APS Year in Review

Campaign for maintenance of the Better Access initiative

Strong and persistent APS advocacy was reflected in the Government’s decision to reinstate the six ‘exceptional circumstances’ sessions for a transitional period to the end of 2012.

Input to Federal Budget planning

Fully costed proposals were presented to the Government to expand community access to psychological services in chronic disease, aged care and disability settings, and to increase funding for postgraduate training of psychologists.

Advocacy with the Federal Government

An ongoing program of meetings with Federal Government Ministers and their Advisors was undertaken to ensure briefing on important psychological matters relevant to their portfolios.

Representations and submissions

Psychology was represented on 44 key committees influencing policy development in mental health, health, aged care, disability, national registration, the health workforce and higher education. In addition, 26 formal submissions to government departments, reviews and enquiries were prepared.

Training arrangements under national registration

Advocacy highlighted the impact of the proposed imminent mandatory supervisor training on the psychology workforce and the proposed changes to the internship program on the ongoing employment of psychologists in particular public sector organisations.

Review of the psychology education and training model

A revised model of training was developed, which provides greater opportunities for more flexible, higher education-based training pathways to professional practice as well as greater similarities to the transportable EuroPsy, and has attracted significant support.

Health workforce reforms

Active participation on the Health Workforce Australia Standing Advisory Committee for Health Professions ensured high level awareness of the concerns for psychologists.

Health reforms

Psychology was represented through numerous strategic alliances, with advocacy highlighting the risks of medical dominance within Medicare Locals and promoting community access to psychological expertise through an integrated care model.

Expansion of ATAPS program

A governance framework was developed through a joint project to guide quality service delivery and workforce training standards in the expanded ATAPS program delivered through Medicare Locals.

Medicare compliance audits

APS representations resulted in more consistent rulings and recompense for a number of members who had been incorrectly penalised.

eHealth record system

An online learning program on the eHealth records initiative was developed with the support of the National eHealth Transition Authority.

Expanded conference program

An expanded APS conference program offered six high quality national conferences, enabling members to access the latest developments in psychology research and practice.

Quality improvements to APS journals

Improvements to the editorial quality, design and accessibility of the three flagship APS journals, Australian Psychologist, the Australian Journal of Psychology and the Clinical Psychologist, resulted in significant increases in the 2012 journal impact factors.

Contribution to DSM-5 review

A submission presenting views from expert Australian psychologists was prepared in response to the controversial revisions to the DSM‑5.

Promotion of high ethical standards

Formal ethical and professional advice was prepared for members on: working with children of separated parents; working across the public and private sectors; contracting arrangements; and how to respond to a subpoena.

Encouraging excellence in psychology

A range of annual awards and prizes were bestowed on distinguished and early career psychologists for their valued contributions to the science, teaching and practice of psychology.

Skills development for practitioners

Government funding enabled the development of online training packages for the ATAPS suicide prevention program, including the Kimberley Indigenous project, and for the Illicit Drugs in Sport program.

Enhanced APS College Supervisors Directory

A revamp produced a live internet database with more than 1,700 entries to facilitate access to suitable College supervisors.

Psychology course development and accreditation

APS experts participated in 70 undergraduate and 37 postgraduate course assessments, and the APS College Course Approval assessors undertook 30 specialist course assessments.

Assessment of overseas qualifications

A total of 546 assessments were completed by the APS as the national assessing authority for psychologists in Australia.

New APS Divisions to represent various member categories

A new Divisional structure is being established to ensure that all categories of members have a forum to voice their issues and to enable tailored advocacy and resource development to suit each group’s needs.

Increased support for student members

A dedicated APS student website, Psych Student HQ, was established, together with a student Facebook page and a career advisory service.

Greater recognition through APS logo-related initiatives

A refreshed APS logo was developed to enable greater recognition of the APS postnominals that signify APS membership, and this was coupled with the launch of a new Member Identity Program.

Extensive Find a Psychologist service

A record number of 2,638 APS members chose to be listed on the searchable database of psychologists in private practice around Australia, which attracted over 800 online searches per day.

Quality professional indemnity insurance

Following a comprehensive selection process with tenders from six experienced brokers, Aon Risk Services was reappointed as the endorsed APS broker offering a quality insurance product.

Employment opportunities through PsychXchange

An average of 151 advertisements per month, almost half a million visitors and more than two million page views cemented PsychXchange as the major search mechanism for both recruiters of psychologists and job seekers.

Comprehensive and timely provision of information

Members were kept abreast of a number of significant developments in the fast-changing world of psychology through the APS website, reports in APS Matters, InPsych and the State Newsletters, as well as through regular email alerts and mailouts.

Membership and professional advisory services

The Member Assistance Centre provided access to vital advice on professional, membership and student matters through telephone and email services, while the Professional Advisory Service responded to over 6,500 phone and email enquiries associated with practice and ethical concerns.

Informative professional resources

Resources in a variety of formats were developed to support members in their professional work, including: guides to practice software, practice standards, record keeping, management of privacy, internet-supported interventions, eHealth, Medicare compliance audits and national registration notifications; ethical and legal resources; and review papers on managing depression, bipolar disorder and anorexia nervosa. 

Provision of quality CPD opportunities

A huge variety of CPD opportunities were provided through 199 APS Member Groups, six high quality APS conferences, numerous National Office workshops and six online learning programs.

Enhanced access to scientific literature

Free member access to one of the world’s largest online psychology literature databases was extended following analysis of usage data and member feedback.

Online CPD logging for monitoring progress

A number of upgrades to the online CPD logging system were undertaken, increasing the benefits of this easy-to-use tool to track progress towards meeting the applicable CPD requirements.

Access to APS peer consultation networks

A peer consultation category was created within Member Group directories which facilitated a large and growing number of peer consultation arrangements between members.

Increasing use of social media

An official APS Twitter account was launched to share APS news with journalists, a student Facebook page was established, and online APS Member Groups discussion forums were created.

Increased website functionality

Developments to promote easier navigation to key resources and information resulted in over 1.5 million visitors to the website, including eight million page views.

Improved member publications

Editorial improvements to InPsych, the State Newsletters and APS Matters have continued, providing authoritative presentation of relevant psychology topics and professional information.

Stress and wellbeing survey

The National Psychology Week survey examined the stress and wellbeing of a representative sample of Australians, with the results generating widespread media coverage.

Reconciliation action

The APS implemented a process to develop a formal Reconciliation Action Plan to maximise psychology’s contribution to the social and emotional wellbeing and mental health of Indigenous Australians.

Culturally appropriate services for Indigenous Australians

A new website was developed to assist in the provision of culturally appropriate services, and the national roll-out of cultural competence workshops for psychologists was facilitated.

Support for Indigenous psychologists

Ongoing support was provided for the work of the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association, and APS member donations provided $30,000 for Indigenous psychology student bursaries.

Contributing psychological knowledge

Psychological knowledge was provided through submissions and presentations to the Government to address areas of significant community concern, such as gambling harm, discrimination in the same-sex marriage debate, and ensuring qualified mental health professionals in school counselling settings.

The KidsMatter initiatives

The KidsMatter initiatives in which the APS is a development partner continued to assist the mental health needs of children. The successful pilot of KidsMatter Primary resulted in funding of $18.4m to enable expansion to a total of 2,000 primary schools, while the KidsMatter Early Childhood pilot was completed in more than 100 long day care centres and preschools.

headspace

As an original partner in the youth mental health initiative, the APS was proud to see a significant increase of Government funding to establish a national coverage of 90 headspace services.

Other child and family mental health initiatives

The APS has worked closely with the Federal Government on the Better Start for Children with Disability initiative and the Health and Wellbeing Check for three-year-old Children. 

Linkages with international psychology organisations

Participation in the international community was facilitated through Memoranda of Understanding with international psychological associations in Britain, America, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada, Japan, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

Assistance with international natural disasters

APS disaster response resources and support was provided to colleagues in New Zealand and Japan following the devastating earthquakes and tsunami.

APS Grant for Intercultural and/or International Projects

The 2012 APS Grant will facilitate master class training for psychologists and trauma counsellors in Rwanda and training of psychologists in Sierra Leone.

Ongoing advocacy for reinstatement of the Better Access sessions was supported by a media campaign resulting in coverage throughout the year in national print, radio and electronic media, a range of State and regional outlets, and key medical publications.

Coverage of the six 2011 APS conferences provided almost 1,000 media stories including 125 print articles, 184 radio interviews and 755 online appearances. Coverage of the APS Annual Conference is estimated to have reached an audience of 5.7 million and the five APS College conferences also attracted in-depth interviews and coverage psychology topics.

The APS pre-Budget submission to the Federal Government gained significant national media exposure, particularly the call for increased higher education funding for psychology, measures to address the obesity epidemic, and subsidised access to neuropsychological assessments in aged care.

The National Psychology Week launch of the APS Stress and Wellbeing Survey findings generated widespread coverage across TV, radio, print and online with more than 200 media items reaching a potential audience of 10 million people.

Promotion of psychological knowledge on topics of community concern such as Indigenous mental health, the detention of asylum seekers and gambling harm gained significant mainstream media interest in print, radio and online.

A network of 199 APS Member Groups across the nation – organised around geographic location (7 State Committees and 40 State and Regional Branches), specialised skills sets (9 Colleges with 53 State Sections) and areas of interest (41 national Interest Groups with 49 State-based sections) – worked hard to meet the needs of APS members during 2011-12.

College Chairs, State Chairs, Branch Chairs and Interest Group Convenors represented their constituents in regular Forums with the APS President, Executive Director and senior National Office staff. The Forums facilitated an understanding of the needs of members of the APS Colleges, Branches and Interest Groups and assisted in tailoring policy development on relevant matters affecting these members.

The 199 APS Member Groups provided their members with vital networking opportunities for collaboration, formal peer consultation and information exchange with like-minded colleagues in their local areas or online communities.

APS members’ access to CPD in their local areas is predominantly organised and run through the APS Member Group Committees, with over 283 Member Group events presented throughout Australia during 2011‑12 attended by over 9,000 members.

National Psychology Week is supported by APS Member Groups holding events around Australia during the week to highlight the contribution of psychology to community wellbeing, with a total of 673 held during  NPW 2011.