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Mental Health Nursing

At GV Health, mental health nurses work across our inpatient unit, community teams, crisis and triage services, and specialist programs for older adults and for infants, children and young people. They work in close partnership with our lived and living experience workforce of consumer and carer peer workers.

It’s a career with genuine breadth. In Victoria, mental health nursing has its own classification structure, clear pathways from entry level through to advanced practice and leadership, and strong government support for postgraduate study. As a regional service, GV Health offers the full span of these opportunities, often earlier in your career than you’d find them in metropolitan services.

Roles in mental health nursing

These roles work across inpatient, community, crisis, aged persons and infant, child and youth settings and many nurses move between them over the course of a career.

Diploma-qualified nurses who provide direct care and support as part of the nursing team, working with the supervision and support of registered nurses.

A supported transition-to-practice year for newly registered nurses, with structured education, supervision and rotations that build confidence in mental health practice. Read more about Graduate mental Health Program at GV health here: Graduate Mental Health Program – GV Health

The core of our mental health nursing workforce. RPNs provide assessment, therapeutic care and treatment across inpatient and community settings, walking alongside consumers through the most difficult and the most hopeful parts of their recovery.

Coordinates day-to-day unit activities, supports and supervises nursing staff, manages patient flow and risk, and contributes to quality improvement, workforce development, and clinical governance within the multidisciplinary team.

Clinical leaders who manage teams and units, balancing day-to-day clinical leadership with responsibility for safe, high-quality, recovery-oriented care.

Nurses who support people in their own homes and communities, coordinating care, supporting recovery goals, and working in continuing care, crisis response, triage and prevention-focused programs.

Experienced nurses recognised for advanced clinical expertise in a particular area of practice, providing skilled direct care and mentoring colleagues.

Senior nurses who lead a specialty area, providing expert consultation, driving practice improvement and shaping how care is delivered across the service.

Nurses who develop the workforce of tomorrow, supporting students, graduates and experienced staff through education, supervision and professional development.

The most advanced clinical nursing role. Nurse Practitioners are endorsed to practise with an extended scope, including prescribing, and lead care in their own right.