The Victorian Department of Health is offering ten grants of $2,717 to public mental health services to help meet the cost of study for Psychiatric State Enrolled Nurses (PSENs) undertaking a clinical placement.

The grants are administered by the Australian College of Nursing on behalf of the Victorian Department of Health.

This grant is a commitment of the Victorian Government to provide financial support for PSENs backfill arrangements during clinical placements.

• Applications open
  Friday 15 September 2023
• Applications close
  Friday 13 October 2023
• Scholarship recipients advised of outcome
  December 2023

To be eligible to apply for a grant, applicants (Victorian public mental health services) must apply on behalf of an enrolled nurse who is:

• registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia
• an Australian citizen or permanent resident or New Zealand citizen
• employed or commencing employment at the service at or above 0.5 FTE and remain working in the public mental health system during study and for at least one year after completing your studies (note: moving between roles/service etc within public mental health is acceptable)
• enrolled in a Bachelor of Nursing course within 1 July 2023 – 30 June 2024.

All courses must be undertaken with an accredited Australian tertiary institution.

These are competitive grants and will be awarded on the recommendation of the independent selection panel. The panel’s assessment will be based on how the PSEN’s Line Manager or Director of Nursing addresses the following:

1. Provide a 200-300-word statement that provides evidence of the individual PSEN’s commitment to continue working in the mental health sector.
   Please note: responses need to be individually tailored to the PSEN who is undertaking clinical placement. Where services have substantively replicated responses for multiple applicants within their services, the applications will be marked down.
2. Provide a 200-300-word statement that provides evidence of the mental health service’s support for the PSEN.
   Examples could include assistance with fees, additional study leave, supervision etc.
3. Has this PSEN received a PSEN grant before for their clinical placement?

Applicants who employ Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander PSENs are encouraged to apply.

Weightings and prioritisation

Prioritisation will be provided for the following by way of an additional weighting:

• eligible applicants who are applying on behalf of a PSEN who identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander
• eligible applicants from regional and rural services
• eligible applicants who are applying on behalf of a PSEN who has not previously received a PSEN grant before

The grants are worth up to $2,717 and are considered a contribution towards the cost of backfill arrangements for PSENs undertaking clinical placements. The grants are paid directly to the employer and not the individual recipients.