Association Update

Posted on 10 May 2022

Yesterday AAPi's call to abolish the two-tier rebate system was featured prominently in an article in The Bendigo Advertiser and 31 other regional papers, highlighting the difference in client rebates for clinical and registered psychologists and the impact of this on regional areas.

In the article, we outlined the issues caused by the two-tier rebate system, and Geelong member Laura Lee points out that there is no difference in patient outcomes. Laura has had to close her books to new clients and says cost is a disincentive for many people. 

In the article Laura says "If the Medicare rebate was increased, we would see more psychologists able to bulk bill and greater access to private psychology services for Australians, which in regional areas in particular is so dire - the services are stretched so far." 

We also also spoke about AAPi's calls to introduce incentives for regional and rural psychologists and schemes such as the payout of HECS debts for early career psychologists working in regional areas as a way to boost numbers of psychologists outside of capital cities.

AAPi stands for 'One profession, one tier'. Help us to achieve this by joining AAPi today. 

Our election campaign is going well. With our members help we have reached almost all candidates in the Federal election with over 15,000 emails being sent by the AAPi community in just a few days. We are using this grass roots campaign to strengthen AAPi's overall election strategy. If you are yet to contact your local candidates, you can do this in under 2 minutes here. Together we are making a difference. 

In the last few weeks we have also:

  • Appeared before Victorian Parliament to advocate for increased mental health funding and initiatives (more on this soon).
  • Participated in working groups related to aged care, disability and the NDIS.
  • Met with our South Australian members in a members meeting.
  • Progressed partnerships with other allied health peak bodies for synergistic policies to increase access for clients.

Thank you to all our incredible members for your support.