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- Part time ongoing position working 21 hours per week (commencing 1 February 2027)
- Make an impact supporting the mental health of children, their families and carers
- Provide clinical leadership within the Child Inpatient Psychiatry Unit
Austin Health is the major provider of tertiary health services, health professional education and research across three campuses in the north-east of Melbourne and statewide. We have a highly engaged, diverse and collaborative workforce that is unified by our goal to help people live healthy and fulfilled lives. About the Child Inpatient Psychiatry Unit The Child Inpatient Psychiatry Unit (CIPU) is part of Austin Health’s Infant, Child and Youth Mental Health Service (ICYMHS). The 12-bed unit provides specialist inpatient psychiatric assessment and treatment for children with severe emotional and/or behavioural disturbance, supporting children from metropolitan and regional Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.
CIPU provides crisis and planned admissions, with care delivered in partnership with children and their families. The unit works within a multidisciplinary and recovery-oriented framework focused on evidence-based treatment, clinical governance and developmentally appropriate care.
About the role
As the Consultant Psychiatrist, you will provide comprehensive, high-quality evidence-based psychiatric services to children and their families or support networks within the Child Inpatient Psychiatry Unit. You will work in partnership with clinical leaders and the multidisciplinary team to support high standards of assessment, treatment, continuity of care and clinical governance.
You will provide senior clinical leadership, supervision, education and consultation while contributing to service development, quality improvement and research. You will also participate in on-call duties and other responsibilities as required by the Mental Health Division.
A regular day will see you:
- Provide comprehensive evidence-based psychiatric assessment,
treatment and care to children and their families or support networks
- Provide clinical governance, leadership and oversight to support high-quality care within the Child Inpatient Psychiatry Unit
- Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams and service leaders to coordinate clinical services and support continuity of care
- Supervise, educate and train junior medical, nursing and other clinical staff
- Contribute to quality improvement, research, clinical audit and service development activities
About you To be successful in this role, you’ll bring with you:
- Current registration as a Medical Practitioner in Australia with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists or equivalent postgraduate specialist qualification, and a current Working with Children Check
- RANZCP Certificate of Advanced Training in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or equivalent with significant experience in child psychiatry
- Demonstrated experience working with complex service systems including Child Protection, liaison psychiatry settings including Emergency Department inreach, and people with serious mental illness, together with detailed knowledge of tertiary mental health triage and access systems
- Knowledge of relevant mental health and child protection legislation and responsibilities, with demonstrated commitment to clinical governance, high-quality patient care, continuing education, research or clinical audit, teaching and training, teamwork and effective communication
- Capacity to provide high-quality supervision and teaching, commitment to community approaches and family support, understanding of and commitment to Austin Health’s Reconciliation Action Plan, and training in or willingness to complete Mentalization Based Treatment training for children, families and teams
Our benefits Working at Austin Health means enjoying a strong sense of purpose, engaging in meaningful work every day. Our people also receive a variety of rewarding benefits, including:
- Greater take-home pay through generous salary packaging, for living expenses, meals, and holiday accommodation.
- A suite of wellness initiatives designed to support you, including discounted fitness memberships and special offers on health insurance, and a comprehensive wellbeing program.
- Onsite childcare at Austin Hospital, easy access via public transport and car parking options.
- Mentoring and career development opportunities.
Work with us! We are committed to cultural safety and health equity for Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People. We celebrate, value, and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures, bodies, and abilities. We welcome and support applications from talented people identifying as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, people with disability, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ and people of all ages and cultures.
If you feel this role is right for you, we encourage your early application. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. What matters most is your passion, your drive and your willingness to learn and contribute. Applications will be reviewed as they are received, and interviews may take place prior to the closing date. This means we reserve the right to close a job ad prior to the advertised closing date.
All appointments are made subject to a satisfactory National Police Check and if required, a Working With Children Check.
Austin
Health is a child safe organisation, committed to upholding the rights, safety, and wellbeing of children and young people in line with Child Safe Standards. If you require any reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process, you are welcome to reach out to the hiring manager: Hanna Cheng, Clinical Director Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at
[email protected]
Interested in finding out more about this opportunity? Read the position description for further details.
Application closing date: Tuesday 1 December 2026
📌 Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist - CIPU (Melbourne)
🏢 Austin Health
📍 Melbourne