As the new Professional competencies for psychologists come into effect on 1 December 2025, psychologists should be aware of several key updates, particularly in how their ethical conduct and professional capabilities are defined and expected. The Psychology Board of Australia (the Board) has undertaken a comprehensive review to ensure these competencies are contemporary and relevant to safe and effective practice.

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Notable Differences in the New Code of Conduct

The “Code of conduct for psychologists” is designed to positively impact client and consumer health and safety, especially for vulnerable community members. The Board has aligned the Code with a shared Code of Conduct used by most professions in the National Scheme.
Here are the notable differences psychologists should be aware of:
Feature/Area
Previous Approach (Implied/Existing)
New Approach (Effective 1 Dec 2025)
Cultural Safety
General ethical principles regarding respect and non-discrimination.
Explicit inclusion of practice standards on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and cultural safety. Cultural safety is defined as ongoing critical reflection of practitioner knowledge, skills, attitudes, and power differentials to deliver safe, accessible, and responsive healthcare free of racism, determined by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, families, and communities. It is embedded across all eight competencies.
Bullying and Harassment
Not explicitly detailed as a separate section within the provided excerpts of the previous code.
A dedicated section addressing bullying and harassment is included to provide clarity on professional responsibilities and the importance of addressing these issues in the workplace.
Risk Management and Governance
General professional responsibility.
Additional clarification on professional responsibilities related to applying principles of governance. This was identified as a need by key stakeholders and operational staff.
Business Practices
General financial arrangements and professional responsibility.
Guidance for practitioners who are employers regarding performance targets and/or business practices that are inconsistent with the code. This addresses a need identified by National Boards and practitioner focus groups.
Female and male psychologist engaging in peer supervision

The development of the new Code is informed by best available evidence, national and international regulatory best practices, expert advice, and stakeholder feedback.

Changes in Competencies and Preparation

The Professional competencies for psychologists have been updated to describe the threshold competencies required for initial and continuing registration in Australia, outlining the minimum knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviours, values, and attributes for safe and effective practice. These new competencies are designed to be understood holistically, meaning they are interconnected and should be integrated across all aspects of a psychologist’s professional work.
Key areas of strengthened and explicitly included competencies:
  • Competency 3: Exercises professional reflexivity, purposeful and deliberate practice, and self-care. This competency emphasises the importance of continuous self-appraisal, understanding personal biases, improving performance through focused practice, and managing personal well-being to sustain professional functioning and reduce risks to clients and self.
  • Competency 7: Demonstrates a health equity and human rights approach when working with people from diverse groups. This expands the focus from five to at least seventeen areas of diversity, explicitly including migrants, refugees, disability, and neurodiversity. Psychologists are expected to provide client-centred care, work towards positive health outcomes for diverse populations, and engage in ongoing reflective and reflexive learning about working with these groups.

Senior psychologist, a woman of colour, providing clinical supervision to a young female psychologist.

  • Competency 8: Demonstrates a health equity and human rights approach when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, families and communities. This competency has been significantly strengthened to ensure all psychologists actively work towards culturally safe care and positive health outcomes for Indigenous people, in line with changes to the National Law and international best practices. It includes understanding historical, political, social, and cultural contexts, applying principles of culturally safe and trauma-aware care, and engaging in self-determined decision-making and collaboration with Indigenous communities.
  • Digital Competence: Although not a standalone core competency, digital competence is integrated into the updated competencies, particularly Competency 6 (Communication and interpersonal relationships), Competencies 4 (Assessment) and 5 (Interventions), and Competency 2 (Ethical and professional practice). Psychologists must be proficient in using digital technology lawfully, ethically, and professionally for service delivery, information storage, research, and communication, including understanding new technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI).

How to Train and Prepare for the New Competencies

Psychologists have over 12 months (from August 2024 to December 2025) to self-assess and undertake Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to address any gaps relevant to their scope of practice. The Board recognises that many practitioners will already meet or exceed these competencies, but the updates serve to focus learning.
Here’s how psychologists can train and prepare:
  1. Self-Assessment:
    • Read the documents: Become familiar with the Professional competencies for psychologists and the CPD standard and guidelines.
    • Map competencies to practice: Identify your individual scope of practice and map the eight core competencies to your work context. Consider which descriptors are most important to your role and where you might have gaps in knowledge or skills.
    • Obtain feedback: Seek feedback from peers, supervisors, and/or your workplace to aid in your self-assessment.
    • Identify gaps: Determine if any knowledge or skill gaps are critical for your current job. If so, immediate action is required to ensure safe practice, potentially including restricting job duties or referring clients.
  2. Develop an Outcome-Focused Learning Plan:
    • Prioritise learning: Focus on meeting and improving competencies relevant to your work context, determining the depth and breadth of learning based on your self-assessment.
    • Include various learning modes: Incorporate activities such as reading, workshops, seminars, conferences, professional podcasts, active CPD, master classes, and supervision. Reflection and reflexivity should be central to all learning.
    • Specific learning areas:
      • For Competency 3 (Self-care and Deliberate Practice): Focus on understanding reflection vs. reflexivity, improving self-care strategies, engaging in purposeful practice, and having meaningful supervision conversations about these areas. Deliberate practice involves focused attention, breaking down tasks, intentional repetition, and seeking feedback (e.g., direct observation, video review, role-playing, using client outcomes).
      • For Competency 7 (Diverse Groups): Deepen understanding of cultural identity, values, and experiences (including migrant and refugee experiences) on psychological well-being. Improve skills in working with, teaching, managing, researching, or supervising people from diverse groups, understanding intersecting forms of diversity, and collaborating with culturally responsive service providers.
      • For Competency 8 (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples): Undertake Indigenous-led training, read recommended resources like “Working Together”, and engage in reflective/reflexive practice in supervision about cultural safety. Consider foundational, intermediate, or advanced training based on your practice scope.
      • For Digital Competence: Stay updated on health delivery technologies, evaluate digital health apps, integrate evidence-based digital practices, audit current digital practices for safety and effectiveness, and learn about ethical challenges and AI in psychology.

A male and a female psychologist engaging in peer consultation with their laptops open in front of them

Adjusting Normal Practice to Demonstrate Proficiency

To demonstrate proficiency, psychologists should actively integrate the competencies into their daily work:
  • Continuous Reflection and Reflexivity: Regularly examine your actions, question your attitudes and biases, and consider how your personal realities shape your interactions with clients and impact your practice. This ongoing process is crucial for learning and improving.
  • Purposeful and Deliberate Practice: Intentionally work on improving specific skills, particularly in areas identified for improvement. This means actively seeking feedback (e.g., from supervisors or colleagues) and engaging in structured practice to hone skills just beyond your current level.
  • Maintain Professional Boundaries and Self-Care: Be aware of and maintain proper professional boundaries with clients and colleagues. Actively manage your health and well-being to ensure you can provide competent services and avoid impaired judgment.
  • Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Practice: Proactively think about your service delivery to ensure it is equitable, accessible, sustainable, timely, and culturally responsive. This involves adapting practice to the needs of diverse social identity groups and different cultural backgrounds.
  • Ethical Decision-Making: Apply sound ethical decision-making processes to foresee and proactively manage ethical dilemmas, ensuring conduct aligns with professional standards and legal requirements.
  • Seek Supervision and Consultation: Regularly consult with peers, supervisors, and other relevant sources to discuss competence limits and professional development needs. Principal supervisors of registrars, for example, are required to directly observe work and review client files intermittently to assess competence.
Think of these new competencies as the updated “operating system” for a psychologist’s professional practice. Just as a software update introduces new features and security enhancements, these competencies integrate critical areas like cultural safety, digital proficiency, and self-care more deeply. To function optimally, a psychologist needs to not just install the update, but actively explore its new functionalities through self-assessment and continuous learning, ensuring their practice is not only compliant but also at the forefront of safe and effective psychological care.

FAQs

What is the primary purpose of the Professional Competencies for Psychologists in Australia?

The core purpose of the “Professional competencies for psychologists” document is to clearly define the minimum knowledge, skills, abilities, behaviours, values, and other attributes that an individual must possess to practice safely and effectively as a psychologist in Australia. These competencies serve as benchmarks for initial registration and for maintaining registration throughout a psychologist’s career. They guide the development of Board-approved study programs, internship requirements, and the assessment of overseas qualifications. Additionally, they are used to evaluate a registrant’s competence if concerns arise and inform stakeholders like the public, employers, and insurance companies about what to expect from registered psychologists.

How do psychologists maintain their professional competence throughout their careers?

Psychologists are required to continuously maintain their professional competence. This involves several key activities: regularly self-assessing against the professional competencies relevant to their individual scope of practice, completing annual continuing professional development (CPD) activities (30 hours per year, including 10 hours of peer consultation/supervision), engaging in meaningful reflective and reflexive professional practice, and maintaining recency of practice by actively working as a psychologist. This ongoing engagement ensures that their skills and knowledge remain current and aligned with safe and effective practice.

What is the difference between “reflection” and “reflexivity” in a psychologist’s practice?

“Reflection” involves examining a specific event or action to learn from it and improve professional practice. It includes considering one’s own perspectives and how others might have perceived the situation, and being open to feedback and new knowledge. “Reflexivity,” on the other hand, goes deeper by focusing on a critical self-examination of one’s own attitudes, experiences, values, biases, and actions. It acknowledges how a psychologist’s personal realities and limitations might intentionally or unintentionally affect clients and their practice. While reflection informs ongoing learning, reflexivity extends to understanding the broader impact of one’s self within societal and organisational contexts. Both are essential for professional growth and ethical practice.

How do the professional competencies address the importance of cultural safety and working with diverse groups?

The professional competencies strongly emphasise cultural safety and working with diverse groups. Cultural safety is embedded across all eight core competencies, requiring all psychologists to actively work towards positive health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, irrespective of their own cultural background. This includes understanding the history, spirituality, relationship to land, and other cultural and social determinants of health. Additionally, the competencies highlight “cultural responsiveness,” which means actively paying attention to social and cultural factors in client care for all backgrounds, including an expanded list of individual and cultural diversity areas like age, race, ethnicity, language, immigration status, disability, neurodiversity, and more. Psychologists are expected to engage in ongoing reflective and reflexive learning to adapt their practice to diverse needs and apply principles of trauma-aware and culturally informed care.

What is the role of “digital competence” in contemporary psychological practice?

Digital competence is increasingly vital in modern psychological practice due to the growing reliance on technology for service delivery, information storage, research, and communication. Psychologists are expected to use digital technologies professionally, competently, safely, and appropriately. This includes being proactive in staying updated with digital skills and new technologies relevant to their scope of practice. Key considerations for digital competence involve understanding the impact of new technologies on privacy, confidentiality, informed consent, data security, and carefully weighing the risks and benefits of their use. This also extends to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in practice.

What are “Area of Practice Endorsements” and how do they differ from general registration for psychologists?

Area of Practice Endorsements are a legal mechanism that indicates a psychologist has completed advanced training in a specific area of practice, beyond the minimum requirements for general registration. While all psychologists in Australia are on a single public register, an endorsement allows a notation of this specialised training to be included on their public record and permits them to use a specific title (e.g., “clinical psychologist,” “forensic psychologist”). To obtain an endorsement, psychologists must complete an approved postgraduate qualification (typically a Master’s or Doctoral degree) and a supervised registrar program (e.g., 1,500 to 3,000 hours, depending on the qualification) in that specific area. This differs from general registration, which signifies meeting the fundamental threshold competencies to practice as a psychologist broadly.

What are the three general ethical principles outlined by the Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics?

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) Code of Ethics is built on three general ethical principles:
  • Respect for the rights and dignity of people and peoples: This principle combines respect for the dignity and rights of individuals and groups, including the right to autonomy and justice. It involves promoting equity, protecting human rights, and acknowledging people’s privacy, confidentiality, and physical and personal integrity.
  • Propriety: This principle incorporates the concepts of beneficence (doing good), non-maleficence (doing no harm), and responsibility towards clients, the profession, and society. It emphasizes psychologists practicing within their competence limits and prioritising the welfare of clients and the public.
  • Integrity: This principle reflects the necessity for psychologists to demonstrate good character and acknowledge the high level of trust inherent in their professional relationships. It includes acting with honesty, probity, and avoiding conflicts of interest and exploitation of clients or associated parties.

How does a psychologist’s individual “scope of practice” evolve, and what are the implications for maintaining competence?

An individual psychologist’s “scope of practice” refers to the specific professional roles and services they are educated and competent to perform. This scope is dynamic and evolves over time based on vocational choices, career paths, and advancements in the profession. It can narrow or deepen as a psychologist gains experience or specialises in particular areas (e.g., trauma, aged care). Psychologists are mandated to only practice in areas where they possess current knowledge, skills, and experience to do so safely and effectively. If a psychologist’s individual scope changes or extends into new areas, they are required to develop a learning plan for CPD and supervision to ensure they meet the minimum competency threshold for that new area, thereby preventing any risk to the public.

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