Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) has transformed its mental health services model and expanded its psychology workforce to include social workers and occupational therapists.

Read on for more information about this incredibly rewarding role and why you should consider QCS as the next step in your career.

The role of Mental Health Team Leader leads a multidisciplinary team who deliver clinical services that promote mental health, well-being and the safety of the adults accommodated in our centres.

There is a permanent role available, and secondments can be considered at Townsville Correctional Centre (TCC). Townsville Correctional Centre is located approximately 15 kilometres from Townsville City. It provides high and low custody for individuals at various stages of their sentence, from across Queensland.

This is a unique operating environment where you will support your team with complex prisoner needs, applying advanced clinical skills and leading their professional development to ensure operational service integrity.

• Providing clinical supervision, leadership, consultation and expertise in the planning and provision of clinical services by the multidisciplinary mental health team who deliver mental health assessment, intervention, and crisis management, ensuring the provision of safe high-quality person-centred care
• Chairing and leading multi-disciplinary meetings, for example, those that oversee centre decision-making regarding suicide risk assessment and management, and case management of prisoners with complex needs
• Collaborating with key stakeholders to develop partnerships that contribute to operational and clinical outcomes
• Identifying and acting on opportunities for improvement in clinical practice; developing and leading ongoing quality improvement activities to enhance clinical care
• Embedding a high performing team culture through good team leadership, management and administration.

• Enjoy work life balance with hours between Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm, working 72.5 hours per fortnight. Flexible working arrangements can be considered.
• Annual pay increases, 12.75% employer superannuation contribution, 17.5% annual leave loading and salary packaging available.
• Ongoing professional development is encouraged and support is available.
• Enhance clinical care, lead a multidisciplinary team, and influence regional mental health.
• Work within an experienced, collaborative team with professionals from diverse backgrounds, gaining valuable insights and continuous learning.

• Tertiary qualifications in Psychology or Behavioural Science and full general registration as a Psychologist with AHPRA OR;
• Tertiary qualifications in Occupational Therapy with relevant registration with AHPRA, OR;
• Tertiary qualifications in Social Work and eligibility for membership with AASW
• C Class Driver's Licence.

We are committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion. If you have a health condition, disability, or cultural or linguistic background that requires adjustments, please let our Talent Acquisition team know. We will support you to participate equitably throughout the recruitment process.

Applications to remain current for 12 months. Suitable applicants from this process may also be considered for a suitability pool for subsequent identical or similar vacancies that occur within 12 months of the closing date of this advertisement which may include vacancies within other centres.

Job Ad Reference: QLD/700821/26

Closing Date: Friday, 9th October 2026

Occupational group: Health - Mental Health Clinicians

Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) has expanded its psychology workforce to include social workers and occupational therapists and now seeks a Mental Health Team Leader to guide a multidisciplinary team delivering clinical services for adults in our centres.

This permanent role, with possible secondments at Townsville Correctional Centre, offers a unique environment focused on high-quality, person-centred care and ongoing professional development within a regional health context.

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Staff Specialist / Senior Staff Specialist Regional Tertiary Public Health Service North Queensland Total remuneration up to AUD $534,040 p.a. FTE (inclusive of incentives)

We are hiring on behalf of a leading North Queensland public Hospital and Health Service to recruit a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist into a genuinely rare combined role spanning adult and adolescent forensic mental health, custodial consultation, and specialist services within a well-established regional Mental Health Service Group.

About the service

Our client is a large regional tertiary Hospital and Health Service delivering the full spectrum of public mental health care across a vast North Queensland catchment, with strong academic links to a leading North Queensland university. The forensic psychiatrist appointment sits within the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Service (ATODS) and Specialist Services stream, working in close partnership with the region's adolescent forensic mental health service and the broader Child, Adolescent and Young Adult mental health division.

The service delivers forensic mental health input across:

• Adult community forensic mental health consultation and liaison
• The regional adolescent forensic mental health service - a rare opportunity to work across both adult and adolescent forensic populations within one appointment
• Consultation and liaison into the region's adult correctional centre and youth detention centre
• Court liaison, specialist forensic risk assessment, and expert reporting
• Outreach to remote and Indigenous communities, including a significant Palm Island component

Your opportunity

• Deliver expert forensic psychiatric assessment, treatment, and consultation across adult and adolescent forensic populations
• Provide specialist forensic input into custodial and youth detention settings
• Contribute to clinical governance, service development, and multidisciplinary team leadership across the forensic and specialist services stream
• Provide RANZCP-aligned supervision, mentorship, and teaching to psychiatry trainees and the broader medical workforce
• Contribute to the delivery of culturally safe forensic mental health care with a substantive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community focus
• Position available at Staff Specialist and Senior Staff Specialist level (L18-L27), dependent on experience

What's on offer

• Total remuneration package up to AUD $534,040 p.a. FTE (inclusive of incentives)
• Permanent full-time or part-time - hours genuinely negotiable
• Employer superannuation contributions
• Professional development allowance and leave
• On-call and after-hours allowances
• Attraction and retention incentives available for hard-to-fill specialty roles
• Generous annual and personal leave provisions
• Queensland Health salary packaging with full FBT concessions (including novated leasing, meal and entertainment benefits, and remote area benefits where applicable)
• Regional workforce incentives aligned to North Queensland classification
• Attractive relocation support package for the right candidate
• 482 and 494 visa sponsorship available for eligible international candidates
• DAMA pathway applicable to this location - offering age concessions to 55, expanded occupation eligibility, and enhanced pathways to permanent residency

Requirements

• Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP) with Certificate of Advanced Training in Forensic Psychiatry (or equivalent recognised training)
• Specialist registration, or eligibility for specialist registration, with the Medical Board of Australia
• SIMGs with a "Substantially Comparable" RANZCP outcome are strongly encouraged to apply - our client is genuinely open to overseas-trained forensic specialists and has a strong track record of supporting international clinicians through the specialist pathway
• Current Class C driver's licence (the role involves travel to correctional facilities, youth detention, and Palm Island outreach)
• Ability to meet Queensland Health credentialling and Scope of Clinical Practice requirements
• Ability to obtain Queensland Corrective Services security clearance
• Compliance with the service's Vaccine Preventable Disease screening and pre-employment check policies
• Genuine interest in working within a regional, culturally diverse service environment, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Life in North Queensland

North Queensland offers a lifestyle proposition that is increasingly rare in metropolitan Australia - a vibrant coastal city set on a subtropical shoreline, framed by an offshore island and the Great Barrier Reef beyond. Cost of living and property are dramatically more affordable than Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne, and the city offers excellent public and private schooling, family-friendly communities, a growing café and dining scene, and one of the state's most highly regarded urban beaches. For clinicians with an interest in the outdoors, the region gives you the reef, tropical rainforest, and the Queensland outback all within easy reach - and Brisbane, Cairns, and Asia-Pacific destinations are all a short direct flight away. For international clinicians, the DAMA pathway makes this one of the strongest regions in Australia for genuine long-term residency planning.