Australian Association of Psychologists inc.

Australian Association of Psychologists inc. The AAPi is a professional association for psychologists. www.aapi.org.au We also reject the arbitrary notion of PBA endorsement in specialist areas.

We represent all registered psychologists in Australia and believe in diversity, equity and unity within the profession. The Australian Association of Psychologists inc (AAPi) is a not-for-profit Peak Professional Organisation for psychologists. We recognise that many psychologists have become particularly stressed with the changes that have been wrought in our profession. We seek to balance this by resourcing our members, giving them a voice, and advocating on their behalves for the respect and remuneration they deserve. As psychologists, we want genuine support for our work, and genuine advocacy with governments and decision makers when it is required. In order that we can help people to make positive changes in their lives, we need to remain viable. To succeed in this, we need to advocate for changes in the governance of our profession, and to provide the level of support to members which are required of practicing psychologists. We recognise that the public is best served by a well respected and equitably paid psychology workforce of competent professionals. Our constituency is the well trained and highly capable psychologists that provide most of the mental health services in Australia. Our primary mission is to lobby for equitable access for the Australian public to professional psychological services funded under the Better Access Scheme. Psychology is the specialty, and historically, competent psychologists have been able to work across the various areas of applied psychology. Phase II of our mission is to provide support, services and resources to our members which are not met by other psychological associations. AAPi is made up by its members, and for its members, and as we aim to be inclusive, we welcome dual membership by practitioners who are also members of other professional organisations. Please note: AAPi and administrators of this page are not responsible for the contents of visitor posts.

AAPi's 2025 Conference recordings are now available on-demand!You can now catch up on the insights from the main session...
10/11/2025

AAPi's 2025 Conference recordings are now available on-demand!

You can now catch up on the insights from the main sessions at AAPi’s 2025 Conference. Choose the individual sessions that interest you, or purchase the complete collection of conference recordings. Each recording also includes a copy of the presentation slides for reference.

Recordings include:
• Navigating psychedelic use in clinical practice
• Let's talk about s*x: The impact of communication on s*xual response, and implications for clinicians
• Integrating lived experience of disability with modern psychology practice
• Stronger after the storm: How meaningful repair fuels relationship growth
• Emotional signature in clinical practice: Theory, research and application
• Beyond the script: Rethinking therapy to truly engage men
• Considering children's rights within psychology practice
• Working with children and families in rural and remote areas
• When intersectionalities collide: Understanding the complexities of being NeuroQ***r
• Leadership in group practice: What an Org Psych has learned about building an Inspiring, Collaborative Culture in clinical practice
• Bosses behaving badly: Creating workplace cultures that prioritise compassion, equity, and sustainable success
• Supporting staff in a candidate's market
• Beyond the boxes: Schema Therapy for Q***r, Neurodivergent & Misfit Minds
• Decolonising therapy: Practical skills to navigate a Paradigm shift
• Learnings from the Desert: Working with Aboriginal Australians in Central Australia
• The Role of the Psychologist at an Olympic Games
• High-performance sport coach perspectives about psychological flexibility
• Functional Neurological Disorder: Treatment Considerations
• When the System isn’t built for your brain: A neurodivergent and trauma-informed lens on fertility care
• Domestic violence and its impact on the psychological well-being of survivors from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds in Australia
• Coercive control and psychology: The work ahead
• Differences and similarities in PTSD and moral injury in Police Officers, and how this effects treatment
• Are fast-tracked psychology programs contributing to burnout rates among novice psychologists?
• The Provisional Journey – How can we improve our support for Provisional Psychologists?
• Co-facilitating peer supervision among provisional psychologists for self-care purposes
• Understanding, preventing and managing burnout
• The 9 Secrets of Successful Health Practices
• Empower, reassure, relate

Experience the rich insights, and professional development opportunities from AAPi’s biggest event of the year - anytime, anywhere.

Access the recordings: https://ow.ly/gpb350XpHVG

This webinar is designed to help psychologists review, reset, and prepare their practices for the year ahead. In this se...
10/11/2025

This webinar is designed to help psychologists review, reset, and prepare their practices for the year ahead. In this session, Paula Burgess from Beyond the Maze will guide you through a practical “practice tune-up” process, identifying what’s working, what’s not, and where hidden inefficiencies might be draining time and revenue. You’ll learn how to:

• Conduct a simple end-of-year business health check (without overwhelm)
• Review your client flow, admin systems, and capacity for 2026 planning
• Implement small operational tweaks that make a big impact on profit and team harmony
• Create an actionable plan to start 2026 with clarity, confidence, and momentum

Register here: https://ow.ly/yUyU50X9xS3

**Please note the change of date - new date 5 March 2026**Nearly one in five Australians fill a script for psychiatric m...
07/11/2025

**Please note the change of date - new date 5 March 2026**

Nearly one in five Australians fill a script for psychiatric medication each year, and it can be a significant challenge to safely stop taking these medications if they are no longer needed. A major challenge is identifying when to stop medication and how to do so safely, to minimise the risk of relapse and withdrawal.

In this webinar Dr Mark Horowitz will provide valuable insights into the hyperbolic tapering approach outlined in The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: Antidepressants, Benzodiazepines, Gabapentinoids and Z-drugs to safely reduce or stop the use of psychotropic medications, whilst managing withdrawal symptoms and ensuring patient safety. Endorsed as an accepted clinical resource by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Guidelines address a crucial gap by offering clinicians clear guidance on the safe reduction or discontinuation of these medications.

Register here: https://ow.ly/fQoj50WaCkU

Join us for the second session in our 2-part series on contingency planning. In this webinar, Graham and Emma Dawes prov...
07/11/2025

Join us for the second session in our 2-part series on contingency planning.

In this webinar, Graham and Emma Dawes provide information on the Nominated Executive Officer.

Finding a nominee has been causing rising stress in some professional quarters as Psychologists grapple with who to nominate in a Contingency Plan. In this session we will cover:

• Changes to the Code of Conduct around Contingency Planning
• Who a nominated person can be
• Issues around finding a practitioner to act as a Nominated Executive Officer
• The scope of the role
• Possible associated costs

Register here: https://ow.ly/R9XE50XiQaT

Nearly one in five Australians fill a script for psychiatric medication each year, and it can be a significant challenge...
05/11/2025

Nearly one in five Australians fill a script for psychiatric medication each year, and it can be a significant challenge to safely stop taking these medications if they are no longer needed. A major challenge is identifying when to stop medication and how to do so safely, to minimise the risk of relapse and withdrawal.

In this webinar Dr Mark Horowitz will provide valuable insights into the hyperbolic tapering approach outlined in The Maudsley Deprescribing Guidelines: Antidepressants, Benzodiazepines, Gabapentinoids and Z-drugs to safely reduce or stop the use of psychotropic medications, whilst managing withdrawal symptoms and ensuring patient safety. Endorsed as an accepted clinical resource by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), the Guidelines address a crucial gap by offering clinicians clear guidance on the safe reduction or discontinuation of these medications.

Register here: https://ow.ly/fQoj50WaCkU

If you missed Scott Stuart’s webinar in July, we have another opportunity for you to take advantage of his knowledge and...
03/11/2025

If you missed Scott Stuart’s webinar in July, we have another opportunity for you to take advantage of his knowledge and experience with Interpersonal Therapy.

In this presentation Scott will review the basics of Interpersonal therapy IPT including IPT theory, structure, and techniques, as well as several tools like the Interpersonal Inventory that you can incorporate into your clinical practice right after the webinar. Scott also incorporates a live role play which participants in July found really helpful.

Learn more or register here: https://ow.ly/AajM50WQTIa

For over a year, we have been raising concerns about the change to Better Access starting 1 November, which states that ...
31/10/2025

For over a year, we have been raising concerns about the change to Better Access starting 1 November, which states that a Mental Health Treatment Plan allowing Better Access sessions can only be prepared by a client’s ‘MyMedicare’ registered practice or their ‘usual GP’, with some strict definitions. We knew this would be harmful, as many people either don’t have a usual GP who meets the definition, or seek out a different GP to access a psychologist under Better Access.

After a significant body of work and many meetings, AAPi and other key stakeholders who shared our concerns have achieved significant positive change in the usual GP/My Medicare practice requirement regarding mental health. We greatly appreciate the Department’s openness to hearing our concerns and making these changes.

The reforms due to start on 1 November were structured so that clients had to use the same GP or practice for all their health management, a significant barrier to care for many minority groups, young people, and rural and remote clients. Due to the changes that AAPi fought for, clients will be able to nominate any GP or GP clinic that they consider to be their usual GP/medical practitioner for their mental health only, separate to the GP or practice they consider to be their usual GP for their general health management. A client can also be registered under MyMedicare but see a different GP outside of that practice for their mental health care. This change allows clients to structure their physical and mental health care in line with personal preference, which can commonly look like seeing a different medical practitioner for mental health support needs for a wide variety of reasons.

This change represents a significant advocacy win for AAPi and for the thousands of Australians who rely on accessible mental health care. By ensuring clients have the freedom to choose the GP or practice that best supports their mental health, these updates remove unnecessary barriers and restore flexibility, choice, and continuity of care.

AAPi is proud to have played a key role in achieving this outcome through sustained advocacy and collaboration with the Department of Health and other stakeholders. We thank our members for sharing their experiences, which helped strengthen our case for reform.

Read our full update including example Q&A’s, here: https://ow.ly/gWlt50XkIMX

The Psychology Board of Australia will be holding online workshops for psychologists on the new Code of Conduct and upda...
29/10/2025

The Psychology Board of Australia will be holding online workshops for psychologists on the new Code of Conduct and updated Professional Competencies coming into effect on 1 December 2025.

Workshops will be held on:
• Tuesday, 11 November 2025, 6–7pm AEDT
• Monday, 17 November 2025, 12–1pm AEDT

Both sessions will be covering the same content and attendance is optional. The workshops will not be recorded.

The session will feature a panel of experts using case studies to demonstrate practical application of the Code, followed by a Q&A.

The PsyBA has requested that attendees review a pre-recorded webinar by Board Chair Rachel Phillips, and other relevant resources, prior to attending the session. You can find these on the Board's website via the link below (scroll down to 'Resources').

Learn more or register for a workshop here: https://ow.ly/ZSRl50Xi73G

In response to strong advocacy, the NDIS has released their Price Guide a month before it will be in force. This gives p...
26/10/2025

In response to strong advocacy, the NDIS has released their Price Guide a month before it will be in force. This gives psychologists working with NDIS clients a chance to adapt to these changes more effectively.

There has also been another publication released that may help psychologists working with NDIS clients, the much-awaited Therapy Supports Operational Guidelines. The guide has some good guidance around justifying therapy supports in plans and how you need to format reports for reviews. AAPi has been working with the NDIA for many months, trying to make this as helpful and reflective of psychology as possible. We were even able to enact some last-minute beneficial changes. The Operational Guidelines include an accompanying Frequently Asked Questions section to support psychologists, which can be found here. Some specific questions they have addressed include what stated supports mean in relation to therapies that are funded and what to do if therapy supports are not funded.

The NDIA has stated that they are open to ongoing feedback from the sector and will add information to these guidelines if associations identify gaps that need to be addressed. Please let AAPi know of any feedback on areas you would like to see addressed in these guidelines.

Read our full member update on what will be changing from 14 November and how this affects you: https://ow.ly/NUq950Xi3Ua

Need expert guidance on ethical, professional, or regulatory matters? AAPi members have access to our Professional Guida...
22/10/2025

Need expert guidance on ethical, professional, or regulatory matters? AAPi members have access to our Professional Guidance Service for confidential, expert support when you need it.

We’ve also recently made it easier than ever to connect — members can now book a call or request an email response from our Professional Guidance team, directly through our website: https://ow.ly/b20B50XfXUM

Whether you're looking to buy into a practice or build your own, we've got the basics covered for you. Understand your o...
20/10/2025

Whether you're looking to buy into a practice or build your own, we've got the basics covered for you. Understand your obligations and options before you get started to prepare yourself for success.

This session with Dean Menzies from Cutcher and Neale will cover:

• Finance options for practice buy-in
• Best borrowing structures for purchasing a premises
• Residential finance advantages for psychologists

Register here: https://ow.ly/92U950WQTQ0

Join us for first session in this 2-part series on contingency planning.Session 1 will cover the basics of the incoming ...
14/10/2025

Join us for first session in this 2-part series on contingency planning.

Session 1 will cover the basics of the incoming Board of Psychology’s Code of Conduct with regards to Contingency Planning, including:

• Professional Will versus Contingency Plan
• Why psychologists need a plan
• Plan creation, storage and updating.

Learn more or register here: https://ow.ly/sQCH50X9xQm

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PO Box 107
North Melbourne, VIC
3051

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Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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