Student Resource Package – Core Student Learning Allocation Funding (Student-Based Funding)

Mental Health Practitioners (Reference 119)

The Mental Health Practitioners (MHP) initiative provides funding to government school campuses with secondary enrolments to employ mental health practitioners (mental health nurse, occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker or counsellor of prescribed class) for between one and 5 days a week.

MHPs provide direct counselling support to students, early interventions, whole-school health promotion activities and coordinating support for students with complex needs.

For further information on the MHP initiative, refer to Mental health practitioners in secondary and specialist schools and the department’s Mental health and wellbeing toolkit.

SRP funding is provided to cover the salary of an ongoing school-based mental health practitioner. All secondary school campuses will receive an allocation between a minimum of 0.2 FTE and a maximum of 1.0 FTE, depending on the number of their secondary student enrolments.

FTE allocations will be fixed from the release of the Confirmed SRP (April 2025) for 2 years. At the conclusion of the 2-year period, FTE allocations will be reviewed and adjustments will be made where schools have a significant increase in student enrolments.

This funding is provided for the MHP initiative only and allocated funding must be spent for this purpose. Prior to spending any accrued unused funding, schools must engage with their Regional Mental Health Coordinator (MHC). Further information and advice about suitable alternative uses for unused funding can be found in the Mental Health Practitioners initiative policy or via Regional MHCs.

Eligibility

Funding is provided to Community, Language, Secondary and Primary/Secondary Combined campuses with secondary enrolments. Funding is also provided for Virtual School Victoria.

Funding is allocated as credit and cash funding.

The following schools/campuses do not receive this allocation:

• Frankston Special Developmental School
• Rubicon Outdoor School
• Outdoor School
• Bendigo Senior Secondary College – Netschool Campus

Calculation

Campus FTE allocation (Part 1) = Secondary enrolments × 0.0008119

Funding calculation (Part 2) = Campus FTE allocation (rounded to 1 decimal) × Rate

Rate

Rate = Midpoint of an Education Support, Level 1 Range 4, position including school SRP on costs