AOD Clinician Counselling & Assessment – SECADA

Honesty     Trust      Respect     Concern      Love    

• Full-Time, Permanent   

• Based in Pakenham 

• $90,138.16 per annum plus super.*    

• 17.5% annual leave loading and generous salary packaging options     

• Progressive Workplace Flexibility options that enable genuine work life balance    
• *Candidates who do not meet the qualification requirement may be considered for an entry level position aligned with level 3 remuneration and responsibilities.

About Odyssey Victoria:   

Odyssey Victoria (OV) is a place of hope and positive change for individuals working towards breaking their pattern of addiction. At Odyssey Victoria we believe that every person should have the opportunity to change and grow. Our diverse teams work with individuals, families, and communities to reduce alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, improve mental health, and reconnect people to their family and the community. OV is a dynamic and fast-growing organisation committed to excellence in service provision and innovation in responding to alcohol and other drugs use problems.

Role Purpose:    

The AOD Clinician Counselling & Assessment is responsible for conducting comprehensive assessments and providing a range of counselling interventions to assist clients and their family members to change harmful behaviours resulting from problematic alcohol and other drug use. The key purpose of the position is to reduce harms and increase a client’s capacity to effectively manage the difficulties they are experiencing.

The purpose of this program is to reduce AOD related harms to individuals and their families by conducting comprehensive assessments and providing a range of counselling interventions to assist clients and their family members to change harmful behaviours and increase their capacity to effectively manage the problems they are experiencing associated with AOD use and promote recovery. It supports effective AOD treatment by linking clients and their families to other appropriate service types promoting the use of holistic, wrap-around services, according to the complexity of client and family needs within a recovery-focused framework.

Key areas of focus:     

• Contributing effectively to clinical review.

• Developing treatment plans and providing effective counselling interventions and assertive referrals to meet the individual needs of clients and their families, including those with complex needs.

• Provide information, education, and practical assistance to clients to help them to reduce the harms of their substance use.

• Providing clients with exit and post-treatment support plans to offer them appropriate support to maintain treatment gains.

• Facilitating interim support for clients awaiting the commencement of counselling services.

• Considering the needs of and identifying any risks to vulnerable children, working with families to develop safety plans, and facilitating referrals to partner Child First and Family service agents when indicated.

• Providing back up support to the Triage function when required.

• Co-ordinating with Care and Recovery and Clinical Review processes to support seamless transitions between service types and a consistent approach to supporting the achievement of clients’ recovery goals.

• Consulting with other services to develop and support the provision of recovery and harm reduction orientated treatment.

• Developing and maintaining collaborative and productive working relationships with internal and external stakeholders.

• Actively participating in ongoing professional development, individual and group supervision and relevant training as required.

• Supporting the student placement program and supervising students as requested.

• Maintaining up-to-date progress notes, case files and data entry in a confidential and professional manner.

• Contributing to the achievement of continuous quality improvement.

• Adhering to and keeping informed of relevant legislative compliance requirements, and reporting any perceived breaches, risks, hazards, incidents where relevant.

• Undertaking other duties as directed by the Coordinator and Catchment Manager.

• Providing high quality engagement, assessment, treatment and support services to individuals and their families, through evidence-based, therapeutic counselling and group work.

- Conducting comprehensive assessments including: Ascertaining information on substance abuse, history, mental health, family violence and other risk.

- Determining if a client requires a standard or complex treatment response. - Utilising the mandated AOD assessment tool.

- Arranging further assessments and secondary consults if required; and;

- Presenting assessments at clinical review and making recommendations.

To be successful in this role, you must…     

1. Relevant health and or welfare Tertiary/Degree qualification e.g., in Social Work, Psychology, Nursing or Allied Health Sciences with one-years experience or Associate Diploma with relevant experience.

1. Satisfactory outcome of a confidential Police Check and Working with Children Check. OV is committed to child safety and is a child safe organisation.

1. Eligibility to work in Australia.

1. Empathy for those whose lives have been affected by problematic alcohol and other drug use/ and or mental health disorders.

1. Possession of a current Victorian Driver’s License

1. Information technology skills, including proficiency in Microsoft Office suite.

1. Preparedness to travel within the catchment to meet the requirements of the job and to work out of various partnership locations.

For a copy of the position description which outlines the full list of responsibilities and key selection criteria, please click HERE (http://odyssey.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/POSCS4015-AOD-Clinician-Counselling-Assessment-SECADA.pdf)

*Appendix A (AOD Competencies)     

OV requires people in clinical positions to have the following competencies (or their equivalent). Where people do not already have these competencies, OV will invest in the person’s professional development by providing them through its RTO.

The competencies required in the first 12 months of employment are:

• CHCAOD001 - Work in an alcohol and other drugs context

• CHCAOD004 - Assess needs of clients with alcohol and other drugs issues.

• CHCAOD006 - Provide interventions for people with alcohol and other drugs issues.

• CHCAOD009 - Develop and review individual alcohol and other drugs treatment plans

What we can give YOU!    

In return we are committed to offering you an inclusive and transparent workplace culture where our people can develop to be their very best by:

• Ongoing learning and development opportunities

• Providing work that is meaningful and challenging

• Providing career pathways across diverse OV programs.

• Access to 24/7 counselling through our Employee Assistance Provider (EAP)

• Generous leave options such as 48/52 Purchase Leave and Study Leave

• Flexible working arrangements such as monthly RDO’s for full-timers (arrangements will vary based on role requirements).

In addition to the above, staff will also be provided monthly Clinical Supervision sessions for professional development and personal wellbeing.

Application information    

Please apply directly via our careers website (applications via external recruitment websites or via email will not be considered)

Applications should be addressed to Catherine McCarroll and include your CV and a cover letter addressing the key selection criteria.

If you have any questions relating to the position, please contact Catherine McCarroll Manager Consortia Programs on, cmccarroll@odyssey.org.au.

We will be assessing applications on a rolling basis, and suitable candidates will be shortlisted immediately. This role will be open for one week and close once a suitable candidate has been selected, which may be prior to the application deadline, so please don’t wait to apply!

Our commitment to diversity 

At OV we value diversity and believe that a range of backgrounds brings a variety of ideas, perspectives and experiences that will enhance our effectiveness. We promote a workplace that actively seeks to include, welcome and value unique contributions by encouraging people with disability, Aboriginal Australians, LGBTQIA, young people and people from culturally diverse backgrounds to apply for this position.

Safety screening  

OV is committed to child safety and is a child safe organisation. All OV employees must undergo Police Records and Working with Children Checks. Any person issued with a negative notice on their Working with Children Check will not be eligible for employment with us.

All Odyssey Victoria sites are smoke free for all employees