Eligibility for Clinical or Certified Practising Membership
Check whether the course you have studied is on our list of accredited courses. If your course is listed, please follow the application checklist and apply now.
Applying with a Qualification from Overseas?
Read more about the application process.
Transferring to PACFA?
Click here for more information.
If the course you have studied is not accredited with PACFA, it must meet the following criteria:
- The course must be at an AQF Level 7 (Bachelor degree) or above.
- You must study over 2 or more years (part or full-time study is accepted).
- Within the course, there must be a minimum of 400 hours of instruction in counselling/psychotherapy specific subjects (e.g., lectures, tutorials, workshops).
- 200 hours (minimum) direct person-to-person teaching focused on experiential practice and skills development, of which:
- 140 hours must be solely taught face-to-face, focused on experiential practice and skills development.
- 60 hours may be synchronous online, e.g., live interactive webinars.
- Additionally, within the course, there must be a placement with a minimum of 40 hours of client contact, and 10 hours of supervision attached to this client contact.
In order to register with PACFA as a Clinical member, you must also meet the following criteria:
- You have graduated from your counselling and/or psychotherapy course more than 2 years ago.
- You have accrued a minimum of 750 hours of client contact since graduating.
- You have accrued a minimum of 75 hours of supervision on these client hours, with at least 50% of the minimum requirement for supervision met by individual supervision.
For both Certified Practising and Clinical membership, you must also hold Professional Indemnity and Public Liability Insurance. You can purchase this at a discounted rate with your PACFA membership, or provide proof that you have your own policy or are covered by your employer.
Read our application checklist.
Join as a Certified Practising Member
Join as a Clinical Member
Please note that the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) pathway is currently under review and is on hold. All current applications will be prioritized during this process.
Eligibility for Academic Membership
Eligibility for Academic membership is based on the following criteria:
- You have relevant training, such as a degree or PhD in counselling and/or psychotherapy, or a degree in education.
- You have been employed in a teaching role with a minimum of a 0.5 workload (19 hours per week) for at least two years.
- You have made a contribution to the field through research and education, such as published papers and conference presentations.
- You are insured for your teaching practice by your employer.
Join as an Academic Member
Eligibility for Student Membership
To join PACFA as a Student member, you must be enrolled in and currently studying a counselling and/or psychotherapy course. Once you have finished your studies, if your course meets the requirements you will be able to apply for Certified Practising membership.
Read our student information pack.
Join as a Student Member