Seafood Industry Australia is recruiting for a Mental Health Field Support Officer based in South Australia. The position is available for an immediate start. It is funded via the South Australian Mental Health Emergency Response Program for the Seafood Industry, which is funded by the South Australian Government and exists to improve the overall well-being of people in the Seafood Industry, including those in wild catch, aquaculture, post-harvest, processing and through to retail.

This role will provide support to commercial seafood industry members to bridge the gap between parties impacted by the Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) and the various help that are needed as people navigate the short-term and longer-term impacts of the crisis and change. There are two forms of support needed:

Wrap around supports – suitably knowledgeable people who understand the local landscape and can effectively guide people towards health and social supports, such as:

Financial counselling

Social work

Employment support

Emergency financial support

Family and domestic violence help

Education support and guidance

Appropriately educated, Mental health triage support

The field support officer will be able to identify and prioritise needs and offer on-ground support to those who are struggling, but coping, and able to appropriately support a person towards appropriate mental health support.

The field officer will:

Build relationships with as many local industry members as possible – including members of PIRSA that are regularly interacting with Seafood Industry members. This includes local departmental fisheries team members to assist and support them.

Raise awareness of and steer people towards wrap around supports on an individual needs basis.

Design and engage in activities to reduce stigma and encourage conversations around mental health and wellbeing.

Identify industry members who may be struggling and follow Mental Health First Aid protocols to guide them towards appropriate support.

Follow up on incoming referrals where possible (noting that permission is required from the person being referred).

Manage a time and dollar budget to gain the greatest impact on the wellbeing of their communities.

The role will focus on the following regions as a priority. These regions will be logically split between this new role and an existing position to best manage travel.

Goolwa

Coorong

Kingscote

American River

Southern Adelaide

Central Adelaide

Northern Adelaide

Stansbury

Ardrossan

Point Turton

Moonta

Wallaroo

Port Broughton

Franklin Harbor/Cowell

Arno Bay

Port Lincoln

Coffin Bay/Little Douglas

Training and experience

Ideally, the applicant will already have undertaken Mental Health First Aid training or be willing to undertake this upon appointment. This training is necessary as the officer will be required to undertake initial Mental Health triage/assessments with individuals.

Time allocation

We anticipate the role will be contracted at 0.6FTE until 30 April 2026.

Expenses

Travel to be pre-approved by SIA Program Manager and to be claimed from SIA through invoice, monthly in arrears, for the month as a separate itemised invoice to the contract fee invoice. Mileage will be paid at current ATO rates.

For more information, contact Julie Petty at [email protected].

Applications due by 30 October.