Psychology general FAQ

As soon as you are granted general registration as a psychologist you can practise in Australia.

Provisional psychologists can start practising as soon as provisional registration is granted but only in positions that are supervised, i.e. a placement as part of an accredited higher degree or in an internship role approved by the Board.

To practise as a psychologist and use the title ‘psychologist’ in Australia, it is mandatory to be registered with the Board (AHPRA supports the Board in achieving its functions). Becoming a member of a professional association is optional.

The Board is appointed by Government Health Minsters with the primary objective to protect the health and safety of the public. Professional associations, on the other hand, represent the interests of the psychology profession or specific groups of psychologists.

The interests of the profession and the public are often aligned, so the Board and professional associations can have common goals. For example, having minimum standards of practice keeps the public safe and also upholds the reputation of the profession.

To be recognised for registration, psychology qualifications must be accredited by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) and approved by the Psychology Board of Australia. These programs can be found on the approved programs of study list.

An online search is available for inactive programs of study that are no longer delivered by an educational provider. If a program was on the list of approved programs when you completed it, it will still be recognised by the Board for registration.

You can also submit a request for historical course information  on the APAC website if you need to verify the accreditation status of a program that is no longer offered.

• Psychologists with general registration have unrestricted rights to use the title Psychologist or Registered Psychologist and may undertake any work using that title.
• Psychologists with an endorsement may use the title associated with that area of practice e.g. Forensic Psychologist.
• Provisionally registered psychologists undertaking a Board-approved internship or higher degree must only use the title Provisional Psychologist.
• Candidates undertaking a Doctoral Degree or combined Masters/PhD who have general registration but do not yet have an endorsement may only refer to themselves as a Psychologist or Registered Psychologist.
• A psychologist enrolled in a Board registrar program leading to an endorsement may use the title Registrar along with the area of practice e.g. Clinical Psychology Registrar.
• If your registration lapses, or is suspended or cancelled, you must not use the title Psychologist. There are penalties and other consequences for false use of titles.
• If you hold non-practicing registration you may use the title Psychologist but you must not practice the profession of psychology (for the definition of ‘practice’, see the Board’s non-practicing registration).

A generally registered psychologist may use descriptors in combination with the title “psychologist” if:

• the title does not knowingly or recklessly claim or induce a belief that the psychologist has an endorsement in an approved area of practice that the psychologist does not hold
• the title does not knowingly or recklessly claim that the psychologist is a specialist health practitioner, e.g. “specialist clinical psychologist”, “specialist psychologist”
• the title does not mislead the public, that is, makes claim to knowledge, skill or qualifications that the psychologist does not hold.

Titles not specifically associated with an approved area of practice such as ‘school psychologist’, ‘consultant psychologist’, ‘occupational psychologist’, or ‘consumer psychologist’ are acceptable provided that the psychologist does not breach the Code of Ethics by over-representing their area of expertise or practising outside their scope of competence.

For more information, refer to the Guidelines for advertising regulated health service.

The Board recognises that in some states and territories public sector industrial awards enable the employment of a psychologist in a position that has a title approved under an industrial award – i.e. clinical psychologist – despite the psychologist not meeting the requirements of the Board’s Area of practice endorsements registration standard.

In such cases, the psychologist must not use the title in a way that may induce a belief that the psychologist holds an endorsement in that approved area of practice. It must be clear to the public that the title relates specifically to the position being held, and the psychologist must not use this title outside the context of their employment e.g. in private practice.

Psychologists are encouraged to apply for an area of practice endorsement to overcome this difficulty.

The Board expects that psychologists:

• providing psychological services to clients located in Australia will be registered with the Board regardless of where the psychologist is located
• comply with the requirements of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law and the Board’s registration standards, codes and guidelines, including the Professional Indemnity Insurance Registration Standard which requires that a psychologist is covered for all aspects of their psychology practice
• ensure that their patients are informed in relation to billing arrangements for consultations and whether the patient will be able to access Medicare or private health insurance rebates
• who conduct technology-based (e.g. videoconference) consultations with a client who is outside Australia establish whether they are required to be registered by the psychology regulator in that jurisdiction
• consider the appropriateness of a technology-based consultation for each client’s circumstances.

Provisional registration better represents the training pathways of psychologists than student registration. Student registration is used in other health professions for individuals in undergraduate programs, where students are closely supervised in group placements and do not work independently in a practical environment. This does not apply to the 5th and 6th year of psychology training which require trainees to operate autonomously, usually in one-on-one consultations, where supervision does not occur in real time.

Psychology trainees in all training pathways undertake substantial periods of supervised practice in workplace placements and are therefore deemed fall into the provisional registration provisions of the National Law rather than the student registration provisions. In addition, it is not unusual for trainees to obtain paid workplace training positions or obtain further paid work performing duties as a provisional psychologist under supervision (subject to Board approval). Student registration would not allow psychology interns or postgraduate students to obtain these paid work roles.

For information on gaining approval to undertake work in addition to university placements refer to the Board’s Policy on working in addition to placements.

The Board has determined that the first four years of psychology education do not require student registration as there is no practical training and no contact with the public.  

The National Law requires the suburb and postcode of your principal place of practice (PPP) to be published on the national register. The PPP is defined as the address from which you predominantly practice the profession, or if not practising, or not practising predominantly from one address, then your home address. Your full practice address does not appear on the public register, only the suburb and postcode. Check the register of practitioners here.

If you provide telehealth services on behalf of an organisation or through a private practice, your principal place of practice can be the address of that organisation or practice. 

If you believe that publishing information about you on the public register would pose a significant risk to your health or safety, you can make an application to have it removed. Applications are considered by the Board on a case-by-case basis.