School counsellor and school psychologist scholarships and sponsorships
Ever considered a rewarding career as a school psychologist or school counsellor? Learn more about the NSW Department of Education's scholarship and sponsorship programs.


School Psychology Scholarship Program
Are you looking for:
- a rewarding graduate psychology role
- a chance to hit the ground running in your psychology career
- an opportunity to use your psychology skills to make a positive impact.
Join the NSW Department of Education School Counselling Service as a school psychologist.
Your role
The NSW Department of Education is the largest education provider in Australia with over 2,200 schools and over 800,000 students, and it is one of the largest employers of psychologists in NSW.
As a school psychologist within our school counselling service, you will have the opportunity to work with a diverse range of students from Kindergarten to year 12 in a variety of school settings.
You will work as part of a team of professionals, applying your psychological expertise to guide and support students to thrive and succeed at school.
Our school counselling staff:
- provide counselling to students individually or in groups
- undertake psychological assessments to support students with specific needs
- work collaboratively with teachers and specialist staff in schools
- help parents and/or carers understand and manage their children’s learning, wellbeing and mental health needs
- liaise with external agencies and other mental health professionals to provide coordinated, wrap-around support for individual students
Scholarship benefits
- up to $35,000 tuition allowance for full-time, full fee-paying students
- appointment allowance up to $6,000 for rural scholarships and $2,000 for metropolitan scholarships
- $1,500 textbook and incidentals allowance
- supervised practicum placements in schools, and
- ongoing professional support to complete your registration as a Psychologist.
- On graduation you receive employment as a school psychologist in NSW public schools complete with a supervised internship as a provisional psychologist.
Eligibility
To apply for the scholarship, you will have:
- met the requirements for and submitted an application to undertake the Master of Professional Psychology (School Psychology) program at either:
- a willingness to work in areas of identified need (download the School Psychologist Work Locations Nomination Form)
- NSW Working with Children Check clearance or be able to obtain one
- Australian citizenship, permanent residency or New Zealand citizenship
- NSW driver's licence or ability to obtain one
All Department of Education staff working in schools for specific purposes (SSPs) must be vaccinated against COVID-19 as outlined in Vaccination requirements for school sites. The successful candidate for this position will be required to confirm vaccination status prior to the department finalising their appointment and entry on duty.


School Counsellor Sponsorship Programs (for NSW public school teachers)
The NSW Department of Education’s School Counsellor Sponsorship Programs are available to support eligible teachers who are interested in becoming a school counsellor. The different programs are dependent on your current qualifications. Visit Teach NSW’s School Counsellor Sponsorship Programs for more details and to find out if you are eligible.
Contact us
For more information about the Psychology Graduate Scholarship Program, please contact: counselling.allocation@det.nsw.edu.au
For more information on NSW Department of Eduation sponsorships, please contact: sponsoredtraining@det.nsw.edu.au
Helpful links
- Become a school counsellor or school psychologist - learn more about rewarding career pathways into the school counselling service
- School counselling service - information for parents/carers and teachers
- Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) website - information on accredited pyschology courses and pathways to provisional or general registration with the Psychology Board of Australia