CPD for Counsellors & Psychotherapists
All practicing Counsellors and Psychotherapists are required to complete 40 points of CPD annually to meet the requirements of the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia.
CPD Cycle
The CPD Cycle runs annually, from the 1st July – 30th June.
CPD Requirements
Counsellors and psychotherapists must complete 20 hours of CPD annually. There are two categories from which the annual 20 hours of CPD activities must be completed.
Category A: A minimum of 15 hours must be completed in category A. All 20 hours can be completed from Category A if desired. This includes person-to-person activities and/or online facilitated courses, such as workshops, seminars, conferences and online facilitated learning. .
Category B: This category is optional, and a maximum of 5 hours can be completed from activities within category B. This includes non-facilitated learning groups, reading from journals and books, supervision above the annual renewal requirement, peer learning groups and presentations, teaching and publications.
Additional Considerations
Mental Health Practitioners must complete the 20 hours (a minimum of 15 hours from Category A) but are encouraged to complete 5 hours of CPD relating specifically to mental health practice.
Accredited Supervisors must complete the 20 hours of CPD with a minimum of 15 from Category A, and it is recommended to include 5 hours relating specifically to supervision practice.
Activities that cannot be counted as CPD hours
CPD relating to other fields of practice besides counselling and psychotherapy are not accepted.
CPD activities must be directly relevant to ongoing clinical practice. For example training in mindfulness or meditation is accepted only where the training is directly applicable to the therapeutic use of these skills in the context of counselling and psychotherapy practice. Ongoing practice attendance in mindfulness or meditation is not accepted.
CPD Documentation
A Professional Portfolio needs to be maintained for submission. All registrants will have their Portfolio audited at random once every three years. Registrants will be notified when they are selected for an audit. The following evidence will be requested:
Schedule of CPD activities undertaken within the reporting period.
Supporting evidence such as certificates of attendance of other documentary proof that can verify that CPD has been completed.
Reflective journal entries for activities completed in Category C.
Documentation should be recorded based on the PACFA pro-forma for CPD that can be found here.
For more information about these CPD guidelines click here.
Date of Issue: 1st July 2017
Last reviewed: 2nd April 2020
These guidelines will be reviewed periodically.