How are psychological practices and therapy regulated in Australia?
The fact is that anyone can engage in psychological practices in Australia, provided they do not use a legally restricted title, or hold out to have qualifications they do not possess (eg. medical). Psychological practices were first regulated in Australia following the 1963 Anderson Royal Commission. As a recommendation from this, in Australia, the State of Victoria was the first to proclaim its Psychological Practices Act in 1965. It took well over two decades for similar Acts to occur across all States of Australia, with New South Wales (the most populated State of Australia) being the last. However, in 1995,Victorian Psychological Practices Act (1965) was changed to the Psychologists Registration Act (1987)- with the emphasis changed to registering qualifications, not the general regulation of psychological practices. The trend now is towards deregulation.
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