The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has contributed to the ongoing Scope of Practice Review by responding to the Issues Paper 2 consultation, addressing crucial topics such as leadership in primary care, workforce design, and regulatory reform.
Our key recommendations continue to emphasise the need for fundamental cultural change to foster interprofessional collaboration, recognising the distinct contributions of each health profession. This includes recognising and developing the full range of practice, skills, knowledge and leadership by psychologists across varied settings in Australia.
We highlighted the importance of evaluating current leadership models and advocating for a non-hierarchical approach to primary care leadership. Additionally, we suggested that the proposed National Skills and Capability Framework and Matrix is not an adequate primary driver for reforms, arguing that it may oversimplify and constrain the diverse skills and tasks within health professions, including within the psychology profession. Not only might this constrain, rather than expand, scope of practice, it may also accelerate the pace of deprofessionalisation.
The APS therefore advocates for direct policy reforms to support the psychology workforce and underscores the necessity of investment in leadership capacity and technology to enhance multidisciplinary care. We look forward to continuing our active engagement in shaping policies that impact the practice of psychology in Australia.
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