Forensic Psychiatrist

Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist Staff Specialist / Senior Staff Specialist Regional Tertiary Public Health Service | North Queensland Total remuneration up to AUD $534,040 p.a. FTE (inclusive of incentives)

We are hiring on behalf of a leading North Queensland public Hospital and Health Service to recruit a Consultant Forensic Psychiatrist into a genuinely rare combined role spanning adult and adolescent forensic mental health, custodial consultation, and specialist services within a well-established regional Mental Health Service Group.

About the service

Our client is a large regional tertiary Hospital and Health Service delivering the full spectrum of public mental health care across a vast North Queensland catchment, with strong academic links to a leading North Queensland university. The forensic psychiatrist appointment sits within the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Service (ATODS) and Specialist Services stream, working in close partnership with the region's adolescent forensic mental health service and the broader Child, Adolescent and Young Adult mental health division.

The service delivers forensic mental health input across

• Adult community forensic mental health consultation and liaison
• The regional adolescent forensic mental health service — a rare opportunity to work across both adult and adolescent forensic populations within one appointment
• Consultation and liaison into the region's adult correctional centre and youth detention centre
• Court liaison, specialist forensic risk assessment, and expert reporting
• Outreach to remote and Indigenous communities, including a significant Palm Island component

Your opportunity

• Deliver expert forensic psychiatric assessment, treatment, and consultation across adult and adolescent forensic populations
• Provide specialist forensic input into custodial and youth detention settings
• Contribute to clinical governance, service development, and multidisciplinary team leadership across the forensic and specialist services stream
• Provide RANZCP-aligned supervision, mentorship, and teaching to psychiatry trainees and the broader medical workforce
• Contribute to the delivery of culturally safe forensic mental health care with a substantive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community focus
• Position available at Staff Specialist and Senior Staff Specialist level ( L18–L27 ), dependent on experience

What's on offer

• Total remuneration package up to AUD $534,040 p.a. FTE (inclusive of incentives)
• Permanent full-time or part-time — hours genuinely negotiable
• Employer superannuation contributions
• Professional development allowance and leave
• On-call and after-hours allowances
• Attraction and retention incentives available for hard-to-fill specialty roles
• Generous annual and personal leave provisions
• Queensland Health salary packaging with full FBT concessions (including novated leasing, meal and entertainment benefits, and remote area benefits where applicable)
• Regional workforce incentives aligned to North Queensland classification
• Attractive relocation support package for the right candidate
• 482 and 494 visa sponsorship available for eligible international candidates
• DAMA pathway applicable to this location — offering age concessions to 55, expanded occupation eligibility, and enhanced pathways to permanent residency

Requirements

• Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists ( FRANZCP ) with Certificate of Advanced Training in Forensic Psychiatry (or equivalent recognised training)
• Specialist registration, or eligibility for specialist registration, with the Medical Board of Australia
• SIMGs with a "Substantially Comparable" RANZCP outcome are strongly encouraged to apply — our client is genuinely open to overseas-trained forensic specialists and has a strong track record of supporting international clinicians through the specialist pathway
• Current Class C driver's licence (the role involves travel to correctional facilities, youth detention, and Palm Island outreach)
• Ability to meet Queensland Health credentialling and Scope of Clinical Practice requirements
• Ability to obtain Queensland Corrective Services security clearance
• Compliance with the service's Vaccine Preventable Disease screening and pre-employment check policies
• Genuine interest in working within a regional, culturally diverse service environment, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities

Life in North Queensland

North Queensland offers a lifestyle proposition that is increasingly rare in metropolitan Australia — a vibrant coastal city set on a subtropical shoreline, framed by an offshore island and the Great Barrier Reef beyond. Cost of living and property are dramatically more affordable than Brisbane, Sydney, or Melbourne, and the city offers excellent public and private schooling, family-friendly communities, a growing café and dining scene, and one of the state's most highly regarded urban beaches. For clinicians with an interest in the outdoors, the region gives you the reef, tropical rainforest, and the Queensland outback all within easy reach — and Brisbane, Cairns, and Asia-Pacific destinations are all a short direct flight away. For international clinicians, the DAMA pathway makes this one of the strongest regions in Australia for genuine long-term residency planning.

For a confidential discussion please reach out to [email hidden]