COUNSELLING

> Qualifications & Pathways • Traineeships • VET In Schools • Peak Bodies & Key Stakeholders • Resources

NSW Context

There are currently no legislative requirements specifying the minimal qualifications for Counsellors in NSW.

Many counsellors hold social work, psychology qualifications or counselling specific undergraduate or post graduate counselling qualifications. Some counsellors hold no qualifications but this incidence has greatly decreased in recent years due to lobbying by peak bodies – see below.

Counsellors in NSW work in government agencies e.g. Department of Health; in government funded non-Government Agencies e.g. Relationships Australia, Unifam, Interrelate, CatholicCare etc, in other small services and in private practice. In addition many workers in the community services and health sectors would utilise counselling skills in their work even though their job title is not ‘counsellor’.

Government and government funded positions in counselling and therapy in NSW generally require a bachelor level qualification and above as the minimum plus counselling specific training (from either the VET or HE sector). Therefore the Diploma of Counselling would not enable the graduate to work in the majority of major government and non-government agencies as described above in a counselling role.

The Diploma would be very useful for workers in the human services where counselling skills are part of their job role and in positions that require high level and complex interactions with clients, for example, Family Support workers; Intake workers; Family Advisors etc. The Diploma also gives the graduate valuable experience when applying for future training at the undergraduate and post-graduate level in both the VET and HE sector. In addition the Diploma would be valuable for graduates with more generalist qualifications to give them specific counselling training.

The Vocational Graduate Diploma of Relationship Counselling meets the entry requirements for both PACFA (see below) and those set by major counselling agencies and most government departments.

The peak bodies for Counselling (nationally) are the Australian Counsellors Association (ACA) and PACFA – Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australian. As well as being advocates for their industry these Associations also set the minimum training standards and other requirements for membership. This is essential for those working in private practice (and their clients).

PACFA & CAPA

PACFA specifies training standards for Counsellors and Therapists which allow them to join member associations and attain appropriate insurances and access to professional development opportunities. PACFA training standards are at a bachelor level or post graduate level. For more information see http://www.pacfa.org.au/sitebuilder/resources/knowledge/asset/files/15/trainingstandards2009.pdf.

Individual counsellors do not join PACFA, rather they join one of the member associations affiliated with PACFA and if they meet all requirements can be listed on PACFA’s Register. The member association in NSW is the Counsellors and Psychotherapists Association of NSW (CAPA). They also specify training standards for membership which reflect the PACFA standards. For more information see http://www.capa.asn.au/files/FY2009/CAPA_NSW_TRAINING_STANDARDS_Applicants.pdf.

ACA

Alternatively the Australian Counselling Association (ACA) allows individual counsellors to join their association (in NSW and nationally) – again for insurance and development purposes. ACA require the “completion of a VET Diploma or Advanced Diploma qualification in Counselling from a registered training organisation … Vocational Graduate qualifications must be underpinned by a minimum Diploma of Counselling or ACA recognised qualification”.

In the Higher Education sector the minimum qualifications for the ACA is “a Bachelor of Counselling degree. … Degrees in Social Work, Social Science, Behavioural Science, Psychology etc will generally not meet ACA requirements”. This information has been adapted from the ACA website. Please see http://www.theaca.net.au/docs/ACA_Approved_Courses.pdf.

Qualifications and Pathways

CHC51708 Diploma of Counselling

Recognition

Recognition of prior learning (RPL) is a significant pathway for candidates to attain a national training package qualification. There has been strong support from Commonwealth and NSW governments for RTOs to find innovative and accessible RPL strategies and approaches.

NSW Department of Education and Training is actively assisting this quest for improved RPL pathways and has worked in partnership across many industry sectors to pilot best practice models of recognition and develop supporting resources. Some of the innovation recognition pathways trialled included group, project and workplace based models.

Resources and further details are available at https://www.skillsonline.net.au/coagrpl_catalogue.html

Traineeships

The Vocational Training Board establishes traineeships in NSW. Through a consultative process between peak industry groups, employers and unions, facilitated by the ITAB, qualifications are identified that meet industry requirements and have appropriate award arrangements. This information is submitted to the Board for the declaration of a vocational training order in accordance with NSW legislation.

As qualifications have a vocational training order established, they are posted on the NSW DET Commissioner’s Bulletin. Further advice is available from NSW DET http://apprenticeship.det.nsw.edu.au/index1.htm

The Counselling qualification in CHC08 Community Services Training Package has not been established as a traineeship in NSW.

Diploma: Not appropriate for Traineeships as this is not an entry level qualification. “Candidates [should] have sufficient relevant work experience to indicate likely success at this level of qualification in a job role involving:

The self-directed application of knowledge with substantial depth in some areas
The exercise of independent judgement and decision-making
The application of relevant technical and other skills.”

VET in Schools

The Counselling qualification in the CHC08 Community Services Training Package has not been identified as suitable for VET in Schools pathways.

For more information about VET in Schools in NSW visit: https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/vetinschools/

The NSW Board of Studies is responsible for the inclusion of training package qualifications in the HSC studies. Further information is available at www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au .

Peak Bodies and Key Stakeholders

In addition to the peak bodies described above, the following association are also key stakeholders in the counselling field as many counsellors hold social work or psychology degrees and registration.

Australian Association for Social Workers

The Australian Association of Social Workers is the professional representative body of Social Workers in Australia, with 6,000 members nation-wide.

Australian Psychological Society Ltd

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) is the largest professional association for psychologists in Australia, representing more than 17,500 members.

Resources

Please contact NSW Community Services and Health ITAB regarding training and assessment resource needs for the qualifications or skills sets in this industry sector.

Other resources may be available from industry peaks, National Training Information Service (NTIS), Registered Training Organisations and Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council.

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