School Counsellor in Training Program

School counsellors hold a dual qualification in teaching and psychology.

Teachers who wish to become a school counsellor will complete an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) approved sequence of study, including a Master of Professional Psychology or similar.

Teachers who hold a permanent approval to teach and have worked as a teacher for the NSW Department of Education within the last 3 years in a casual, temporary or permanent capacity are eligible to apply.

An applicant should seek advice from the university they intend to enrol in a degree through to determine if any additional psychological studies are required to be eligible in progressing into a fourth-year academic program.

Applicants should refer their enquiry to Charles Sturt University or the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) to identify if further psychology studies are required for eligibility to progress into a fifth-year academic program.

The department does not endorse individual programs of study. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure their program is APAC-accredited.

For a list of approved sequences of study, visit the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) website. Information on approved study sequences, including details on the required years of psychology study, is also available on the Psychology Board of Australia's Approved Programs of Study webpage.

Both school counsellors and school psychologists provide psychological support to students and are part of the same school counselling service.

School counsellors hold an initial teacher education degree and are employed under the Teachers Award, while school psychologists are employed under the Government Sector Employment Act.

The program model has changed to support the changing needs of the School Counselling Service.

There are currently no programs in place to support the first 3 years of an APAC-accredited psychology academic program.

Approved teachers with overseas qualifications will require an assessment by the Australian Psychological Society (APS), related to the National Office for Overseas Skills Recognition.

Please refer to the Assessment of overseas qualifications webpage on the APS website for more information.

To be eligible for the fourth-year scholarship teachers need to:

• hold permanent approval to teach with the NSW Department of Education
• have worked as a teacher for the NSW Department of Education within the last 3 years
• have completed or will complete their third-year sequence of APAC-approved study
• meet the program’s eligibility criteria.

Scholarship recipients are responsible for funding their own fourth year of studies.

Recipients of a fourth-year scholarship will receive access to up to 40 days of study leave during their studies.

Yes, the program is open to all teachers. There are full-time and flexible scholarship options available to suit individual needs.

Upon completion of studies, all appointments will be to permanent school counselling positions. Any part-time arrangements will be negotiated with the principal.

Yes, if their current studies will be completed in the academic year prior to commencing their fourth or fifth year of their academic program under scholarship.

Yes, however the benefits of the scholarship would also change to reflect this.

For example, the recipient of a Full-time pathway scholarship who is no longer able to commit to an appointment to a school in a rural staffing area, but is able to commit to an appointment to a priority metropolitan area will transition to a Flexible pathway scholarship. This means they will no longer receive the benefits of the Full-time pathway scholarship.

Successful applicants are required to sign a Scholarship Agreement with the department, committing them to:

• successfully completing the required studies and training
• accepting an appointment as a permanent full-time school counsellor in a NSW public school in one of the locations aligned with their Scholarship Agreement, upon completion of the required studies and training
• remaining appointed in the permanent full-time school counsellor position for a minimum period of 3 years
• attaining and maintaining General Registration with the Psychology Board of Australia.

Applications for the School Counsellor in Training Program are now closed. Applicants can subscribe to the mailing list for updates about the scholarship.

No. All applicants will only be considered for one scholarship program.

During the application period, an 'Apply now' button will be available on the School Counsellor in Training Program webpage. Outside the application period, anyone interested in the program is invited to register for updates to be notified when applications open.

Some documentation which is required to be submitted will be a writable PDF, which is a PDF document that includes certain fields that are editable without PDF-editor software. The PDF can be opened and filled in using the Forms tool in most PDF viewers (Acrobat, Chrome, Bluebeam, etc).

Handwritten, photocopied or scanned applications will not be accepted.

The Master of Professional Psychology (School Psychology) is a program developed for the department’s scholarship recipients only and is run by Charles Sturt University.

Eligible scholarship applicants will be invited to apply in Term 3 of the year prior to the program commencing.

Fourth-year scholarship recipients who will commence the master's degree from 2028 will be invited to apply to Charles Sturt University in 2027.

Fifth-year scholarship applicants under the Full-time or Flexible pathways will be invited to apply to Charles Sturt University in 2026.

In addition to the department’s scholarship recruitment processes, applicants must meet the university’s admission requirements. These are assessments of personal suitability to undertake professional practice as a psychologist, evaluated through interview and referee reports and review of APAC-accredited psychology studies.

The principal’s referee supporting statement must be completed by the applicant’s current school principal or the principal they have worked with within the last 12 months.

The referee's supporting statement should be completed by a person who knows the applicant in a professional capacity, not personally, and is able to speak to their suitability for the role of a school counsellor.

Applicants should advise their referees they may be called upon to provide a further written or verbal reference.

Applicants are encouraged to commence and submit their application as early as possible during the application period.

Applicants will receive an acknowledgement email within 48 hours of the submission of their application. Copies of all emails should be retained for their records.

If a confirmation email isn’t received, please email the department's Student Wellbeing Recruitment team via swr@det.nsw.edu.au.

All correspondence after the initial application acknowledgment will be sent to the email address provided as part of the application and not the email address the application was submitted from.

No, incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.

If the required supporting documents are not included, the application may not progress through to the assessment stage.

Yes. Both successful and unsuccessful applicants will be notified of the outcome via email once the selection process is completed.

If an applicant changes their contact details, they are advised to email their updated contact details to the Student Wellbeing Recruitment Team via swr@det.nsw.edu.au.

Yes, feedback can be requested by contacting the Student Wellbeing Recruitment Team via swr@det.nsw.edu.au. The Student Wellbeing Recruitment Team will endeavour to provide feedback as soon as possible after it is requested.

The selection process is a 3-part process which includes written application shortlisting, live assessment using the Microsoft 360 Teams platform and final selection.

Meeting the eligibility criteria is the first step of the selection process. Applicants will initially have their application reviewed for eligibility followed by a review of the responses to the application questions, supporting statements, academic record to date and the School Staffing Areas that have been nominated. If the applicant is successful at the shortlisting stage, they will be invited to attend an online live assessment.

Final selection will be based on their application including nominated staffing areas, live assessment outcomes, academic results to date and university requirements.

Invitations to attend a live assessment will be sent via email from a department email address. Applicants should check junk/spam folders to ensure advice is not missed.

The application process may be referred to as a merit selection process, meaning that selection decisions are based on the merits of applicants. It is not a merit selection process governed by the Staffing Procedure or Merit Selection Procedure used when filling teaching positions in NSW public schools.

Applicants should have received no less than a Weighted Average Mark (WAM) of 75.

Please discuss your academic record with Charles Sturt University.

Charles Sturt University.

The study pattern of the Master of Professional Psychology (School Psychology) will be completed over a one-year period consisting of 8 subjects, which includes 2 professional placement subjects.

The study pattern of the Master of Professional Psychology (School Psychology) will be completed over a 2-year period:

• Year 1: 4 units (2 units per semester)
• Year 2: 4 units (2 units per semester) which include 2 professional placement subjects

The study pattern must be followed accordingly, noting that there are units that may only be offered in Semester 2 and pre-requisite subjects must be completed in Semester 1.

Financial support is dependent on the scholarship pathway.

Fourth-year scholarship recipients will receive:

• Provision of up to 40 study leave days.

During the fifth year, scholarship recipients will receive the financial support as outlined below.

Full-time pathway scholarship recipients will receive:

• One year of full-time tuition including placement supervision
• One year of salary equivalent to a classroom teacher (a salary determination may be required)

Flexible pathway scholarship recipients will receive:

• One year of full-time tuition including placement supervision
• Provision of up to 120 study leave relief days

The salary will be aligned with their current teaching salary once appointed to their permanent school counselling position. For example, a teacher on Step 7 will commence as a school counsellor on SC5, receiving $149,059 (correct as of May 2026).

Full-time scholarship recipients who are teachers, will commence their temporary appointment as a school counsellor in training on the equivalent teacher salary level indicated in the payroll system.

Full-time scholarship recipients who are executive staff, will commence their temporary appointment as a school counsellor in training at the highest non-executive teacher salary.

The rates of pay for a school counsellor can be found on the Industrial Relations Teaching Service webpage.

Those in executive positions will be placed on a temporary contract at the highest comparative non-executive teacher’s salary, if they are the recipient of a Full-time pathway scholarship.

No, they will be receiving a full-time teacher’s salary to complete their academic program and will be required to relinquish their substantive position while in training.

Yes, if they are meeting the study and completion requirements of the program, leave can be taken.

Upon successful completion of the Master of Professional Psychology and having met all the scholarship requirements, the scholarship recipient will be appointed as a permanent school counsellor. Any leave at this time will need to be negotiated with their principal.

When the department provides scholarship recipients with benefits, there may be a Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) implication.

Where the department incurs FBT for benefits provided to scholarship recipients, the Commonwealth requires certain benefits to be disclosed on the individual employee’s payment summary. This is known as a Reportable Fringe Benefit Amount (RFBA). Scholarship recipients will not have an income tax or FBT liability when they have an RFBA on their payment summary. However, the amount is used to access eligibility for other Commonwealth benefits and obligations, for example the Medicare levy.

Applicants may refer to the Australian Tax Office website for further advice.

Study leave is available to temporary or permanent NSW public school teachers through Fourth Year scholarship and Fifth Year Scholarship (Flexible option A or B) only.

Study leave and casual relief to schools should be applied for via an EDConnect online form request.

Study leave entitlement is calculated on a pro-rata basis, where applicable and is dependent on:

• the number of subjects the scholar is enrolled in each semester,
• the scholarship recipient’s FTE, and
• the scholarship recipient’s school presence, for example if the scholar has a regular pattern of unpaid leave this may affect the number of study leave days accessible to them.

Yes, upon successful completion of Master of Professional Psychology (School Psychology), a teacher will be appointed as a permanent school counsellor in a NSW public school.

Scholarship recipients are appointed in areas of workforce need, in line with their Scholarship Agreement.

Applicants should be aware that appointments are not based on their current residential location.

It is recommended that applicants consider the potential implications of an appointment which is not within driving distance.

Appointments to rural areas in NSW will be prioritised.

School counsellors work across all school settings from preschool to high school. Regardless of their teacher training, they can expect to support children across all settings.

The Student Wellbeing Recruitment team will commence contacting scholarship recipients from Term 2 in their final year of study.

In some circumstances, the appointment may not be advised until prior to the commencement of Term 1 of their appointment year, with flexibility given to any relocation arrangements.

All scholarship appointments are full-time. The internship commences in the first year of permanent appointment as a school counsellor.

The areas of workforce need are listed in the application form.

Applicants should familiarise themselves with the schools located within each 'staffing area' in the NSW public schools by staffing area spreadsheet resource.

Priority will be given to applicants with an interest in working as a school counsellor in rural and remote NSW public schools.

Yes. On completion of the School Counsellor in Training Program and appointment to a permanent position, scholarship recipients may be eligible for a wide range of benefits and incentives. The benefits vary from school to school.

Use the benefits calculator to find out about the benefits and incentives that are available to school-based employees at individual schools.