The career go-to guide for Rehab Counsellors working in Australia.
Rehabilitation Counsellors facilitate social, educational and economic inclusion for people experiencing illness, injury, disability or disadvantage.
The pathway to secure qualifications as a Rehab Counsellor is to complete a degree in Health Science or an Allied Health field at university and then undertake a Masters in Rehabilitation Counselling. This takes 4 years of full-time equivelent study.
The ATAR requirements to study Rehab Counselling are generally 65+.
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” – Nelson Mandela
Rehab Counsellors have 2 professional bodies in Australia that you can register with. They are:
“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“Rehabilitation Counsellors work within a counselling and case management framework, across biological, psychological and social domains known as the biopsychosocial framework.” – www.asorc.org.au
Occupational Rehabilitation: Case Management of workers with a psychological injury with the goal of a successful return to work. This could be at a rehabilitation provider in the private or public sector, an insurer or a final employer within their RTW co-ordination team. Some jobs include:
Other: “Rehabilitation Counsellors may work in areas such as Employment Services Assessments (ESA), injury prevention and management, disability advice, non-vocational disability services, advocacy and public policy.” – www.asorc.org.au
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” – Steve Jobs
As a Rehab Counsellor, you can work:
Your role could be:
Face-to-face and Telehealth options are widely available in most roles. This offers Rc’s the flexibility to schedule work around their life, as opposed to the other way around.
As a Rehab Counsellor, you can work anywhere in Australia. You are in exceptionally high demand in metro, rural, regional or remote locations Australia-wide. Check out some of our jobs available for Rehab Counsellors right now.
Rehab Counsellors can also use their degree to support them in their travels. There are many other countries where Rehab Counselling is a highly regarded profession. We highly recommend you make sure to check what the requirements are to practise in each country.
Keep in mind that the above are general indicators. There are always exceptions to the rule and unique circumstances. For example, specialisations, location, industry, role depth, employer salary band-widths, work arrangement etc that also determine the wages offered to Rehab Counsellors.
If you would like to discuss your salary, feel free to contact us.
Our Rehab Counsellors are offered and/or we negotiate a range of benefits for them. Benefits differ between industries, roles and organisations. Employers do their best to customise benefits to suit job-seekers.
$: Regular Salary Reviews | Performance Bonus | Extra Superannuation Contributions | Salary sacrifice or Salary Packaging arrangements | Corporate Discounts – one of our NFP clients gives their team discounted Medical and Health Insurance.
Tools of Trade: Mobile | Laptop | Tablet | Speech to Text Software
Admin & Reception Support: Free up time by dictating your reports and let the admin team do the rest
Travel: Pool Car Access | Novated Lease | Per km reimbursement | GoGet Car Access | Set amount per timeframe | Petrol Card (one of our clients gives their team members petrol card access for work and personal use – booya!)
Knowledge & Assessment Suitcase: Subscriptions, both hard-copy and soft-copy | Professional Development $, Comprehensive induction | On-going mentoring and in-services by subject matter experts.
“When you are asked if you can do a job, tell ’em, ‘Certainly I can! ‘ Then get busy and find out how to do it.” -Theodore Roosevelt
Extra Leave: One of our clients is a school and they give their staff 7 weeks’ leave. Other clients give their staff reservist leave, doona days, volunteer, pet and birthday leave.
Parental Leave: One of our clients gives their staff the difference between their wage and the government mandated parental leave subsidy for the full 16 weeks – Now read that again.
Social and team building: Paid for by the company. One of our clients paid for their whole team to do axe-throwing and a cooking class – not on the same day….
Health, Wellness & EAP: Pool, yoga or gym access or contribution | Confidential EAP to assist you when you need a hand.
Career Mapping: Our clients spend a lot of time and money training and supporting you. They would like to see you mutually thrive. Your success and growth = their success and growth.
“Do your job and demand your compensation – but in that order.” – Cary Grant
“You need to believe in yourself and what you do. Be tenacious and genuine.” – Christian Louboutin
These are anecdotal observations based on our conversations with thousands of RCs:
As a Rehab Counsellor who wants to work in Australia, you need to:
Here is a link for International Rehab Counselling applicants
Medijobs Australia highly recommends commencing your Rehab Counselling accreditation process early in your migration journey so that you have plenty of time to get through your accreditation requirements.
“Recognize yourself in he and she who are not like you and me.” – Carlos Fuentes
Rehabilitation Counsellor
Rehabilitation Counsellor | Sydney South | Hybrid Role | $100K + Super + BonusSydney
$$100K + Super + Bonus
Hybrid Role | In Office and Work From HomeEnjoy the achievement of helping others through their return to work journeySalary $100K + Super Plus Great Company Benefits
Our team at Medijobs Australia would love to have a chat with you if you’re considering studying Rehab Counselling as a degree, are studying to be a RC right now or are about to Graduate, or are a Rehab Counsellor at any stage of your career.
We’re here to add value to your career journey – all you have to do is reach out.
