Youth justice officer

As a youth justice officer, you'll be able to make a positive difference to the lives of young people.

The role

Your role will include supervising young people in the community who are involved, or at risk of being involved in the justice system, by providing advice and assessment reports to courts and releasing authorities.

Working from community and detention centres and courts, you'll use contemporary counselling and intervention strategies to achieve positive change in young people.

You'll meet and work with young people regularly to help them adopt law-abiding lifestyles.

This may involve developing rehabilitation programs and linking young people with external services and treatment programs.

Your day-to-day work can include:

• developing case management plans
• counselling young people to address their behaviour
• assessing risks and making referrals to relevant programs and treatment services
• preparing reports
• ensuring young people comply with court supervision orders and complete any community work requirements
• providing advice to courts and releasing authorities
• maintaining contact with families, government and non-government agencies and program providers.

Being a youth justice officer is a challenging role.

It's about helping young people make changes that will stop them from offending or reoffending and being sent to detention.

The benefits

Our youth justice officers enjoy a range of great benefits including:

• using life experiences to make a real difference to the lives of others
• employment security
• flexible working conditions
• comprehensive paid training
• generous leave entitlements including:
  • 4 weeks annual leave plus 17.5% leave loading
  • personal leave
  • parental leave (paid and unpaid)
  • study leave
  • long service leave after 7 years
  • purchased leave
• competitive base-grade salary: $67,933 - $71,794 per annum plus superannuation
• regional incentives (depending on the location)
• career development opportunities.

Eligibility

When positions are advertised, the eligibility requirements will be outlined in the individual job advertisement.

You'll need to be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen.

If you are an applicant outside Australia, refer to our International Recruitment page.

You must have a current Working with Children check or be able to successfully apply for one to be eligible for appointment as a youth justice officer (this check is undertaken in the first week of training).

Selection process

To be eligible for appointment, you'll need to successfully complete all of the following assessments:

• identification check
• selection panel interview
• criminal history screening (this is undertaken by the Department - applicants are not required to obtain a police clearance)
• integrity check
• any other assessments or checks as noted in the job advertisement.

Training

Before you are appointed to a position, you will be required to undertake 9 months paid intensive training consisting of both off-the-job training at the Department's Training Academy in Bentley and on-the-job-training at a Youth Justice centre. Once you have successfully completed both off and on-the-job training, demonstrating good conduct and regular attendance, you may become eligible for permanency.

People employed from the pool must be prepared to attend training on a regular basis. Those located in regional areas will not be required to pay for travel or accommodation for this mandatory training.

Contact us

Department of Corrective Services (DCS) regularly conducts recruitment campaigns for youth justice officer vacancies.

Applications for youth justice officers are currently closed. Enter your details into the youth justice officer registry to register your interest in a youth justice officer role. For further information about the Department's youth justice officers, contact by:

• Email: dcs.recruiting@correctiveservices.wa.gov.au or
• Telephone: +61 8 9264 9615.

For more information about careers with the Department, refer to the working with us page or a list of current vacancies in the Department.

Last updated: 18-Mar-2013