AAPi Escalates Action on PAT Decision: A Defining Moment for Psychology and the Two-Tier System
AAPi has commenced legal action in response to the Therapeutic Goods Administration's (TGA) decision to restrict primary psychotherapist roles in psychedelic-assisted therapy (PAT) to psychologists with clinical endorsement while simultaneously expanding psychotherapy eligibility for other professions.
Whether or not you are interested in working in PAT, this decision affects how psychology is viewed and represented across the broader health system. The PAT decision is a symptom of a much larger problem: when opportunities for psychologists are restricted to a single area of practice endorsement while other professions are included more readily, it weakens the standing of the entire profession.
It is very important to keep in mind that the National Law does not restrict the scope of practice for psychologists, regardless of whether you have an area of practice endorsement or not. The only practice limitations for psychologists relate to their knowledge and skills and their obligation to practice within the boundaries of their own scope of competence.
For decades, endorsement-based distinctions have been increasingly used to determine access to Medicare rebates, public-sector positions, funded programs, and advanced practice opportunities. AAPi has consistently argued that this approach does not reflect the breadth, diversity, and capability of the psychology workforce.
The PAT decision is one of the clearest examples we have seen of the broader consequences of the two-tier system. For AAPi, this is about much more than psychedelic-assisted therapy. It is about the future of the profession.
AAPi has advocated for broadening PAT to registered psychologists since 2023. Throughout the TGA consultation process in 2025, AAPi consistently argued that eligibility to act as a primary psychotherapist in PAT should be based on demonstrated competence, PAT-specific training and psychotherapy experience.
Importantly, the consultation discussions AAPi participated in supported broadening access. The position supported during the consultation was that psychologists who had completed the necessary PAT-specific training should be eligible to serve as primary psychotherapists regardless of endorsement status.
The final recommendation was therefore not the outcome AAPi expected, as we wrote about last week.
AAPi is deeply concerned that this recommendation has resulted in the majority of registered psychologists being excluded from primary psychotherapist roles in PAT, while occupational therapists, nurses, midwives, and medical practitioners may participate in those roles.
AAPi believes this approach risks further eroding psychology's standing within the health system and contributes to the ongoing blurring of psychology's role and scope of practice. When opportunities that could be undertaken by appropriately trained psychologists are restricted to a single area of practice endorsement, while other professions are afforded greater flexibility, the entire profession is disadvantaged.
Following the release of the recommendations, psychologists sought clarification from the TGA regarding why registered psychologists without clinical endorsement were excluded from primary psychotherapist roles. In response, the TGA advised that:
"The Psychology Board of Australia determined that registered psychologists with an area of practice endorsement in clinical psychology to be the appropriate members of the psychology profession to act as primary psychotherapists within the therapy dyad."
The TGA further advised that the outcome was reached following consultation input and "final clarification and agreement with the respective professional boards."
AAPi is reporting information provided directly by the TGA. We are sharing this wording with members today as we are aware that psychologists are sharing the TGA justification quoting the wording across social media, and we wanted to be transparent with the AAPi community on the information we currently have available.
At this stage, AAPi has not had access to the communications, evidence, advice, meeting records, or briefing materials that informed the final recommendation. AAPi is not in a position to draw conclusions about how the final recommendation was reached or the role played by stakeholders until we obtain further evidence.
To better understand how the recommendation was reached, AAPi has commenced both advocacy and legal action. Our legal team has lodged Freedom of Information (FOI) requests with the TGA and Ahpra, including requests relating to the Psychology Board of Australia.
AAPi believes psychologists deserve transparency regarding decisions that affect the profession and the clients we serve. The information obtained through these requests will help inform both our advocacy strategy and any further legal options available to challenge the recommendations.
How Members Can Help
AAPi encourages members to respectfully share their concerns directly with the TGA.
Email: [email protected]
Professional, respectful, evidence-based advocacy from psychologists can help ensure decision-makers understand the significance of this issue. Submissions written in your own voice are the most powerful, but please reach out to AAPi if you need assistance with a template email you can modify.
AAPi Will Continue to Fight for All Psychologists
AAPi was founded on the principle that all psychologists deserve fair recognition for their skills, training, experience, and contribution to the community, and that our communities need greater access to psychologists. This issue goes well beyond psychedelic-assisted therapy. It goes to the heart of whether psychology will continue to be divided by endorsement-based barriers that diminish the profession's collective standing and create opportunities for professional substitution by other disciplines.
AAPi intends to utilise every avenue available to us, advocacy, legal action, stakeholder engagement, government relations, public education, and regulatory processes, to challenge this latest example of the two-tier system and to pursue broader systemic reform.
Our goal is not simply to change the PAT requirements. Our goal is to address the underlying structures that perpetuate artificial divisions within psychology and to advocate for a profession recognised on the basis of competence, capability, training, and experience.
The PAT decision has brought into sharp focus many of the flaws that AAPi has long argued exist within endorsement-based approaches. What was intended to be a decision about psychedelic-assisted therapy has instead raised much broader questions about how psychology is represented, valued, and recognised.
This issue may ultimately prove to be a pivotal moment in the ongoing effort to challenge and reform the two-tier system.
AAPi will continue using every appropriate advocacy and legal avenue available to pursue both change to the PAT requirements and broader reform of the systems that continue to create unnecessary divisions within psychology. We will not stop until all psychologists are afforded the recognition, respect, and opportunities they deserve.
The Psychology Board of Australia has released consultation drafts for revised Continuing Professional Development and Recency of Practice registration standards, with feedback now being sought from the profession.
The proposed changes to Recency of Practice represent a significant shift that could affect many psychologists across Australia.
Under the current Recency of Practice standard, psychologists can meet the requirement by demonstrating successful completion of one of the following:
- A minimum of 250 hours of practice as a registered psychologist or provisional psychologist (or equivalent for overseas practice) within the previous five years, or
- A Board-approved program of study within the past five years, or
- A Board-approved internship or other period of Board-approved supervised practice within the past five years.
The proposed new standard would replace this with a requirement to complete either:
- 450 hours of practice in the previous three years, or
- 150 hours of practice in the previous 12 months.
While AAPi will be advocating strongly against the proposed changes to the Recency of Practice standard, individual submissions from psychologists are also important. AAPi encourages all members to review the consultation documents and make a submission directly to the Psychology Board.
Read our full update on the proposed changes, including AAPi’s key concerns and how you can make a submission.
Can’t attend the full conference but don’t want to miss out?
Workshop-only registration is now open for our Pre-Conference Workshops, being held on Monday 19 October, before the main conference program begins on Tuesday 20 October 2026. These sessions can be booked as standalone sessions, or added to your conference registration as an optional extra to extend your experience.
Our dedicated Pre-Conference Workshop Day features six interactive half-day workshops designed for practical, hands-on, in-depth learning, with workshops on:
These workshops are a great way to dive deeper into key topics, build your skills, and connect with peers with similar interests. Each workshop comes with up to 4 hours of CPD towards your annual requirements.
Register Today!
Concerns About Proposed Changes to Psychological Injury Claims in Tasmania
AAPi Vice President Dr Katrina Norris recently spoke with ABC Radio Hobart about the Tasmanian Government’s proposed changes to workers’ compensation for psychological injuries. Dr Norris warned that restricting access to psychological injury claims could shift costs onto injured workers, families, hospitals, and the broader community, while potentially weakening psychosocial safety in workplaces. She emphasised the importance of treating psychological health and safety with the same focus on prevention that is applied to physical workplace injuries.
AAPi is disappointed by the New South Wales Government's response to the Parliamentary Inquiry into Foundational and Disability Supports Available for Children and Young People in New South Wales (the Inquiry).
The Inquiry was established in 2024 to examine the significant gaps in support available to children and young people with disability, developmental concerns, and additional support needs. Over many months, the Select Committee received extensive evidence from families, disability advocates, allied health professionals, educators, peak bodies (including AAPi), researchers, and service providers. Public hearings were held, submissions were prepared, and considerable public resources were invested in the process.
Unfortunately, the Government's response fails to match either the scale of the issues identified, or the strength of the Committee's recommendations.
While this response broadly acknowledges the multiple challenges facing children and families, of 17 recommendations, only 2 were supported (develop a framework & mapping), 3 not supported (transition arrangements to ensure no interruption; uphold children’s rights; and embed whole-of-family wellbeing), 8 supported in-principle without firm commitments, & 4 noted (funding, digital infrastructure, and place-based). So, the main accountability-related ones have been ignored.
This is particularly concerning, given the growing reliance on proposed "foundational supports" as governments seek to reform the NDIS, and redirect many children with developmental delays and disability support needs into mainstream and community-based systems. Across Australia, governments have repeatedly stated that foundational supports will be critical to ensuring children do not fall through the cracks. Yet inquiries, reviews, and advocacy efforts continue to highlight the same issue: these supports do not currently exist at the scale required. From a psychological perspective, the Government’s response represents a missed opportunity to address the key issues, and fails to deliver on what is required.
Many psychologists will be familiar with the experiences described throughout the Inquiry:
- Children waiting months or years for assessment and intervention.
- Families struggling to navigate complex systems.
- Schools increasingly expected to manage significant developmental and behavioural needs without adequate resources.
- Community services lacking the workforce capacity to meet demand.
- Children missing critical windows for early intervention.
These are not new issues. They were clearly articulated throughout the Inquiry process and supported by substantial evidence from stakeholders.
AAPi shares the frustration expressed by many stakeholders regarding the Government's response, which raises a legitimate question: what is the purpose of undertaking a major parliamentary inquiry, at significant cost in time, effort, and public resources, if the resulting recommendations are not meaningfully acted upon?
AAPi is currently working alongside relevant allied health, disability, and community sector organisations to advocate for genuine investment into foundational supports, including, but not limited to, Thriving Kids; improved access to early intervention services; and stronger recognition of the role that psychologists play in supporting children and young people.
As governments continue to redesign disability and developmental support systems across Australia, we will continue to push for practical, funded solutions, rather than aspirational statements which effectively kick the can down the road.
Children, families, and the psychologists supporting them, deserve better.
Further information can be found here.
The Medicare indexation rate has been announced, with a 2.6% increase to rebates effective from 1 July 2026.
AAPi members can now access the updated Medicare Quick Reference Guide reflecting the new rebate amounts in the Member Resource library.
The Victims of Crime Financial Assistance Scheme guidelines were updated on 25 May 2026 in response to feedback received since the scheme commenced.
The guidelines will be updated next on 30 June 2026 to include indexed amounts for the 2026-27 financial year relating to the statutory caps in the Victims of Crime (Financial Assistance Scheme) Act 2022, as well as any indexation applicable to other standard amounts set out in the guidelines.
Review the updated guidelines and stay informed of the upcoming changes here.
Medicare Mental Health Check In expands digital support options
From 30 May 2026, Medicare Mental Health Check In will offer self-guided online tools for Low-Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. The free service provides evidence-based digital mental health support for people experiencing early mental health concerns, with no referral or diagnosis required.
National professional association for mental health and suicide prevent peer workers
The Australian Government has launched a new professional association to recognise, support and grow the mental health and suicide prevention peer workforce. Backed by $4.3 million in funding, the Australian Association of Peer Workers will offer peer workers professional development and support across training, standards and opportunities for career progression.
VIC: Pathways to Practice Grants support rural mental health placements
The Pathways to Practice Incentive Grants, delivered by the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria in partnership with the Victorian Government, provide funding to support mental health students and rural health services to strengthen placement experiences across regional Victoria. Students can receive up to $575 per week to help with travel and living costs during mandatory unpaid placements, while eligible health services can apply for up to $30,000 to improve placement support, supervision, and student experience. The program aims to reduce financial barriers and encourage future workforce participation in rural and regional mental health services.