Official Visitor - Mental Health

Official Visitors visit mental health facilities across NSW with current vacancies available throughout the state. In your cover letter please indicate the locations where you are available to work. Please note you are only required to submit one application for this position.

Who we are?

The Official Visitors Program is Australia's most experienced mental health advocacy service and has been operating since 1836. Official Visitors are appointed for up to a four-year term by the NSW Minister for Mental Health, under the Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW). We are independent from the NSW Health System and have an important role in upholding the rights of mental health patients.

Under the Act an Official Visitor has the following functions:

• To refer matters raising any significant public mental health issues or patient safety or care or treatment issues to the Principal Official Visitor

• To act as an advocate for mental health consumers

• And, to inspect mental health facilities.

Our culture?

Our vision is to ensure mental health treatment and care is always given in a humane and dignified way.​​​​​​ The three pillars that guide us are communication, collaboration and care. We visit mental health facilities and talk to patients and their families. We also talk to a range of nursing and medical staff as well as senior managers and key people who are responsible for delivering high quality mental health care.

Official Visitors are kind, respectful and compassionate, both with mental health staff and consumers as well as with their visiting team and office staff.

Who are we looking for?

There are two categories of Official Visitors that are appointed under the Act;

• Clinical Official Visitors are people who hold current registration in the following professions - Registered Nurse, Medical Doctor, Psychologist, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker or Speech Therapist.

• Community Official Visitors are people with broad professional and life experiences who bring a non-clinical community perspective, including people with lived experience of mental illness and recovery and those who are carers.

What you'll be doing?

Official Visitors attend and inspect every declared public and licensed private mental health facility in NSW, either in pairs or in a larger team depending on the size of the facility. During visits we talk with mental health consumers (patients), carers, frontline staff and managers from the Local Health Districts and Networks. We also:

- Review the care and treatment provided to people with a mental illness or disorder

- Match the care and systems used against NSW Health policies and legal requirements

- Ask questions about the services and how they operate

- Inspect the physical environment of facilities

- Act as an advocate for individuals who are receiving mental health care and treatment

- Develop and submit a written report after each visit in collaboration with your visiting partner

The Program also operates a Phoneline Monday to Friday during business hours, taking calls from patients, their carers and NSW Health staff from across NSW. Official Visitors are rostered onto shifts and are able to complete this work from home

Desirable attributes:

• Understanding of social justice and human rights

• Strong communication skills including writing reports and negotiation skills

• Ability to work collaboratively in a team and to also work autonomously

• Competence using technology including emails, internet and programs such as Word and Excel

• Good research and investigative skills

• Ability to commit to a minimum of 2-4 working days per month plus availability to attend bi-monthly team meetings and ad hoc training as required.

• Current driver's license preferred.

How to apply to be an Official Visitor?

All applicants are to provide a short cover letter outlining why you are interested in becoming an Official Visitor, together with your CV. You must also complete this short survey Official Visitors Program - Application Survey 2026 – Fill out form asking a few more specific questions around the role. A short list will then be made for interviews. Successful applications will be invited to attend an interview with our panel.

It is important to note that as this is a Ministerial appointment and requires significant onboarding, work will not commence until October 2026.