Wakai Waian Healing is building a culturally grounded mental health workforce across regional and remote Queensland as Australia moves to expand psychology training pathways.

The organisation, led by CEO Ed Mosby, a Masig man with family ties to Waiben and the Masigilgal people, has placed workforce development at the centre of its model of care.

The federal government's recent commitment to increase postgraduate psychology places, internships and supervisor training responds to a national shortage, but Wakai Waian Healing has already been developing its own pathway on the ground.

Across more than 15 locations in regional and remote Queensland, the organisation is training clinicians in a system built around culture, community and relationships.

Mr Mosby said better outcomes for First Nations people depended on how the next generation of clinicians was trained.

"We cannot talk about better outcomes for our people without investing in the next generation of clinicians," he said.

"This is not just about numbers. It is about how people are trained, who they are guided by, and whether they understand the communities they are working in."

Provisional psychologists Elyse O'Neill and Keely Steel are among the emerging clinicians learning through the Wakai Waian Healing model.

The organisation's approach treats culturally safe practice as a foundation of care, rather than an addition to clinical work.

Mr Mosby said clients needed to feel culturally safe when they accessed services.

"Our people need to feel safe when they walk into a service," Mr Mosby said.

"That safety comes from culture being understood and respected, not just acknowledged.

"We are training clinicians who can sit with people properly, who understand trauma, who understand history, and who know how to work alongside community, not over the top of it."

A key part of the model is supervision by experienced First Nations psychologists, who guide emerging clinicians and help ensure cultural and clinical governance from the start.

Mr Mosby said senior Indigenous psychologists were helping shape the organisation's future workforce.

"We are fortunate to have senior Indigenous psychologists within our organisation who are not only delivering care, but supervising and shaping the next generation," he said.

"That is critical. It means our workforce is being developed in the right way, with strong cultural and clinical governance from day one."

Ms O'Neill, who is completing her placement in Rockhampton, said the organisation's cultural foundations had shaped her experience.

"I was drawn to Wakai Waian Healing because of its strong cultural foundations and holistic approach to wellbeing," Ms O'Neill said.

"I'm grateful to be learning within a culturally grounded organisation and supporting people in ways that are ethical, respectful and meaningful."

Behind the placements is a wider workforce strategy led by Head of Workforce Sustainability Ros Mann.

Her work has focused on building a pipeline that reaches into communities and supports clinicians to grow in a culturally safe environment.

"What we've created at Wakai Waian Healing is more than a placement program," Ms Mann said.

"It is a pipeline. We are growing clinicians within the right environment, with the right supervision and cultural foundations, so they can build long-term careers that genuinely serve our communities."

Wakai Waian Healing now employs more than 50 staff across Queensland, including psychologists, occupational therapists, counsellors, social workers and therapy assistants.

Many are First Nations practitioners supported through internal development pathways.

As national reforms aim to increase access to psychology training and internships, Wakai Waian Healing has applied for significant funding to expand its internship and supervision model.

Mr Mosby said growing the workforce had to be done properly.

"We take this work seriously," he said.

"If we are going to grow the workforce, we have to do it properly.

"That means investing in people, backing our supervisors, and making sure culture is at the centre of everything we do."