What is Additional Education Places?
Additional higher education places in mental health nursing and clinical psychology were allocated to Australian higher education providers, increasing the number of places for undergraduate and postgraduate study in the Mental Health professions.
Additional Education Places is an element of the Additional Education Places, Scholarships and Clinical Training in Mental Health initiative, and forms part of the Commonwealth's component of the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) National Action Plan on Mental Health 2006 - 2011.
Responsibility for the allocation of additional higher education places rests with the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
Why is this important?
- There are major shortages in the mental health workforce, particularly in nursing, mental health nursing, psychiatry and clinical psychology. These shortages compromise the effective delivery of current services.
- The additional places focus on the shortages in Mental Health Nursing and Clinical Psychology. The creation of additional university places will help to improve mental health service delivery as more mental health nurses and clinical psychologists qualify and enter the workforce.
Who benefits?
Those seeking careers in Mental Health professions will have greater opportunities to enter university to study Mental Health Nursing or Clinical Psychology. As the new professionals qualify and enter the workforce, the community (especially people with a mental illness and those around them) will benefit through the expansion of the workforce able to provide services.
What will Additional Education Places deliver?
431 (235 undergraduate and 196 postgraduate) mental health nursing places and 210 new postgraduate clinical psychology places were allocated to universities to commence in 2007. These places will grow to around 1,070 mental health nursing places by 2010 and 420 clinical psychology places by 2008 as students continue in their courses.
The places were allocated as follows:
Number of Mental Health nursing places allocated to commence in 2007 by State/Territory
| NSW | 90 |
| VIC | 160 |
| QLD | 60 |
| SA | 65 |
| WA | 50 |
| NT | 6 |
| TOTAL | 431 |
Number of Clinical Psychology places allocated to commence in 2007 by State/Territory
| NSW | 28 |
| VIC | 62 |
| QLD | 45 |
| SA | 10 |
| WA | 40 |
| ACT | 25 |
| TOTAL | 210 |
When did the new places commence?
The new places commenced in 2007. This is an ongoing initiative.
Further information
If you are interested in career opportunities in these areas, please visit the Going to Uni website at www.goingtouni.gov.au for information on courses offered by Australian universities.
Page currency, Latest update: 08 October, 2010