Psychologist
As a Psychologist, your skills and understanding of human behaviour will be highly valued across a wide range of defence contexts including mental health settings, recruitment and selection, training and human factors, organisational systems, and testing and measurement.
With new initiatives in resilience and human performance offering opportunities for psychologists to develop expertise, the ADF’s demand for psychologists’ skills continues to grow.
What you'll do
You’ll draw on an ever-expanding body of scientific knowledge about how people think, act and feel and then apply that information to the area of military psychology. You may deploy as part of a psychology team, providing support to deployed ADF members and assisting Commanders, to ensure the mental health of the Army is functioning at a high level to achieve operational success.
You’ll provide a flexible and responsive psychology capability that can be deployed at short notice to anywhere in the world. These deployments provide psychological services from military missions to community support.
Your duties may include:
- selection interviewing
- mental health screening
- occupational assessment
- psychological assessment
- mental health intervention in both posted and operational environments to members of all 3 Services (Navy, Army and Air Force).
Opportunities for progression and upskilling continue throughout your career as an officer. As you progress, the Army will provide you with leadership, management, and specialist skills training to develop your ability to effectively manage your teams. You’ll also be provided with training opportunities to further develop your role-related expertise. This world-class training will strengthen your skillset and enable you to become an influential leader in the Army.
As you progress in your career, your responsibilities broaden to include supervision and mentorship of junior psychologists, providing advice to higher Command within the ADF, the conduct of group or individual officer selection boards, and health policy formulation and implementation.
A career as an Army Psychologist gives you an incredible opportunity to acquire professional skills and develop in a challenging, changing and stimulating military environment. As an officer, you’ll be physically and mentally extended and rewarded in ways unrivalled by civilian employment within your profession.
Following training, you could find yourself posted to most capital cities, with junior psychologists normally starting their career in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Sydney and Townsville. Psychologists are also located in other military locations throughout Australia including, Albury-Wodonga, the Darling Downs district and Wagga Wagga.
There may be a requirement for short-term overseas duty, including the possibility of operational and combat related service.
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Requirements and training
You must be an Australian citizen to serve in the ADF. However, Australian permanent residents may be eligible. For more details, visit the "Citizenship" tab on the Eligibility Requirements page.
You can apply for a role in the ADF from 16.5 years of age and must be at least 17 to join. The maximum age to join is 57 years.
You don’t need a driver’s licence for this role but if you have one, it can’t be suspended or cancelled.
All ADF members require a security clearance. As an ADF member, you’ll need to obtain the appropriate level of security clearance for your role. You’ll need a collection of relevant information including background checks and/or interviews so the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) can make an informed assessment to ensure the protection of Government resources and information. Your Careers Coach will explain what level of clearance is required for the career you are considering.
For more information or to learn about how security clearance will apply to you, view the eligibility requirements page.
The standard requirement for entry into this role is current general registration as a psychologist with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
You’ll need to provide your AHPRA registration number during the application process.
To join the ADF, you must be healthy and physically fit. This is partially assessed from the completion of an extensive questionnaire covering your medical history, followed by a physical examination.
You’ll also be required to successfully pass a physical fitness assessment.
Male
- Push-ups: 8
- Sit-ups: 20
- Beep Test: 6.1.
Female
- Push-ups: 4
- Sit-ups: 20
- Beep Test: 6.1.
For further details on medical and physical fitness standards, refer to physical fitness standards for entry into the ADF and medical process for entry into the ADF.
You'll be appointed for an Initial Minimum Period of Service (IMPS) of 4 years. Subsequent periods of service may be offered subject to the requirements of the ADF and your suitability for further service. You’ll have a Careers Coach who can advise on how IMPS will relate to your chosen occupation and personal situation.
You may request discharge at any time provided you do not have an outstanding IMPS obligation and provide a minimum of 3 months’ notice.
Course: Specialist Service Officer First Appointment Course (SSO FAC)
Duration: 25 days
Location: Royal Military College – Duntroon, Canberra, ACT
You’ll learn fundamental knowledge of:
- leadership and military justice
- weapons handling
- command and control
- unit and personnel administration
- basic military skills
- the ideals of officer behaviour
- attitudes necessary for future employment.
The course is delivered in 2 parts and is for both full-time and part-time (Reserve) Officers.
- Part 1 – 10 days
- Part 2 – 15 days.
Course: Regimental Officer Basic Course Psychology
Duration: 6 weeks
Location: Army Logistics Training Centre (ALTC), Albury-Wodonga region
Building on your existing university qualifications, this course will prepare you for employment as an Army Psychologist. The course has been designed to prepare psychologist officers for employment as military psychologists at the rank of Lieutenant and Captain.
You’ll undertake this residential course in the first 12 months of your appointment.
You must be an Australian citizen to serve in the ADF. However, Australian permanent residents may be eligible. For more details, visit the "Citizenship" tab on the Eligibility Requirements page.
You can apply for a role in the ADF from 16.5 years of age and must be at least 17 to join. The maximum age to join is 60 years, less the Initial Minimum Period of Service (IMPS).
You don’t need a driver’s licence for this role but if you have one, it can’t be suspended or cancelled.
All ADF members require a security clearance. As an ADF member, you’ll need to obtain the appropriate level of security clearance for your role. You’ll need a collection of relevant information including background checks and/or interviews so the Australian Government Security Vetting Agency (AGSVA) can make an informed assessment to ensure the protection of Government resources and information. Your Careers Coach will explain what level of clearance is required for the career you are considering.
For more information or to learn about how security clearance will apply to you, view the eligibility requirements page.
To be eligible for sponsorship and appointment as an Army Psychologist in the postgraduate pathway, you’ll need to be in your 5th or 6th year studies as part of a Master of Professional Psychology or Master of Psychology (Clinical/Organisational/Sport/Health).
The 4 + 2 pathway is no longer available for recruitment. The requirements are specified by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) within the psychology registration standards - provisional registration standard. Further information on provisional registration pathways can be found on the AHPRA website.
You can find information on tertiary courses suitable for entry as a psychologist by accessing the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council website.
To join the ADF, you must be healthy and physically fit. This is partially assessed from the completion of an extensive questionnaire covering your medical history, followed by a physical examination.
You’ll also be required to successfully pass a physical fitness assessment.
Male
- Push-ups: 8
- Sit-ups: 20
- Beep Test: 6.1.
Female
- Push-ups: 4
- Sit-ups: 20
- Beep Test: 6.1.
For further details on medical and physical fitness standards, refer to physical fitness standards for entry into the ADF and medical process for entry into the ADF.
You’ll be appointed for an Initial Minimum Period of Service (IMPS). As you’ll start in your 5th year of university studies, on completion of your sponsored study and hiatus period, your IMPS will be 5 years full-time service. Subsequent periods of service or open-ended appointment may be offered subject to the requirements of the ADF and your suitability for further service. You’ll have a Careers Coach who can advise on how IMPS will relate to your chosen occupation and personal situation.
You may request discharge at any time provided you do not have an outstanding IMPS obligation.
Course: Specialist Service Officer First Appointment Course (SSO FAC)
Duration: 25 days
Location: Royal Military College – Duntroon, Canberra, ACT
You’ll learn fundamental knowledge of:
- leadership and military justice
- weapons handling
- command and control
- unit and personnel administration
- basic military skills
- the ideals of officer behaviour
- attitudes necessary for future employment.
The course is delivered in 2 parts and is for both full-time and part-time (Reserve) Officers.
- Part 1 – 10 days
- Part 2 – 15 days.
Course: Regimental Officer Basic Course Psychology
Duration: 6 weeks
Location: Army Logistics Training Centre (ALTC), Albury-Wodonga region
Building on your existing university qualifications, this course will prepare you for employment as an Army Psychologist. The course has been designed to prepare psychologist officers for employment as military psychologists at the rank of Lieutenant and Captain.
You’ll undertake this residential course in the first 12 months of your appointment.