Mental Health and Wellbeing Graduate and Early Career Program

Since 2021, the Department of Health has funded Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services to deliver the Mental Health and Wellbeing Graduate and Early Career Program. The Program includes the following streams:

• The Psychology Registrar Program
• The Allied Health Graduate Program (Social Work and Occupational Therapy)
• The Expanded Disciplines Graduate Program (speech pathology, exercise physiology, dietetics, physiotherapy, music therapy, art therapy, and clinical pharmacy)
• The Mental Health Nurse Graduate Program
• The Enrolled Nurse Graduate Program

It provides a framework that enables early career mental health workers to enter the Victorian public mental health and wellbeing system in a safe and supported way. Since its inception, the program has seen over 2500 new mental health clinicians enter the workforce since 2021.

The program is available across all 21 Area Mental Health and Wellbeing Services in Victoria, and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. It provides structured learning, supervision, and educator support for participants, with the aim of building a strong mental health and wellbeing workforce and ultimately providing better and service and outcomes for improve outcomes for consumers, their families, carers, and supporters.

The program aims to:

• develop and expand a sustainable pipeline of well-trained, well-supported graduate and early career mental health professionals across Victoria
• create a diverse and attractive program of learning for graduates and early career mental health workers
• create career progression pathways for experienced clinicians as clinical educators for graduate and early career professionals.

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Graduate and Early Career Program is available at the following services:

• Albury Wodonga Health
• Austin Health
• Barwon Health
• Bendigo Health
• Bayside Health (Alfred Care Group)
• Bayside Health (Peninsula Care Group)
• Eastern Health
• Goulburn Valley Health
• Grampians Health
• Latrobe Health
• Melbourne Health
• Mercy Health
• Mildura Base Public Hospital
• Monash Health
• Northern Health
• Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (only available as part of the Psychology Registrar Program)
• Parkville Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing Service
• Royal Children's Hospital
• South West Healthcare
• St Vincent's Health
• Forensicare (Victorian Institute of Forensic Mental Health)
• Western Health.

A similar program is also available in Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals and is open to clinical disciplines as well as Lived and Living Experience and Wellbeing workers.