Advocacy

SIOPA represents the profession of Australian Industrial/Organisational (I/O) Psychology and I/O Psychology practitioners at all career stages on matters that affect the profession. SIOPA advocates for the profession by lobbying regulatory and standards authorities such as, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (‘AHPRA’), Psychology Board of Australia (‘PsyBA’) and Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (‘APAC’). SIOPA comments on draft or amended guidelines and standards open for public consultation.

SIOPA’s contributions enable better planned and more informed policies, projects and services in industry and organisations.

The most pressing challenges facing the I/O Psychology profession is obtaining endorsement and formal supervision. Notwithstanding these challenges, our focus also remains firmly on engaging the I/O Psychology community and bringing a sense of collaboration and unity to our profession.

SIOPA’s submissions

2018

Mentally Healthy Workplaces

Organisational Psychologists’ are subject matter experts in optimising organisational performance and employee well-being. Our expertise and knowledge of individual, group and organisational factors means we are well placed to accurately identify the root cause of an issue, and identify effective prevention and intervention strategies at all levels of the organisation.

Registration and Standards

SIOPA recognises the requirement for standards and registration guidelines to ensure a highly skilled and capable profession, in which the public is protected. Given this, we recommended the Psychology Board of Australia develop two separate guidelines; one for supervisors and one for supervisor training providers, including the incorporation of the revocation policies into their associated guideline.

Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA): Revised guidelines for supervisors and supervisor training providers.

2017

Registration and Standards

SIOPA recognises the requirement for standards and registration guidelines to ensure a highly skilled and capable profession, in which the public is protected. SIOPA advocates that National Examinations should not be required for graduates who complete Masters or Doctoral Psychology training programs as a pathway to registration. The requirement to complete the National examination in addition to the extensive training and supervision they have already completed is burdensome and unnecessary. Graduates have already demonstrated their competence through extensive assessments and supervised practice. Furthermore, we strongly recommended the National Examination is re-designed to be an assessment of the core competencies of all disciplines in which an entry level psychologist could work and apply psychological principles, including Community Psychology, Educational and Developmental Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Health Psychology, Organisational Psychology, and Sport Psychology, and not focused predominantly on Counselling and Clinical Psychology competencies (the current design).

If you would like more information on a particular submission, would like to contribute to future submissions or have a suggestion, contact us at regulatoryandstandards@SIOPA.org.au.