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The Psychology Board of Australia released an advance copy of the first Board-authored regulatory Code of conduct for psychologists, which comes into effect on 1 December 2025. We appreciated the strong engagement from stakeholders at consultation and carefully considered the constructive feedback on the core requirements for safe and effective psychology practice in Australia.
The new code reflects key developments in health regulation by:
The Board also approved and published an advance copy of the new Professional competencies for psychologists, which comes into effect on 1 December 2025. To help psychologists with these changes, we published supplementary resources, including a self-assessment template for psychologists and fact sheets on application of the new competencies.
We started consultations on updating the Guidelines for the national psychology exam and Guidelines for the 5+1 internship, with a focus on alignment with the new professional competencies. We thank all stakeholders who provided feedback.
The Board acknowledges that there are several updates to regulatory policies affecting the profession and other stakeholders from 1 December 2025. We are coordinating our implementation plans for the new professional competencies and code of conduct to minimise the impact to stakeholders, facilitate change activities and improve access to resources. This includes publishing recorded webinars and hosting expert panel workshops on applying these standards to practice.
In March, the Board launched a Commonwealth-funded review of the way psychologists are trained in Australia. The aim is to provide reform recommendations, with the intention of addressing workforce shortages in mental health.
The project will focus on the appropriateness and design of a single, shorter, more practical course of study for general registration, while maintaining the high professional standards of practice in psychology.
To ensure we achieve the reform objectives, we are committed to a co-design approach and will be engaging with stakeholders throughout the project.
The Board welcomed six new members: Ms Susan Benedyka, Ms Tahnee McBean, Mr Costa Loucopoulos, Professor Judi Walker and Mr Chris Willcox.
We thank outgoing members Adjunct Professor Petrina Coventry, Ms Marion Hale, Ms Vanessa Hamilton, Mr Christopher Joseph, Dr Jennifer Thornton, Professor Kathryn von Treuer and Dr Robyn Vines for their contributions to the Board.
Ms Rachel Phillips, Chair
