10/06/2024
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but psychology interns are required to be paid under the Fair Work Act. The exception (which I disagree with strongly) is university placements.
Each of the flags on this list are ones I have seen.
I’ve seen all of the green flags as well. There are some really excellent employers out there.
Look for the green flags. Avoid the red flags.
What other flags have you encountered?
Image description:
An infographic titled ‘psychology internship red flag vs green flag’
Contract:
Red flags:
No pay
No contract
No Fair Work Statement
Pay is less than award
No sharing pay info
Unpaid overtime
Told you are a contractor
Green flags:
Clear contract
Paid award rate + (more if funding own supervision)
Paid overtime / time off in liu (TOIL)
Encouraged to share info about the job
Workload:
Red flags:
6+ hours of client contact a day
No professional development
Mandated to attend professional development unpaid
Green flags:
Reasonable workload - starting small and building up to 4-5 contact hours/day
Extensive professional development provided + PD leave
Supervision:
Red flags:
No supervision in work time
No observations
No one on site
Paying for supervision by employer
Told to log supervision that didn’t happen
Green flags:
Supervision is funded
Choice of supervisor
Supervision allowed at work
No problems with observations
Open communication between work and external supervisors
Safety:
Red flags:
No governance framework
No escalation pathways for risk
No policy around psychological safety or psychosocial risk management for staff
Green flags:
Pathways to address risk/ crisis
Senior staff available
Policy and procedure regarding psychological safety and psychosocial risk for staff
Diversity and inclusion
Red flags:
Stigmatizing attitudes towards clients
Ableist, sexist, racist comments common in team culture
Feels unsafe to bring whole self to work
Green flags:
Asked about any access needs during recruitment
Work culture has a focus on human rights, diversity and inclusion
Safe to bring your whole self to work
Career progression:
Red flags:
Everyone seems to leave straight after internship
No opportunity for advancement or promotion
No ongoing support to develop post general registration
Green flags:
Employees stay on after gaining general registration
Employer has pathways for career progression after internship
Ongoing support to develop post general registration
Want to learn from other people going through internship? Come find us on Facebook Australian Provisional and Early Career Psychologists We are a grassroots peer support group for provisional psychologists through masters, internships, and the first three years of general registration.
