How will CASA benefit me if I become a member?
How can I be listed on the PACFA National Register?
What if I’m happy to stay just as a Professional member of CASA and not upgrade to Clinical membership?
Which courses meet CASA/PACFA requirements?
Who can supervise me?
I want to do peer supervision. Who constitutes a peer?

Q. How will CASA benefit me if I become a member?

    A.   CASA offers its members the following immediate benefits:

  1. Recognition of training, expertise and commitment to a high standard of professional and clinical practice
  2. Membership of a professional counselling association with a clearly defined Philosophy and Code of Ethics
  3. Opportunities to meet and network with other professionals
  4. Subsidised fees for training workshops and Professional Development seminars
  5. Automatic subscription to the CASA Newsletter

    In addition, Clinical and Professional members may:
  6. Access a professional indemnity insurance package at highly competitive rates
  7. Use CASA postnomials
  8. Apply for national registration
  9. Advertise their services via the CASA web site

    Additional long term benefits are currently in the planning stage, including:
  10. Public recognition of professional credibility
  11. Health insurance rebates

Q. How can I be listed on the PACFA National Register?

    A.   First you will need to be a Professional member of CASA. Once you have been accepted for Professional membership of CASA, you can submit the Register Application Form and pay the Register Application Fee of $99.00 in order to gain Provisional Listing.  The Register Application Form can be downloaded from the Members Only Section of the website.

    Clinical Members of CASA are eligible for Clinical listing on the PACFA National Register.  Successful applicants for CASA Clinical membership who have prior Provisional Listing on the PACFA Register are automatically upgraded to the Clinical Listing of the PACFA Register.  Successful applicants for CASA Clinical membership who do not have prior Provisional Listing on the PACFA Register, need to have completed the Register Application Form as part of their CASA Clinical membership application, and made payment of the $99.00 Register Application Fee, in order to be listed.

Q. What if I’m happy to stay just as a Professional member of CASA and not upgrade to Clinical     membership?

    A.   Professional Membership of CASA is an entry point for membership.  It acknowledges that the basic training and basic clinical practice have been undertaken.  Post training experience is necessary in order to gain the expertise required to work as an independent clinical practitioner, similar to the experience gained in an internship for a doctor. Thus Professional Membership is seen as a stepping stone to independent clinical practice.

    From the government’s perspective, Professional Membership of CASA is equivalent to an internship.  To be recognised as a fully qualified counsellor or psychotherapist, Clinical Membership of CASA and consequent Clinical Listing on the PACFA National Register must be achieved. 

    Whilst you are currently under no obligation to upgrade to Clinical status, as regulation of the profession gathers momentum, gaining Clinical Membership becomes more important.

Q. Which courses meet CASA/PACFA requirements?

    A.   Educators and Trainers have started to look at the Training Standards produced by PACFA and are reorganising their courses with a view to their graduates being accepted for Professional Membership of CASA.

    PACFA has begun to accredit courses, but is in the early stages of the process.

    If you are looking for a suitable course, we suggest that you ask the course coordinators if they are taking active steps to ensure that their course meets CASA's minimum standards, request a copy of the course content, the hours of contact teaching time and philosophy, and compare them with both the CASA and PACFA Training Standards document

Q. Who can supervise me?

    A.   CASA Members and applicants for membership are encouraged to seek out, either through their study environment, workplace, professional networking or the CASA Accredited Supervisor Listing, a supervisor who meets their personal and professional requirements, and who meets CASA's Supervision Eligibility criteria.

    CASA stipulates that Supervisors must

  1. be a Clinical or Professional member of CASA or of a relevant professional association, and


  2. have a minimum of 5 years counselling experience and have logged a minimum of 750 post training client hours and 75 related professional supervision hours, and


  3. have Professional Indemnity Insurance which includes cover for supervision

Q. I want to do peer supervision. Who constitutes a peer?

    A.   Peer Supervision is a formal collaborative process in which case material from the supervisee’s own practice experience is reflected upon and reviewed by the other peer counsellor(s) in the group (maximum size is 6).

    For the purposes of accumulating supervision hours for Clinical Membership of CASA or Clinical Listing on the PACFA National Register, a peer is a counselling/psychotherapy colleague who like the supervisee meets the requirement to be involved in peer supervision, namely: the peer supervision is taking place at least five years after the peer has completed the required training, and as long as those five years were spent in supervised practice. A counselling/psychotherapy colleague is deemed to be a like professional whose training provides eligibility to be a Registrant of the PACFA National Register.