The Psychology Board of Australia has released consultation drafts for revised Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Recency of Practice (ROP) 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.
The draft standard further states that there will be no exemptions to the recency requirements. Psychologists who do not meet the standard may still apply to the Board for individual consideration, but could be required to undertake additional education, training, supervision, mentoring, examinations, or other requirements before returning to practice.
AAPi will not be supporting the proposed Recency of Practice changes.
We are concerned that the proposal adopts a largely "one-size-fits-all" approach across the health professions, despite significant differences between psychology and many other regulated professions.
The research underpinning the proposed changes appears to be primarily based on professions that rely heavily on procedural, technical, and psychomotor skills, such as surgeons, whose skills can decay during periods of absence from the workforce. Psychology practice is fundamentally different, relying on critical thinking, professional judgement, therapeutic skills, ethical decision-making and evidence-based practice, and there is no evidence that these skills decay.
AAPi is also concerned that the proposal could have negative consequences for the psychology workforce, including:
- Psychologists taking parental leave.
- Practitioners with caring responsibilities.
- Part-time psychologists.
- Rural and regional practitioners whose work may be more episodic in nature.
- Psychologists who require time away from practice due to illness, burnout or other personal circumstances.
- Workforce retention and public access to psychological services.
Given that psychology is a female-dominated profession, and many psychologists work part-time throughout various stages of their careers, the proposed changes could disproportionately impact a significant proportion of the workforce.
AAPi believes there is currently insufficient evidence to justify such a substantial increase in recency requirements for psychologists, particularly given that the existing psychology-specific standard has not created public safety concerns.
Proposed Changes to CPD
The draft CPD standard largely retains the existing requirements of:
• 20 hours of CPD per registration year, and
• 10 hours of peer consultation.
In addition, the Board has indicated that future cultural safety training requirements may be introduced. The Psychology Board has not released the CPD requirement for AoPE as part of this consultation.
Have Your Say
AAPi encourages all members to review the consultation documents and make a submission directly to the Psychology Board.
While AAPi will be advocating strongly against the proposed changes to the Recency of Practice standard, individual submissions from psychologists are also important. The Board and Ahpra need to hear directly from practitioners about the practical impact these changes could have on workforce participation, career flexibility, parental leave, caring responsibilities, burnout recovery, and access to psychological services. AAPi welcomes member input on these proposed changes.
The consultation documents and submission details can be found here:
AAPi is preparing a formal submission and will continue to advocate for recency-of-practice requirements that are evidence-based, proportionate, and appropriate for the psychology profession.
Consultation closes on 17 July 2026. We encourage all members to review the draft standards and have their say.