Dear Members,

It’s official – National Standards has commenced! As per my last update, I attended the first meeting on Thursday 4 April with the contractor and Department of Health and Aged Care. The focus of the meeting was stakeholder mapping – an important part of project planning to ensure the right people are in discussions. I provided a comprehensive list of stakeholders ensuring that as members, you will have an opportunity to be engaged. The plan is still being finalised but it is expected to be completed by 30 June 2025. Please continue to check on our dedicated page as I will post updates as the project progresses.

Kind regards

Jodie McKenzie

CEO, Australian Counselling Association

Dear Members

Great news! We have heard from the third party consultants, Allen + Clarke Consulting (“Consultants”) who will be working with the Department of Health and Aged Care on the development of the National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists in Australia. ACA will be joining both the Consultants and Department of Health on Thursday 4 April 2024 to commence in the stakeholder mapping process. Stakeholder mapping is an important initial phase of any project to ensure consultation and engagement occurs with the right people, groups and/or organisations.  It helps to inform strategy, planning and future direction.

Kind regards

Jodie McKenzie

CEO, Australian Counselling Association

Dear Members,

I received an update from the Department of Health today (18 March 2024) advising that they have appointed a third party contractor to assist with the research and analysis, facilitate sector consultation and develop a draft set of National Standards.

The Department of Health expect the contractor to engage with us towards the end of March 2024 following their initial meeting on 22 March 2024.

The contractor has extensive experience in delivering projects for government, particularly with a focus on research and stakeholder consultation. They have previously worked on projects to develop clinical guidelines, professional competency standards and scopes of practice, and the team includes technical advisors with experience in standards development and mental health.

ACA is looking forward to making a valued contribution representing the counselling and psychotherapy profession in Australia.

Kind regards

Jodie McKenzie

CEO, Australian Counselling Association

Dear Members,

I received an update from the Department of Health today (27 February 2024) advising that they are in the final stages of the procurement process and hope to have the provider in contract in the next few weeks. No further update at this time.

ACA is looking forward to making a valued contribution representing the counselling and psychotherapy profession in Australia.

Kind regards

Jodie McKenzie

CEO, Australian Counselling Association

Hi Members,

In line with our vision to advance the counselling profession, we have received an update from the Department of Health to indicate that they have begun the process of procurement for a third party contractor.  This contractor will assist with the research and analysis, facilitate sector consultation and develop a draft set of National Standards.  The appointment of this contractor is expected to be in place by end of February 2024.

ACA remain committed and engaged to be part of this project with Department of Health and advancing our profession.

I will provide a further update once more is known.

Thanks,

Jodie McKenzie

CEO, Australian Counselling Association

Today, 5 December 2023, the Australian Counselling Association was advised by the Department of Health that they will be looking to go to market for the third-party contractor early next year to lead the National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists project.

Keep up to date with National Standards updates here on our blog.

As we near the end of November 2023, we wanted to provide you with the latest information regarding National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists, led by the Federal Government.

As communicated in our previous update in May 2023, the ACA, in collaboration with the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and the Department of Health, have been allocated a budget of $300,000 for this initiative, which aims to define national standards across the sector in areas such as Education, Accreditation, Supervision, Complaints, Ongoing Professional Development, Credentialing, and Pathways.

However, as of this November, there are no new developments or updates to share. The project, as outlined previously, is slated to commence in the coming months, expected to take up a 2-year period, and implementation will occur post 2026. We are currently in the process of awaiting news regarding the appointment of a third-party consultant who will play a pivotal role in leading this project.

While we understand that this may spark questions and anticipation within our community, we want to assure you that we are committed to providing timely and transparent communication. We want to emphasise the importance of referring to ACA’s official communication channels for accurate and authorised information. These channels are the sole platforms through which ACA Members should receive updates related to their membership, news, and advocacy.

Despite the anticipation surrounding the project, let us continue to focus on our shared mission of offering support to those in need.

Yesterday the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) met with the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and the Department of Health to understand details around the $300,000 allocation in the budget and the development of National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists (“the project”). The Department will commence the project in the coming months (with ACA, PACFA and an external consultant) to look at defining national standards across the sector, covering areas such as Education, Accreditation, Supervision, Complaints, Ongoing Professional Development, Credentialling and Pathways. The project is also planned to explore service delivery models and where counsellors and psychotherapists are best placed to deliver services in mental health.

The development of these standards has the potential to stimulate further discussions regarding the role of counsellors and psychotherapists within the sector. The project is expected to run for a 2-year period with an outcome that will strengthen the profession.

We appreciate that this will raise a lot of questions with regards to what this means. As the project has not yet commenced, there is no further information or specific outcomes available. ACA will be reinstating a monthly newsletter to ensure timely communication to you on these and other matters of interest. The newsletter will be delivered to your registered email address. We encourage you to keep an eye on all ACA communication channels as they are the only authorised platforms that Members should be reading pertaining to their membership, news, and advocacy. During this period, it is crucial that we maintain business as usual and, as a counselling community, continue to focus our efforts on providing much-needed mental health support to those in need.

We would like to thank all Members for the impactful work you do, making a difference to the lives of so many people.

Today Assistant Minister for Mental Health, Hon Emma McBride and a team of other government officials and stakeholders held a one-day forum at the Members Policy Forum for Mental Health Australia to discuss the fallout from the budget. At this meeting it was announced that: “The government will invest $0.3 million over 2 years to develop national standards for counsellors and psychotherapists.”

This meets the recommendation made by the Select Committee for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention that ACA made a presentation to last year.

The purpose of the recommendation is to secure confidence by the government through the development of a National Standard so counsellors and psychotherapists can potentially move into the Primary Health Network and Medicare spaces.

Philip Armstrong the CEO of ACA stated, “This is great news, after decades of advocacy we now have an unequivocal message from the Federal Government that we have been formally recognised. To be mentioned in a budget and be allocated funding for the purpose of laying down of a National Standard reflects the government now recognises counselling and psychotherapy as a profession in our own right, distinct from other mental health disciplines.”

Philip went on further to mention he has been informed he will be contacted by the Department of Health to start discussing ACA’s role in the development of a National Standard in the next few weeks.

We look forward to sharing more good news with ACA Members and community.