Training and career pathways

Becoming a youth justice worker can be the start of an enriching and varied career working with young people.

We have a wide range of roles available and will pay you as you undertake training.

Starting your career as a youth justice worker allows you to better understand the challenges young people in our care face.

You will work with young people every day, listen to their stories, and help them take essential steps to improve their futures.

You will collaborate with multidisciplinary teams comprising:

• department leaders
• community case managers
• behaviour support specialists
• programs and cultural support staff
• clinical staff.

Pre-service training

To prepare you for your first day as a youth justice worker, you will undertake 9 weeks of fully paid foundational training. The training forms part of your study towards a Certificate IV in Youth Justice.

The training includes introductions to:

• working in a youth justice environment
• professional standards and legislation
• programs and services for young people
• communication and engagement with young people
• internal computer systems
• trauma-informed care
• procedures - including radio communication, searches, managing medication and food safety.

Once you commence service, you will continue your study in the Certificate IV program.

What it takes

Great youth justice workers can come from any professional background. Experience working with varied groups of people is a key trait of many successful youth justice workers.

Recruiters look for the following personal traits in candidates:

• Dedication and resilience: you can maintain positivity and commitment even after setbacks. 
• Life experience: you can adapt and manage challenging situations because you have had many varied experiences.
• Passion and empathy: you’re willing to work with children and young people to ensure their basic needs are met, while still setting important boundaries.

Learn more about life as a youth justice worker

Other custodial roles

You will start your career in youth justice by working in one of our custodial precincts as a youth justice worker. This can be just the beginning of your career in youth justice. 

There are a variety of areas you can move into  with additional training (or if you have relevant previous skills and experience).

Leadership roles

By putting your management experience to work, you can lead a specific area of operations in one of our youth justice precincts. Opportunities also include unit supervision and unit management, which provide coordination of unit activities and people management.

Clinical roles

Clinicians at Cherry Creek work within a clinical forensic framework with young people who have committed serious offences and may present a high risk of reoffending. Qualified psychologists, mental health nurses, social workers and occupational therapists are all eligible to apply.

Safety and emergency Response Team (SERT)

Divided into engagement and response teams, SERT promotes security and maintains the safety of young people and staff. Having completed additional specialised training, SERT staff assist with post-incidents briefings, control room operations, searches and escorts of young people through the precincts. 

Behaviour support specialists

Behaviour support specialists use evidence-based strategies to develop and implement behaviour support plans for young people. In creating their plans, they apply a particular focus on any trauma and disadvantage the young people have experienced in their lives.

Programs and cultural support

Join the team that runs the rehabilitation programs young people take part in.

• Youth engagement officers plan, develop and deliver targeted after-school and weekend recreation programs.
• Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) liaison officers focus on children and young people from CALD backgrounds, ensuring care is culturally competent.
• Aboriginal liaison officers have a similar role to CALD liaison officers but have a caseload of young people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (Aboriginal) backgrounds. Only Aboriginal people are eligible to apply for this designated position.

The roles above just a sample of the opportunities available in youth justice. Apply to become a youth justice worker (External link) today and you can discuss your dream career path with the department's recruitment team.

Apply to become a youth justice worker (External link)