Are you looking for a social work role where your clinical experience, professional reasoning and interest in complexity will genuinely be used?

Join a well-respected, friendly and dynamic team in roles that combine flexibility, support, variety and a strong commitment to best practice.

Established in 2015, Complex Psychology is a boutique allied health consultancy with offices in Port Melbourne and Mildura. We provide a range of allied health services to participants with complex disability and psychosocial needs. We are highly regarded for our expertise in assessing, coordinating and treating people with extremely complex needs, and for our experience in negotiating complex service system challenges.

Due to continued demand, we are seeking a social worker to undertake a highly clinically focused, formulation-informed role involving social work assessment, care plan coordination, Specialist Support Coordination, individual client support, behaviour support, secondary consultation, capacity building and complex problem solving across disability, forensic, psychosocial and service-system contexts.

At the heart of Complex Psychology is our dedication to working with and for clients who have complex forensic, disability and psychosocial needs. We provide a range of services to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH), Department of Justice and Community Safety (DOJCS), NDIS participants, non-government organisations and private individuals. Our work is often targeted at supporting care teams and services to increase their capacity to support clients with complex needs.

We are seeking a social worker with strong clinical experience who is looking to expand their level of expertise in a challenging and highly respected organisation where existing skills in complex disability, acute or community mental health, psychosocial disability, behaviour support, forensic services, alcohol and other drug services, care plan coordination, Specialist Support Coordination or similar roles would be most valued. Full-time or part-time roles are available, with a minimum employment of 0.6 EFT, including Wednesday availability.

About the roles:

The successful candidate will undertake the following:

- Undertake social work, psychosocial, risk, service-system and other assessments as relevant to referral questions, professional qualifications and scope of practice, with clear clinical reasoning and attention to the interaction between risk, disability, mental health, trauma, systems and support needs.
- Undertake NDIS behaviour support work as a substantial component of the role, including functional behaviour assessment, development of interim and comprehensive behaviour support plans, implementation support, review of outcomes and data, and collaboration with stakeholders to reduce behaviours of concern and minimise or eliminate restrictive practices in accordance with NDIS Commission requirements. Complex Psychology’s approach to behaviour support adapts to the exceptionally complex needs of our client group and prioritises multilayered clinical and service system formulation. We do not use a generic approach to behaviour support.
- Provide individual clinical and practical support to NDIS participants and other clients with highly complex presentations, within the boundaries of the funded service model and agreed priorities.
- Provide secondary consultation, clinical advice and practical strategies to care teams, families, support providers and other stakeholders to improve consistency, safety and outcomes.
- Provide Care Plan Coordination under the Multiple and Complex Needs Initiative (MACNI), including assessment, care planning, case conferencing and service planning where multiple providers or systems are involved.
- Prepare clear,



high-quality documentation, reports, letters, assessments, care plans and recommendations suitable for participants, services, funders, legal contexts and other stakeholders as required.
- Facilitate training, reflective practice, career development and other capacity-building activities for internal staff and external services.

This role suits a social worker who is curious, confident and clinically thoughtful, with significant clinical experience and a strong interest in formulation, behaviour support, care plan coordination, complex systems work and practical problem solving. The role requires initiative, assertiveness, self-awareness, resilience and the capacity to tolerate uncertainty while still acting decisively. We are looking for a social worker who seeks to contribute clinically and systemically, rather than remain in the background. This role may be appointed at either Grade 1 ($85,696 - $107,120) or Grade 2 ($107,120 - $128,544) level, in accordance with Complex Psychology’s remuneration policy. For Grade 2, applicants should have at least three years’ relevant post-qualification experience as a social worker and demonstrated capacity to work with a high degree of autonomy, clinical complexity and professional judgement. For Grade 1, applicants may have less experience but should have completed at least one prior role involving work with people with complex disability, mental health, forensic involvement, behaviour support or other high-risk and multi-system presentations.

Positions with Complex Psychology afford team members a unique work experience not often seen in private organisations. This includes:

- Opportunity to work with clients who have exceptionally complex needs and high-profile forensic clients in a service that is very highly regarded within the service system.
- Generous remuneration as a salaried employee within a friendly and supportive team and a clear remuneration progression, supported by a formal framework that recognises increasing responsibility, autonomy, clinical complexity and contribution over time.
- A paid wellbeing day per quarter, in addition to annual and personal leave.
- Rigorous internal support available to help navigate the complex and inter-connected service systems.
- Multiple forms of professional development, including individual internal supervision, multidisciplinary internal group supervision and funded external clinical supervision and training.
- Flexible work conditions, including a combination of office-based and work-from-home arrangements.
- Family-friendly workplace benefits, including access to paid parental leave.
- Opportunities to present our expertise at relevant national and international conferences with support (a group of staff presented at a conference in Italy in 2023 and 2025).

Internal supervision, multidisciplinary clinical consultation and external professional development support are available. All applicants must address the key selection criteria as outlined below:

- Eligibility for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers. Applicants must hold university level social work qualifications.
- Demonstrated clinical experience in one or more of the following areas: complex disability, acute or community mental health, behaviour support, forensic services, alcohol and other drug services, care plan coordination,



Specialist Support Coordination or similar roles.
- Demonstrated ability to complete high-quality social work assessment, formulation, care planning, intervention, documentation and report writing, including writing for external stakeholders such as funders, care teams, referrers or courts where required.
- Demonstrated capacity to apply clinical judgement, professional reasoning and trauma-informed practice when working with people experiencing complex mental health, disability, forensic, housing, family, relational and service-system issues.
- Experience working with people who present with multiple and intersecting needs, including where there may be high risk, service-system complexity, behaviours of concern, diagnostic complexity or competing stakeholder views.
- Knowledge of, or demonstrated ability to develop knowledge of, the NDIS, behaviour support practice requirements, MACNI, and the broader disability, mental health, justice, housing and community service sectors relevant to the role. Registration as a behaviour support practitioner is not mandatory. However, an understanding of the factors that impact behaviours of concern is required.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills, including the ability to work collaboratively with clients, families, care teams, external services and internal colleagues, and to communicate clearly in both verbal and written forms.
- Demonstrated ability to be flexible, adaptive and professionally responsive in high-stress situations, including the capacity to manage competing demands, respond calmly to emerging risk, and adjust approach as required in complex and fast-moving circumstances.
- Highly developed interpersonal skills, self-awareness and a demonstrated ability to build strong professional relationships, work collaboratively across teams and sectors, and provide a calm, reliable and reassuring point of contact for clients, stakeholders and external services. This role requires regular assertive communication with a range of stakeholders, including picking up the phone and having challenging conversations. Applicants should be comfortable working directly and collaboratively with people.
- Current driver licence and access to a vehicle for travel to appointments, including community-based work and occasional regional travel where required.

Applications should be addressed to Jacqui Brown, Director, Complex Psychology, and received by COB 7 September 2026.

Please apply via the SEEK website, including a cover letter that addresses all Key Selection Criteria and includes a detailed CV.

For more information or to discuss the role further, please call Jacqui Brown, Director on [0427 721 076](tel:0427 721 076) or Michelle James, Operations & Clinical Services Manager, on [0488 071 424](tel:0488 071 424).

Travel within Victoria, including some limited travel to rural and regional areas, may be part of the role. A valid current driver licence and access to a comprehensively insured motor vehicle are required.

Referees must include a current supervisor.

Complex Psychology values an inclusive workplace that embraces diversity and strongly encourages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, people from the LGBTQI+ community and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to apply. All our workspaces are physically accessible, both internally and externally. We welcome advice from applicants regarding any modifications, adaptations or considerations they require to participate comfortably in the interview process.

If you would like a copy of a position description, please contact Megan Darwish, Office Manager, [email protected].

Equity – Integrity – Respect – Quality/Expertise – Leading Change – Empowerment

📌 Clinical Social Worker (Complex Needs / Forensic) (Port Melbourne)
🏢 Complex Psychology
📍 Port Melbourne