News & updates

• 17 Jul 2008: Applying to provide ASD/PDD early intervention program services  
• 4 Jul 2008: President's update 
• 26 Jun 2008: APS and NZPsS sign Memorandum of Understanding 
• 29 May 2008: Reconciliation Week Statement
• 22 May 2008: President's update 
• 21 May 2008: Review into child abuse for former wards of the State of Tasmania 
• 3 Apr 2008: APS and BPS sign Memorandum of Understanding 
• 31 Mar 2008: President's update 
• 27 Mar 2008: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychologists meet in Melbourne 
• 28 Feb 2008: Call for applications for participation in the first APS Strategic Leaders Programme 
• 12 Feb 2008: President's update
• 25 Jan 2008: President's update

17 July 2008

Applying to provide ASD/PDD early intervention program services  

Psychologists involved in the provision of multidisciplinary interventions for children and families of children with ASD/PDD can now apply to be on a panel of early intervention service providers. This is the second arm of the new Helping Children with Autism package and is separate from the new ASD/PDD Medicare items. For more information, please click here, and see your metropolitan and major regional newspapers on July 19 and 26.   

4 July 2008

President's update 

In this broadcast, APS President, Amanda Gordon, urges members to consider nominating for two General Director positions on the 15th APS Board of Directors. The term of office for each of these General Director positions will be three years commencing from the 2008 AGM until the 2011 AGM.

Amanda also reminds members to register for the 2008 APS Conference in Hobart. (More information is available at www.apsconference.com.au.)

26 June 2008

APS and NZPsS sign Memorandum of Understanding 

In this broadcast, the Australian Psychological Society and the New Zealand Psychological Society sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The MoU affirms that the APS and NZPsS share the objective of advancing the discipline and profession of psychology in the public interest. The MoU also affirms the working relationship between the two Societies and commits to regular communication to discuss issues of common concern.

29 May 2008

Reconciliation Week Statement

The APS would like to acknowledge that this is Reconciliation Week, an important anniversary for all Australians. Reconciliation Week celebrates the 1967 referendum allowing Indigenous Australians the vote, and reminds us that there is still a long way to go to acknowledge and take action on the large gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in health, finance, employment and other determinants of wellbeing.

The Australian Psychological Society acknowledges the unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the first Australians of this country. The APS recognises that the colonisation/settlement of Australia has involved the loss of land, children and kin, languages and traditional cultural practices of Indigenous people, and that colonisation led to the dispossession, alienation and impoverishment of Australia's Indigenous peoples.

The Australian Psychological Society recognises the negative consequences that colonisation has had upon Indigenous health, mental health and well being, and that Australian Indigenous peoples continue to face social and economic disadvantage accentuated by ongoing prejudice and racism.

The Australian Psychological Society is committed to a process of reconciliation between Australian society and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people based on a respect and appreciation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, history and achievements. 

The APS meanwhile is endeavouring to contribute to national reconciliation in a number of ways:

• The APS is managing an Australian government-funded project aimed at identifying services which are using innovative approaches to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to raise mental health awareness and deliver positive messages about help-seeking.
• Indigenous-specific peak professional bodies are an effective way to represent the needs of Indigenous health professionals, and to provide expert advice on education, policy and other matters. The APS is supporting the establishment of AIPA, which will work to set and achieve benchmarks for Indigenous participation in the profession.
• The APS is represented on an expert reference group formed to provide clinical and cultural advice to the Australian Government's Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH). The group will influence the Indigenous-specific components of the COAG Mental Health Action Plan 2006-2011.
• The APS is a partner with the University of South Australia and Victoria University in a two-year Carrick Institute-funded project Disseminating strategies for incorporating Australian Indigenous content into psychology undergraduate programs throughout Australia. The group is organising its second conference Psychology and Indigenous Australians in Adelaide, July 14-15. For more information, see www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/pia.
• As a result of the APS Bendi Lango initiative, the following opportunities are being offered for Indigenous psychology students in 2009:
  • 1. Study bursaries for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders undertaking a postgraduate psychology degree
  • 2. Financial Assistance for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander psychology students in necessitous financial circumstances.
• The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Psychology Interest Group provides ways for Indigenous and non-Indigenous APS members to come together to promote best psychological practice for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Interest Group will have a close relationship with the new association of Indigenous psychologists.

22 May 2008

President's update

In this broadcast, Amanda Gordon discusses a new APS initiative to send certificates to members acknowledging cumulative membership of the APS for 10, 20 and 30 years. Amanda also speaks about a new membership drive in which the Society will give a $50 APS PD voucher to an Associate Member or Member of the Society for each person they recruit as an Associate Member or Member.

21 May 2008

Review into child abuse for former wards of the State of Tasmania  

If you consider you were abused while in State Care and you were over the age of 18 in July 2003, now is the time to come forward. The Tasmanian Government has reopened the scheme for claims from people who were abused while in State Care. Children abused while in State Care in Tasmania are entitled to compassion, justice, and may also be eligible for an ex gratia payment of up to $60,000. If you, or someone you know, suffered abuse while in State Care and a claim has not been made before, please obtain an information package by calling 1300 654 583 or alternatively visit www.dhhs.tas.gov.au. Applications close 30 June 2008.

• Download Review into Child Abuse poster  (97kb)

3 April 2008

Australian Psychological Society and the British Psychological Society sign a Memorandum of Understanding

Download APS and BPS Memorandum of Understanding  (1.4mb)

31 March 2008

President's update 

APS President, Amanda Gordon, speaks about the meeting of Indigenous psychologists at APS National Office to discuss how the APS can support Indigenous psychologists and help to meet the mental health needs of all Australians.

At the last meeting of Branch Chairs, it was suggested that it is time to do a review of the structure of APS Branches, Colleges and Interest Groups. At the recent Board meeting it was determined to accept this recommendation and to establish a Governance Review Working Group to look at how the APS is structured.

Amanda also discusses how Fellows and Honorary Fellows can become more involved in the society. Current fellows are happy to support people who are nominating either themselves or others in their fellow applications.   

Comments and feedback on the issues raised in this broadcast are welcomed and should be directed to a.gordon@psychology.org.au  

27 March 2008

National Office hosts formal gathering of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychologists 

Friday 28 March 2008 will be a historic day for Australian psychology. The APS will host the first ever formal gathering of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychologists. There are approximately 40 registered psychologists nationally who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. Of these, thirteen will be in Melbourne this week as part of a Commonwealth-funded project to identify innovative models and resources that increase mental health awareness and help-seeking in urban, regional and remote Indigenous communities. There was a meeting of 30 Indigenous psychology students at the APS Conference Wollongong in 1994, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Psychology Interest Group has continued to provide a focus for Indigenous issues within the APS, but this is the first meeting of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander psychologists in their own right.

As part of a series of COAG initiatives in Indigenous mental health, professional bodies like the APS are being strongly encouraged to set some benchmarks for equitable workforce participation, and to implement a range of Indigenous-specific programs to attract, support and retain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates in the health sciences, including allied health. So when the thirteen psychologists come together on Friday from as far as Darwin, Perth, Adelaide, Wollongong, Sydney and Warrnambool, they will be kick-starting a process to ensure that the psychology profession is more proportionally reflective of Indigenous people, who constitute 2.4% of the Australian population. If your arithmetic is up to the task, you will have quickly worked out that the APS as a Society of more than 15,000 should have 300 Indigenous members! We still have a long way to go.

Psychological knowledge and practice across all specialisations has much to offer to address the disadvantage experienced by our nation's first people. The APS Public Interest team is working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and Psychology Interest Group, and with representatives of other areas such as science, training and standards, professional development and professional practice to enhance psychologists' cultural competence and to promote Indigenous health, safety and wellbeing across urban, rural and remote communities.

28 February 2008 

Call for applications for participation in the first APS Strategic Leaders Programme 

This is an opportunity for APS members in mid-career (indicative, age 35-50) who have made a substantial contribution as leaders to the APS and/or to the discipline of psychology and/or to the wider community, and have the potential to develop further and extend themselves to lead into the next decade.

Participation in the programme will require significant commitment over a six month period, beginning in April 2008 with a residential weekend in Melbourne (12-13 April) preceded by some self-assessment material and reading.

During the course of the weekend, participants will form into syndicate groups and develop a project which they will lead collaboratively over the subsequent six months. Participants will present the results of their project at the APS National Conference in Hobart in late September 2008.

As part of the Leadership Programme, there will be a two day skills development workshop presented for APS members around Australia at a series of venues. Programme participants would be expected to attend the workshop which will attract PD points.

In addition, the programme will comprise a series of up to 10 web-based seminars, which will be available for professional development for all APS members.

It is believed that the combination of reading, self-assessment, two day workshop and web-based seminars will assist participants to develop and execute their projects in an effective manner and assist them in developing leadership skills that will enhance their ability to contribute to the Society, the discipline and the wider community.

Participants are sought from around Australia, including rural and remote psychologists, and from those who may be interested in working with the most disadvantaged in the community. Applicants will be considered on merit but selection will aim to ensure a diverse group. A&TSI members are particularly encouraged to apply.

Note: Participants will receive significant financial support for the programme, including travel and accommodation costs associated with attending the April residential weekend and the final day of the program at the APS National Conference in Hobart, but they will be expected to pay for the PD workshop and the web-based seminars. There is a fund available to support otherwise outstanding candidates who are unable to fund their own study, i.e. no one will be excluded through financial considerations.

Applications must be received by 10 March 2008.

For further information and to submit applications, please contact Christine Simpson at c.simpson@psychology.org.au or Ph: 03 8662 3300.

12 February 2008

President's update 

APS President, Amanda Gordon, announces the Presidential initiative for 2008 in this broadcast. The APS Strategic Leaders Program has been designed to create a better society by assisting APS members to develop better leadership skills. This program has been developed from the immense contribution psychologists have made to the community through supporting behavioural change and creating a better environment. The program will allow APS members to take this support to the next level.  

APS Units are encouraged to invite individual members to put themselves forward if they are interested. Participants should expect to be involved for a six-month period in a series of workshops and lectures, and be involved in a project that will be presented at the National Conference in Hobart. The call for nominations will appear on the website soon.

For more information, please contact a.gordon@psychology.org.au

25 January 2008

President's update 

In the following broadcast, APS President, Amanda Gordon, discusses the changes to APS governance over the past two years. Since 2006, directors are no longer assigned portfolios but are elected as general members of the board for a three-year term. In 2007, members voted for a president-elect for the first time – Bob Montgomery who will take on the role of president in late 2008. Amanda also provides an update on the Society’s organisational structure and speaks about the evolving relationship between APS directors and managers. She emphasises the growth in the Society to meet the mission statement, namely to enhance community wellbeing through the use of psychological association.

Comments and feedback on the issues raised in this broadcast are welcomed and should be directed to a.gordon@psychology.org.au