peer supervision as a member of the broader district school counselling team. You will most likely be collaborating with a number of school communities and colleagues, as well as outside agencies, with the opportunity to use and expand the full range of your skills and expertise as part of a supportive, multidisciplinary team.

School counsellors are provided with regular opportunities to participate in continuing professional development and the NSW Department of Education will support you to complete or maintain your registration with the Psychology Board of Australia. Other benefits include school holiday leave, travel allowances and health and wellbeing benefits such as our Fitness Passport program. The department will also cover your indemnity insurance as a psychologist.

Bourke Public School draws its enrolment from the Shire of Bourke, situated on the banks of the Darling River, including the immediate township and surrounding areas in the far north west of NSW. The school has a current enrolment of approximately 182 students (including 78% Aboriginal students and 3 Support classes). The school has a supportive Parents and Citizens Association and Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG). Our talented, motivated and caring staff inspire children to have a love of learning using innovative and challenging educational programs and pedagogies. Bourke Public School has a strong focus on Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), Digital Technologies and targeted and individualised Learning and Support processes.

In 2012, the school became part of the Connected Communities Strategy. Connected Communities is a strategy to drive improved educational outcomes for Aboriginal children and young people. The strategy positions schools as community hubs that broaden the influence of the community and school leadership in the delivery of key services that support children and young people from birth through school into further training, study and employment. For more information, please visit the school website Bourke Public School

Specific Selection Criteria

• Experience in counselling using evidence-based interventions with a demonstrated understanding of the mental health needs of children and young people.
• Experience in the psychological assessment of children and young people, including case formulation and report writing.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate with key stakeholders to improve the learning and wellbeing outcomes of children and young people including students from diverse backgrounds and needs.

Conditions

• Be a registered or provisionally registered psychologist, or eligible for registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.
• Ability and willingness to travel between worksites.
• This position is under the Teachers award ( Crown Employees (Teachers in Schools and Related Employees) Salaries and Conditions Award 2024 ). To be eligible to apply, you must have an unconditional, full approval to teach or have eligibility to apply for an approval to teach. If you do not hold a 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 teaching opportunity.

This position commences on the 27 January 2026

Rural and Remote Incentive Package are available for eligible school counselling positions.

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

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

Applicants are to include details of their WWCC clearance number as part of this application.

This is a permanent full time position 1.0 FTE (Full-time equivalent)

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 (dandi@det.nsw.edu.au) or visit NSW Department of Education Diversity and Inclusion

New merit selection application guidelines for classroom teachers, 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.

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

We pay respect to the Traditional Custodians and First Peoples of NSW, and acknowledge theircontinued connection to their country and culture.