Counselling and psychotherapy: a regulatory model under review
Counsellors and psychotherapists remain self-regulated with unprotected titles. National standards were published in 2025 and a consultancy is recommending a model.
Country
Australia
The busiest jurisdiction for psychologists. The Psychology Board is redesigning training, and the federal "top of scope" agenda now pays states to remove scope barriers.
Reforms
Dawson review of the national registration scheme
An independent review found the scheme had "become too inward-looking, too fragmented, and too slow to respond to emerging risks and opportunities". Health Ministers accepted governance changes in May 2026 but deferred an integrated, risk-based framework for regulating all health professions.
Updated 5+1 internship guidelines
The first major update to the psychology internship guidelines in over a decade took effect in December 2025, removing the case study requirement.
Psychology training redesign: a single five-year degree
The Psychology Board of Australia consulted on replacing the six-year route to registration with one five-year degree, removing the internship year and the national exam for domestic graduates, and will recommend the change to the federal government.
No Australia reforms for this profession yet.
Explainers & analysis
Nothing written for this profession yet.
Library
Major proposed changes to psychology education and training
AAPi's summary of the Psychology Board's proposal: a single five-year degree to registration, no internship or national exam for domestic graduates, and a possible assistant exit. AAPi sees access benefits but is concerned about the drop to AQF Level 8.
Why it matters: A plain-English summary of the model the Board consulted on in April 2026. AAPi later said it does not support a five-year AQF Level 8 degree, and in September 2026 the Board said it will drop the assistant exit from the reform.
APS response to the Psychology Board's higher education pathway redesign
The APS says it does 'not support the proposed five-year model proceeding in its current form', citing safety, the drop in qualification level, placements, and an undefined assistant role.
Why it matters: The APS's formal, Board-endorsed position on what the Psychology Board calls a once-in-a-generation reform of psychology training.
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