Are you ready to renew? Here is a review of the five renewal requirements for PACFA membership 2023/2024.
Requirement 1. Annual CPD, minimum 20 hours†
To maintain our high standards, current PACFA members are required to complete Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and Supervision each year in order to renew.
There are two CPD categories from which the 20 hours may be accrued:
Category A (mandatory): Minimum annual requirement – 10 hours
Category B (optional): Maximum annual allowance - 10 hours
The annual requirement of 20 CPD hours may all be accrued solely from Category A, as Categories B is optional.
Please note: in previous years, a grace period for CPD was extended for those affected by Covid-related events. This year, there will be no grace period.
For further information, read the PACFA CPD Standards
†CPD and Supervision Pro-rate Exemption table for New members
If you joined PACFA for the first time during the membership year, you have a pro-rata exemption for some of the standard required CPD and supervision hours, based on the month you joined. Information about how to calculate the exemption hours is below. The exemption will be automatically applied based on your join date and you are required to enter only the pro-rata hours.
Requirement 2. Annual Supervision
The annual requirements for Certified Practising and Registered Clinical members are:
10 hours of formal supervision (on client caseload, not managerial supervision) in the last 12 months
Where a practitioner has accrued over 400 client practice hours per annum, they must have undertaken 15 hours of formal supervision
Please note: in previous years, a grace period for supervision was extended for those affected by Covid-related events. This year, there will be no grace period.
For further information, read the PACFA Client Contact Standard
For further information, read the PACFA Clinical Supervision Standard
Requirement 3. Evidence of continuing professional indemnity and public liability insurance
For further information, read the PACFA Professional Indeminity Insurance Standard
Requirement 4. Provide a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (formerly ‘National Police Check’)
PACFA has adopted the same criminal history registration standard as the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). During renewals, PACFA will ask existing members to provide a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check certificate.
To submit a National Police check, you need to contact an ACIC-accredited body or an Australian police agency that can submit a police check on your behalf. You can find more information on how to obtain a National Police Check on Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission Website.
Members who don't have a valid police check are free to choose their own provider. 'Urban Verified' is an example of one of the ACIC-accredited bodies that members can choose.
PACFA has partnered with Urban Verified to provide convenient access to a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (formerly 'National Police Check').
Checks purchased via this portal ( https://policechecks.online/pacfa-police-checks/ )will not be sent automatically to PACFA. Instead a report of the overall result (without any personal identifying information) will be provided so PACFA can update your record. This will happen within 7 days and you will be able to see this on your Member Portal. PACFA will not see the Check documentation or any information provided to Urban Verified. If you would prefer you can upload a pre-existing Check using the Member Portal.
Requirement 5. A Working With Children Check (if working with children and adolescents)
Learn more about acquiring a Working With Children Check on the ACIC website.
For further information, read the PACFA Criminal History Standard