Job Description Position Title: Principal Clinical Psychologist Business Name: Citta Medicolegal Location: Greater Sydney NSW Employment Type: Full time preferred.
Part-time or contractor arrangement may be considered for a highly suitable candidate.
Industry: Medico-legal psychology / professional consulting / clinical psychology Reports To: Director / Practice Manager Position Summary Citta Medicolegal is seeking a highly experienced Principal Clinical Psychologist to provide specialist psychological assessment, medico-legal report writing, forensic psychological opinion and culturally informed clinical assessment services for Chinese-speaking and other culturally diverse clients in New South Wales.
The position is designed for a senior Clinical Psychologist with AHPRA registration and clinical psychology endorsement, strong experience in severe mental illness, trauma, cognitive and developmental assessment, private practice, court or forensic reports, psychological reports, mindfulness-based intervention, Buddhist-informed psychotherapy or related clinical frameworks, and professional fluency in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
The successful candidate will prepare independent, evidence-based and legally defensible psychological reports for solicitors, insurers, courts, tribunals, migration practitioners, government decision-makers and other professional referrers.
The role requires advanced clinical judgement, excellent written English, strong cross-cultural assessment ability, and capacity to conduct clinical interviews in Cantonese and Mandarin.
Purpose of the Role The primary purpose of the role is to deliver high-quality medico-legal psychological assessment and reporting services in matters involving NSW CTP, workers compensation, forensic psychology, immigration, family violence, protection claims, personal injury, cognitive and developmental assessment, and culturally specific trauma presentations.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will assess psychological injury, psychiatric symptoms, functional impairment, causation, prognosis, treatment needs, work capacity, cultural and linguistic issues, and the psychological impact of trauma, migration, family violence, workplace injury, motor accident injury and persecution-related experiences.
The position also supports the development of Citta Medicolegal as a specialist Chinese-language medico-legal psychology service, with a distinctive clinical stream in mindfulness-based and Buddhist-informed psychotherapy where clinically appropriate.
Key Responsibilities The Principal Clinical Psychologist will conduct comprehensive psychological assessments of clients referred by solicitors, migration agents, insurers, case managers, medical practitioners, allied health providers and community organisations.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will prepare independent medico-legal reports for NSW CTP and motor accident injury matters, including reports addressing psychiatric diagnosis, causation, material contribution, psychological injury, treatment needs, impairment, daily functioning, work capacity and prognosis.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will prepare psychological reports for NSW workers compensation matters, including assessment of workplace psychological injury, bullying, harassment, stress-related injury, adjustment disorder, PTSD, depression, anxiety, functional impairment and return-to-work considerations.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will prepare forensic and court-related psychological reports, including reports involving severe mental illness, trauma, cognitive functioning, intellectual disability, family violence, risk, vulnerability, functional capacity, relationship issues, sexuality-related harm and culturally mediated presentations.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will prepare immigration and migration-related psychological reports, including reports for protection visa claims, family violence partner visa matters, character matters, hardship claims, trauma history, LGBTQIA+ persecution claims, torture or severe harm claims, and culturally specific psychological presentations.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will assess clients presenting with severe mental illness, including schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety and complex trauma.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will assess developmental and cognitive issues where relevant, including ASD, ADHD, intellectual disability, cognitive impairment, learning difficulties and functional limitations.
Experience with tools such as ADI-R, ADOS, Vineland-3, CARS, TEA-Ch2, WISC-V, WIAT-III, WAIS-IV, CBCL and CTONI-2 will be highly regarded.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will conduct clinical interviews in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
The psychologist must be able to take accurate psychological histories, clarify symptoms, assess cultural context, explain consent and confidentiality, and identify Chinese-language idioms of distress without relying solely on interpreters.
The Clinical Psychologist will review and analyse collateral documents, including GP records, psychiatrist reports, hospital records, rehabilitation provider records, insurer correspondence, SIRA material, workers compensation material, employment records, police documents, statutory declarations, court material, migration records, Department of Home Affairs correspondence, tribunal material and prior psychological reports.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will provide professional opinions addressing diagnosis, differential diagnosis, causation, pre-existing vulnerability, exacerbation, treatment requirements, risk, prognosis, work capacity, functional restrictions,



daily living impairment, social functioning, cultural adjustment, credibility-sensitive clinical issues and the psychological significance of migration or trauma history.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will liaise with solicitors, migration practitioners, insurers, referrers, psychiatrists, general practitioners, rehabilitation consultants, allied health providers and administrative staff in a professional and timely manner.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will maintain accurate clinical records, assessment notes, consent records, report drafts, correspondence and file management in accordance with AHPRA, privacy, medico-legal and professional standards.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will contribute to internal quality assurance, case review, peer discussion and development of report templates and assessment frameworks.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will contribute to the development of culturally informed Chinese-language psychoeducation, mindfulness-based clinical resources and Buddhist-informed psychotherapy materials where clinically appropriate.
Clinical Scope The role will involve clients with presentations including: Severe mental illness; Schizophrenia and psychosis; Bipolar disorder; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Panic disorder; PTSD and complex trauma; Depression and anxiety; Borderline personality disorder; Adjustment disorder; Chronic pain-related psychological symptoms; Motor accident trauma; Workplace psychological injury; Workplace bullying and harassment; Family violence; Sexual trauma and physical trauma; Migration-related trauma; Refugee and protection-related distress; LGBTQIA+ mental health and sexuality-related harm; Autism spectrum disorder; ADHD; Intellectual disability; Cognitive impairment; Relationship and family conflict; Cross-cultural distress and acculturation issues.
Medico-Legal Reporting Duties The Principal Clinical Psychologist must understand that medico-legal assessment is independent expert work.
The role is not limited to therapy and does not involve advocacy-style report writing.
Reports must distinguish between reported history, observed presentation, psychometric or assessment findings, clinical formulation, diagnosis and expert opinion.
Reports must be balanced, fair, clinically reasoned and suitable for use in adversarial or administrative legal contexts.
The Principal Clinical Psychologist will be expected to prepare reports for use in: NSW CTP claims; NSW workers compensation claims; Personal injury claims; Psychological injury disputes; Forensic matters; Family violence matters; Immigration matters; Protection visa matters; Partner visa family violence matters; Character and hardship matters; Court or tribunal proceedings; Insurer decision-making; Solicitor advice and case preparation.
Essential Qualifications The successful candidate must have: Full registration as a psychologist with AHPRA; Clinical psychology endorsement with AHPRA; Postgraduate qualification in Clinical Psychology, such as Doctor of Psychology, Master of Clinical Psychology or equivalent recognised qualification; Current professional indemnity insurance or ability to obtain it before commencement; Current SIRA authority / approval relevant to NSW CTP psychological work and evidence, or clear eligibility to obtain it; Capacity to lawfully work in Australia; Professional fluency in Cantonese, Mandarin and English.
Essential Experience The successful candidate must have: At least 2 years' experience in NSW CTP and workers compensation psychological assessment, treatment, report writing or medico-legal work; At least 2 years' experience preparing forensic, immigration or other medico-legal psychological reports; Experience assessing trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety, severe mental illness and functional impairment; Experience working with Chinese-speaking or culturally and linguistically diverse clients; Experience preparing formal psychological reports for third-party use; Experience liaising with lawyers, insurers, government agencies, tribunals or other professional referrers; High-level written English and capacity to prepare structured, defensible expert reports; Capacity to conduct assessment interviews in Cantonese and Mandarin.
Highly Desirable Experience The following experience will be highly regarded: AHPRA board-approved supervisor status; APS membership or APS College of Clinical Psychologists membership/fellowship; Experience with forensic reports, court reports and psychological reports; Experience with ASD, ADHD, intellectual disability and cognitive assessment; Experience with psychosis, severe mental illness, OCD, PTSD, borderline personality disorder and complex trauma; Experience working in private practice, hospitals, community health, NGOs, rehabilitation services, courts or business settings; Experience working with LGBTQIA+ clients; Experience in suicide risk, family violence, trauma and culturally specific mental health matters; Experience delivering seminars, training, supervision or psychoeducation; Experience in mindfulness-based intervention, Buddhist psychotherapy, meditation instruction or contemplative clinical frameworks.
Therapeutic and Assessment Approach The ideal candidate will have experience in a broad range of evidence-based therapies and clinical frameworks, including CBT, DBT, ACT, Emotion-Focused Therapy,



mindfulness-based intervention, client-centred therapy, trauma-informed therapy, couples therapy, family systems work, psychodynamic or existential approaches, and expressive or art-based therapeutic methods.
Experience in individual therapy, couples therapy, psychotherapy for psychotic clients, SEN, LGBTQIA+ mental health, ASD, ADHD and intellectual disability work will be highly regarded.
Buddhist Psychotherapy and Mindfulness Component Citta Medicolegal is developing a culturally informed psychological service that includes mindfulness-based and Buddhist-informed psychotherapy concepts, particularly for Chinese-speaking clients where such approaches are clinically appropriate and culturally meaningful.
The successful candidate must be willing to learn, develop and professionally promote Buddhist-informed psychotherapy and mindfulness-based psychological resources.
This requirement concerns clinical interest, professional development and culturally informed practice.
It does not require the applicant to hold any particular religious belief.
The preferred candidate will have experience in traditional mindfulness teaching, meditation instruction, Buddhist psychology, Buddhist-informed psychotherapy, Abhidharma-related psychological theory, mindfulness research, or contemplative clinical practice.
Language and Cultural Competency Cantonese, Mandarin and English are essential for this role.
The psychologist must be able to communicate directly and clinically with Chinese-speaking clients in both Cantonese and Mandarin, while producing professional medico-legal reports in English.
The role requires understanding of Chinese cultural contexts, including family obligation, shame, stigma, migration stress, intergenerational conflict, trauma disclosure patterns, sexuality-related stigma, mental illness stigma, religious and spiritual frameworks, and different ways of expressing psychological distress.
The language requirement is a genuine role requirement because the position involves direct psychological assessment of Chinese-speaking clients and preparation of culturally and linguistically informed medico-legal reports.
Work with LGBTQIA+ Clients The Clinical Psychologist must be comfortable working with LGBTQIA+ clients, including Chinese-speaking LGBTQIA+ clients experiencing family rejection, cultural stigma, migration vulnerability, relationship distress, trauma, gender identity issues, sexuality-related psychological harm and protection-related fears.
The candidate must be respectful, clinically informed and non-discriminatory in working with LGBTQIA+ communities.
Professional Standards The Clinical Psychologist must comply with: AHPRA qualified standards; APS ethical expectations where applicable; Privacy and confidentiality obligations; Informed consent requirements; Record keeping obligations; Medico-legal independence; Expert witness principles; SIRA and NSW CTP requirements where applicable; Workers compensation reporting expectations where applicable; Professional boundaries and conflict management.
The psychologist must not act as an advocate for either party in medico-legal matters.
The psychologist's role is to provide independent professional opinion based on clinical assessment, available evidence and accepted psychological knowledge.
Key Selection Criteria Applicants should be able to demonstrate: AHPRA clinical psychology endorsement; SIRA authority or approval relevant to NSW CTP psychological work; At least 2 years' NSW CTP and workers compensation experience; At least 2 years' forensic, immigration or medico-legal report experience; Professional fluency in Cantonese, Mandarin and English; Strong experience with trauma, severe mental illness, PTSD, depression, anxiety and functional impairment; Experience with psychological and forensic reports; Capacity to assess culturally diverse and Chinese-speaking clients; Interest or experience in mindfulness-based and Buddhist-informed psychotherapy; Excellent written English and medico-legal report writing skills; Ability to work independently and meet deadlines; Ethical judgement and clinical independence.
Expected Outcomes The successful candidate will be expected to: Deliver timely, high-quality psychological assessments; Prepare legally usable, independent and clinically defensible medico-legal reports; Improve access to culturally competent psychological assessment for Chinese-speaking clients; Support Citta Medicolegal's growth in NSW CTP, workers compensation, forensic and immigration reporting; Maintain professional compliance with AHPRA, SIRA and medico-legal standards; Contribute to culturally informed and mindfulness/Buddhist-informed clinical service development; Maintain a high standard of communication with professional referrers.
Employment Conditions Full-time employment is preferred, but part-time or contractor arrangements may be considered for an exceptional candidate.
Hybrid work may be considered, but the psychologist must be available for in-person assessments in Greater Sydney and NSW when required.
Remuneration will be competitive and commensurate with clinical experience, SIRA authority, medico-legal report-writing experience, trilingual capability and specialist expertise.
Application Requirements Applicants should provide: Current CV; Cover letter addressing the essential criteria; Equal Opportunity and Non-Discrimination Citta Medicolegal is committed to non-discriminatory recruitment.
The Cantonese and Mandarin language requirements are genuine occupational requirements because the role involves direct assessment of Chinese-speaking clients.
The Buddhist-informed psychotherapy component is a professional and clinical development requirement only.
Applicants are not required to hold any particular religious belief.

📌 Psychology & Counselling - Citta Medicolegal (New South Wales)
🏢 CITTA MEDICOLEGAL
📍 New South Wales