Public consultation on revised area of practice endorsement registration standard

12 Oct 2018

The Board is consulting on a revised area of practice endorsement (AoPE) registration standard.

Released: 12 October 2018
Closes: 7 December 2018

The consultation paper enclosing a copy of the draft standard is available on the Current consultations page.

This consultation follows an initial consultation on an earlier draft of the AoPE standard in 2016. This review was placed on hold until new Accreditation Standards for Psychology Programs were finalised. The improvements proposed in 2016 remain part of the current proposal, including additional flexibility in registrar program requirements, formal recognition of bridging programs, and clarifying the ability to seek reinstatement of endorsement after it has lapsed.

The draft AoPE standard has been further revised to allow a pathway to endorsement after completing a stand-alone area of practice program, introduced under the new accreditation standards effective 1 January 2019. Stand-alone programs are equivalent to an accredited sixth year of study and higher education providers can offer entry to psychologists who do not hold a postgraduate qualification or endorsement in another area of practice, for example, those who obtained registration through a 4+2 or 5+1 internship. Other proposed changes to the standard include adopting the same structure used in the Board’s other registration standards and simplifying the content by removing detailed explanations of requirements sufficiently explained in the AoPE guidelines.

The consultation paper summarises the changes proposed in 2016 and explains the differences between the 2016 and the current proposal. Submissions on the draft registration standard are due by close of business Friday 7 December 2018. Please provide in Word format to: psychconsultation@ahpra.gov.au.