School counselling staff work collaboratively with teachers, families, school executive, and other professionals to create safe, healthy, and supportive learning environments that strengthen connections between home, school, and the community. School counsellors support students with a range of issues related to learning, peer and family relationships, and managing emotions such as depression, anxiety, worry or isolation.

School counsellors have teaching and post-graduate qualifications in psychology, and hold or are working towards registration as a psychologist with the Psychology Board of Australia.

Attributes of great school counsellors

School counsellors are committed to evidence-based practice in the fields of psychology and education. They are empathetic listeners who have the ability to make students feel comfortable and at ease. School counsellors are also excellent verbal communicators who know how to quickly build relationships based on trust, collaborating with families, school staff and external agencies to support young people. School counsellors are organised, have high professional standards and are committed to ethical record-keeping.

School counsellors are in demand

School counsellors are in demand in NSW public schools, particularly in rural and remote and metropolitan locations of workforce need.

The high-demand rural and remote locations include: Albury, Armidale, Batemans Bay, Bathurst, Bourke, Broken Hill, Clarence/Coffs Harbour, Deniliquin, Dubbo, Griffith, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Maitland, Moree, Orange, Port Macquarie, Queanbeyan, Shellharbour, Tamworth, Taree, and Wagga Wagga.

The high-demand metropolitan locations include: Bankstown, Blacktown, Campbelltown, Fairfield, Granville, Liverpool, Mount Druitt, Parramatta, Penrith, Ryde and Windsor.

How to decide if you should be a school counsellor

If you are approachable, have a high ethical standard, and are able to respond calmly and flexibly in difficult situations, consider becoming a school counsellor in NSW public schools.

How to become a school counsellor

The NSW Department of Education offers tailored scholarship pathways for teachers to complete post graduate qualifications and join the school counselling workforce.

Further information is available below. The become a teacher webpage outlines the steps you will need to take to become a teacher in a NSW public school.

Get paid to become a school counsellor

A sponsored training program is available to current teachers who would like to become a school counsellor.