Psychology innovation in the public sector

Currently, the APS has more than 3,400 psychologists who provide their psychological expertise as public sector employees across a diverse range of settings. Whilst most people would be familiar with psychologists working in the health and mental health sectors across the age spectrum (covering inpatient, outpatient and community-based settings), APS public sector psychologists are also employed in wide-ranging areas such as education, justice and corrective services, disability, and human services. Psychologists also play a key role in non-service delivery areas, such as policy development, program evaluation and general management.

There is a long history of employing psychologists in the public sector. Psychologists were initially employed in educational and vocational roles, and then during World War II, the armed forces utilised psychologists to assist in the selection of recruits. Clinical services started to expand after the war, with increasing numbers of psychologists employed in specialist clinics and psychiatric hospitals.

The introduction of Medicare-funded psychological treatment under the Better Access initiative has had a significant impact on public sector psychology, both from the perspective of retention of senior and experienced psychology practitioners within public sector services as well as the nature and types of psychological services offered within the public sector.

Contemporary issues facing psychologists in the public sector include maintaining the identity of, and respect for, psychologists in a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary world, ensuring the presence of a suitable career structure and development pathway for psychologists, maintaining appropriate conditions of employment, workforce recruitment and retention, and the shifting of service provision away from the public sector (e.g., the National Disability Insurance Scheme resulting in a shift of service provision to the non-government and private sectors).

Despite these challenges, the public sector continues to play a vital role in the training, employment and development of psychologists. The diversity of work offered, the opportunities for innovative treatment programs to be developed, the potential for collaborative research opportunities within and outside the public sector, as well as the chance to contribute to adding public value – all of these factors are reasons why many psychologists work and remain in the public sector.

This cover feature of InPsych provides only a small snapshot of the excellent work being conducted by APS psychologists in the public sector across Australia – the overwhelming response to our call for submissions reinforced our belief that psychology in the public sector is alive and well!

We hope it is of interest and encourages further collaboration and innovation.