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AAPi's Executive Director Tegan Carrison is featured in this news.com.au article discussing psychology students facing HECS debt and placement poverty, pointing out that postgraduate psychology degrees were left out of the Federal Government’s recent announcement to provide $319.50 per week of placement for courses.
Ms Carrison said it was disappointing that psychology students had been ignored in the paid placement scheme, given the significant shortage in the psychology workforce and exclusion from this scheme will further entrench this shortage.
She said student placements provide valuable clinical experience but being unpaid puts them at a disadvantage.
“Psychology students can do up to 1000 hours unpaid labour for their placements which pushes them into placement poverty, impacts their mental health and wellbeing, and is a deterrent for many who come from low socioeconomic backgrounds to be able to participate in higher education,” she said.
"Given the mental health workforce needs to grow rapidly to care adequately for the country’s mental health needs - psychologists are only meeting 35 per cent of the Federal Government’s psychology workforce goal - we are calling for the urgent inclusion of psychology students in this scheme.
“As healthcare professionals in training, they should be given equal consideration.”
Read the full article here.