The key duties of the position include:

The Role

Are you ready to use your psychological expertise to make a real difference? At Defence, your skills won’t just be valued—they’ll be critical to safeguarding Australia’s national security.

As a Security Psychologist, you will play a critical role in safeguarding Australia’s national security by conducting comprehensive psychological assessments as part of the security vetting process. Your responsibilities include:

Completing security psychology assessments to evaluate suitability for national security clearances.
Providing evidence-based psychological advice to inform decision-making, ensuring recommendations align with the Protective Security Policy Framework (PSPF), evidence-based practice, and professional ethical standards.
Collaborating within a skilled team of security psychologists who bring diverse knowledge and expertise, fostering a culture of shared learning and professional support.
Applying your psychological expertise and analytical skills to interpret complex information and deliver clear, actionable insights.
Contributing to continuous product and service improvement by maintaining compliance with professional standards and supporting innovation in structured professional judgement methodologies.

This role requires strong assessment skills, attention to detail, and the ability to work effectively in a dynamic environment where sound judgement and timeliness are paramount.

You will receive additional remuneration, above the APS 6 bandwidth, dependent on qualifications and approval, ranging from 15 - 40% of the standard APS 6 salary range. You will also receive paid professional development opportunities, AHPRA registration, and APS membership(s).

The additional payment is a Building Defence Capability Payment (BDCP) which enables Defence to provide a premium, in addition to the rate of salary otherwise payable under the Enterprise Agreement (EA) to some or all of the jobs within a critical occupation(s) or discipline within a workplace.

About our Team

AGSVA’s Psychological Services is a highly skilled and collaborative team dedicated to supporting Australia’s national security through expert psychological assessment and advice. Our team brings together psychologists with diverse professional backgrounds and areas of expertise, creating a rich environment for knowledge sharing and continuous learning.

We work closely to deliver high-quality, evidence-based psychological assessments and recommendations as part of the Whole-of-Government personnel security vetting process. In this dynamic and fast-paced setting, teamwork is essential—our collective strengths enable us to tackle complex challenges and maintain the highest standards of professional practice.

Our Ideal Candidate

We are seeking an individual who is able to consult, advise on, and conduct, psychological assessments, and analyses, within an integrated workforce. Knowledge of, and compliance with, psychological best practice including ethical, legal and professional standards are required. The demonstrated ability to comply with legislative frameworks, government decision-making, and Defence’s mission and policy requirements are highly regarded. As you will be responsible for interpreting and applying policy to practices and procedures, as well as providing subject matter expert advice to vetting staff, sound decision making and judgement are essential.

Eligibility

Security Clearance

Applicants must be able to obtain and maintain a security clearance at “Negative Vetting Level 2”.

Mandatory Qualifications

This psychology position requires unconditional membership with the Psychology Board of Australia.

Getting to know the Department of Defence

The Department of Defence employs around 18,000 Australian Public Service (APS) employees. Defence APS employees work in a wide variety of critical roles, Australia wide, enabling our three services Navy, Army and Air Force, to do their job. Defence has a range of Australian Public Service (APS) career opportunities that offer interesting, challenging, and unique work. Our workforce includes administrative support, accountants, intelligence analysts, engineers, policy advisors, graphic designers, lawyers, social workers, IT specialists and contract managers to name a few. We offer a rewarding career that includes professional development, work-life balance, recognition, a flexible and supportive work environment and a diverse workforce. To find out more about a career with Defence please visit https://www.defence.gov.au/jobs-careers