Posted on 9 September 2021 By Tegan Carrison, Executive Director, AAPi
Yesterday I spoke with the Victorian Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Emma Kealy. In response to this and AAPi’s consistent media attention and mental health advocacy, the shadow government in Victoria has backed our proposal to support and utilise provisional psychologists though a Medicare rebate and increased funding for mental health care in schools.
Support for the proposal was echoed in the press conference today with several references to AAPi. This announcement has also been reported on in this article.
Under the proposal, provisional psychologists would continue to work under close supervision from a senior psychologist and clients would be triaged appropriately.
This will hopefully result in national changes to boost the psychology workforce, increase funding for mental health care in schools, and increase access to psychological services within the community.
The support of the Victorian opposition for AAPi’s proposal is very welcome. While we do not endorse one political party over another, we welcome support from all sides of politics.
AAPi will continue to work hard as your peak representative body and to achieve the necessary and vital changes to improve the profession and to promote the recognition, professionalism, skills and expertise of all psychologists.