Peak psychology body supports HSU call for allied health paid placements

9 October 2025  

The peak body for all psychologists fully supports calls by the Health Services Union to extend paid placements to all allied health students, which includes psychologists.  

The Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPi) Executive Director, Tegan Carrison, said unpaid placements put psychology students at a disadvantage. 

“Psychology students can do up to 1000 hours unpaid labour for their placements, which pushes them into placement poverty and impacts their mental health and wellbeing,” Ms Carrison said.

“It is also a deterrent for those who come from underprivileged backgrounds to be able to participate in higher education,” she said. 

“Psychologists are only meeting 35% of the Federal Government’s psychology workforce goal, and exclusion from the paid placement scheme will entrench this shortage. 

“There is a desperate need to grow the workforce to service the unabating mental health crisis in our country.   

“As healthcare professionals in training, psychologists must be given equal consideration.”

In July, the Australian Association of Psychologists (AAPi) backed the same calls by MPs David Pocock and Dr Monique Ryan. 

ENDS 

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About AAPi 

AAPi is a not-for-profit peak body for psychologists that aims to preserve the rich diversity of psychological practice in Australia. Formed in 2010 by a group of passionate grassroots psychologists, AAPi’s primary goal is to address inequality in the profession and represent all psychologists and their clients equally to government and funding bodies. Its primary mission is to lobby for equitable access for the Australian public to professional psychological services such as Medicare Better Access Scheme and the National Disability Insurance Scheme.