Australian Regional Health Group (ARHG) FAQs

PACFA Advocates for Stronger Role of Counsellors in Youth Mental Health Reform

PACFA recently contributed to the national consultation on the Headspace Plus and Youth Specialist Care Centres (YSCC) draft models of care, reinforcing the vital role that counsellors and psychotherapists play in supporting young people’s mental health.

This submission reflects PACFA’s continued commitment to ensuring that PACFA-registrants are recognised, utilised and embedded across Australia’s youth mental health system.

PACFA strongly welcomes the inclusion of counsellors and psychotherapists in the Headspace Plus initiative, highlighting their critical contribution to accessible, developmentally appropriate care for young people. PACFA recommended that this inclusive, multidisciplinary approach outlined for Headspace Plus be consistently applied in the design and implementation of Youth Specialist Care Centres, calling for greater inclusion of counsellors in psychotherapists in the model of care.

The submission also identifies key gaps in the draft models, particularly the way “clinician” is currently defined. PACFA notes that this definition does not accurately reflect the high training standards and regulatory frameworks that PACFA registrants uphold.

To address this, PACFA is advocating for:

• Greater recognition of PACFA’s registration standards
• Stronger alignment with the National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists
• Greater inclusion of PACFA-registered practitioners across models of care