Australian Counselling Association in Newmarket, Queensland, Australia | Non-profit organisation

Australian Counselling Association

Locality: Newmarket, Queensland, Australia

Phone: +61 7 3356 4255

Address: 2/42 Finsbury St 4051 Newmarket, QLD, Australia

Website: http://www.theaca.net.au

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21.01.2022 The Australian Counselling Association would like to wish you a safe and happy festive season! Please note, the ACA Office will be closed from Monday 21st of December 2020 and will reopen on Monday 4th of January 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdkCHTB4eOY

19.01.2022 With Philip Armstrong & Elliott Ainley

19.01.2022 Just 24 hours to go till the ACA live Facebook Q&A with CEO Philip Armstrong (6PM AEST) Members are still encouraged to send in questions prior to the live stream and can do so by dropping us a DM or emailing [email protected] We have received many questions so far on topics such as Medicare Rebates, Training Standards, ARCAP, government recognition, and many more. ... We will try to address as many questions as possible within the time allowed. A recording of the live stream will be available to members after the event for those unable to attend. Kind Regards, The ACA team

17.01.2022 To The Barricades The government has passed against our recommendation the "Higher Education Support Amendment (Job-Ready Graduates and Supporting Regional and Remote Students) Bill 2020 ". The government was able to do this with the support of Hansons "One Nation Party" giving it a marginal majority. Senator Lambie supported ACA by voting against the legislation. ...Continue reading

15.01.2022 ACA Victorian Members _ COVID-19 update Key messages Melbourne remains in Step 2 of the roadmap to ease restrictions. Melbourne has missed the Step 3 targets at this stage, but some restrictions are likely to ease anyway from this Sunday night. Full information about what Step 2 involves is available on the DHHS website. Rules have been tightened around COVID-19 testing for people in quarantine within the community and for everyone around the wearing of face masks.... Victoria remains at a critical period. Remember to follow the DHHS guidance around health attestations and PPE requirements for your staff, and as always, please encourage your staff and clients to get tested and stay at home if they have any symptoms. LATEST NEWS AND RESOURCES Face masks rules tightened bandanas, scarfs no longer acceptable From 11 October all Victorians must wear a fitted face mask when they leave home, no matter where they live. Fitted means a mask or covering that fits securely around the face, specifically covering the nose and the mouth areas. This means that face shields, bandanas, or scarves or loose snoods, loose Buffs or loose neck gaiters on their own will no longer be considered a sufficient face covering. A face mask with three layers is the option recommended by the Chief Health Officer, as it provides the best protection for you and others. There are a number of lawful excuses for not wearing a face mask. Full information on the DHHS website. https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/face-masks-vic-covid-19

14.01.2022 ACA has received the below notification after significant advocating to the Allied Health Professions Association in regards to formally defining counsellors as an Allied Health Profession in relation to COVID-19 related work restrictions. I am aware this does not help Diploma qualified members, unfortunately, albeit ACA did advocate for all members the AHPA have determined otherwise. Allied Health Professionals list for primary health care during COVID-19 pandemic Conte...Continue reading

13.01.2022 2020 has been a busy and unpredictable year. Thank you for your continued support to ACA and contribution to the Counselling community. As we draw close to the end of the year and celebrate ACA’s 20 years of operation, we took some time to reflect on some key milestones and accomplishments. https://youtu.be/71XppleZaKA

13.01.2022 Latest Up-date: Senator Davey has spoken with us and has agreed to put our issues to the National Party executive. Senator Davey was able to see our point of view and agree that it makes sense that fees for counselling degrees should not be increased. Senator Lambie has gone one better and has assured us she will not support the legislation and will be seeking support from other crossbenchers to join her. A good outcome for us in several ways. ...Continue reading

12.01.2022 Interesting, Senator Davey of the Nationals https://www.nswnationals.org.au/perin-davey/ has declined a meeting with ACA for a brief in relation to the arbitrary decision of the Nationals to support lowering student fees for Psychology and Social Work degrees but not Counselling. So if any of our NSW rural and regional members want to know how highly the Nationals rate Counsellors, this may be an indication, particularly in light of many rural Universities (Nationally) havin...g strong counselling faculties. What do members think? Should ACA post comments like this to keep members informed or should we keep a low profile so as to not rock the boat? Would be interested in your thoughts? Philip

11.01.2022 I spent this morning with a group of veterans, mums and family members at Gaythorne RSL with Mark Amiet to help launch Buddy Up book club. ACA is supporting Buddy Up to develop a counselling cell.

10.01.2022 One hour to go until the ACA Facebook Q&A Here is a sneak peak from behind the scenes..

07.01.2022 A message from the ACA Head Office to all our members regarding Mental Health Month. https://youtu.be/3T5c_bWzukY

06.01.2022 Dear ACA Member, Over the past few months, the ACA has been in extended negotiations with Medibank and ahm Health Funds. The purpose of these negotiations was to include benefits towards counselling consultations in Medibank and ahm extras products to provide their members with additional mental health support. These talks were significant in the sense that they allowed for Counselling to be represented as a discipline alongside Psychology but also to enable access and cho...ice of mental health support to Medibank and ahm members with eligible products. Our discussions have now been finalised, and the ACA is pleased to announce the following outcomes: Medibank and ahm are introducing benefits towards counselling services from 15 October 2020 Counselling benefits have now been included on most Medibank and ahm products across their Resident, Corporate and Overseas product range All ACA members with a current Medibank provider number will be able to claim counselling benefits for their clients who are Medibank or ahm members on eligible products All ACA members with a current Medibank provider number will be automatically recognised as an ahm provider The addition of counselling benefits will provide Medibank and ahm members with the choice of using their annual limit on either Counselling or Psychology services. What is the eligibility to become a Medibank and ahm provider? Any Counsellor who currently has a Medibank provider number, irrespective of level, will continue to be a recognised provider at both Medibank and ahm. However, from 10th October 2020, all new Medibank and ahm provider registrations must be a Level 3 or Level 4 ACA member. The provider must also have current Professional Indemnity Insurance of $1,000,000 minimum, per claim. The professional indemnity insurance policy must cover each practice and each modality. The provider must also have a current First Aid Certificate. The ACA would like to take this opportunity to thank the teams at Medibank and ahm for their hard work and dedication to making this vision a reality. How do I apply to become accredited with Medibank and ahm? Members of the Australian Counselling Association who meet the eligibility criteria can apply for a Medibank Provider Number by downloading the application form from the website www.theaca.net.au. Members will need to supply a copy of their insurance and appropriate first aid cover. For more information, please download the Medibank/ahm FAQ. https://www.medibank.com.au https://ahm.com.au

05.01.2022 The ACA is seeking constructive feedback from our membership base. We would appreciate if you could complete the survey linked below, it should take 5-10 minutes to complete. We would appreciate if members could complete this survey as soon as possible, as it allows the ACA to understand the needs of our membership base. We welcome your feedback, and greatly appreciate the time it will take for you to complete this. Upon completion, you will be provided with a PDF Certificate... of Completion, to which you can download and upload onto your membership portal to receive 3 OPD points. Please ensure you download your PDF document as soon as you complete the survey, as you will be unable to return to this screen at a later date. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Q75WLKZ If you have any questions in relation to this survey or completing it, please contact ACA on 1300 784 333 or [email protected]

04.01.2022 At the ACA, we believe it is essential that online technologies that are utilised to bring our communities together are imperative to stay connected. With that being said, unfortunately, there is an inordinate amount of false information in the digital world that is counterproductive and can be misleading to all Counsellors. We remind our members to be vigilant in the online space and do not take any information as verbatim unless you hear it directly from the ACA. The ACA al...ways endeavours to keep members up to date through interactive Q&A's, Ezines, emails and social media channels. Sadly there is a great deal of pseudo and armchair experts out there that, while their intentions may be in the right place, are providing counsellors with false and or misleading information. Members should always consider who is running these groups, are they counsellors themselves? Do they have an admin team of Counsellors fact-checking information and discourse? Do they have your best interests at heart? Unfortunately, some groups pose as being places to connect counsellors, but they are collecting a marketing database to use to advertise to people. Given the nature of Facebooks system, anyone that belongs to a Facebook group can be targeted by adds unbeknownst to them. The ACA recently ran a Q&A for our members to discuss some of the questions put forward; we are planning to do a follow-up Q&A in the not too distant future, coupled with the introduction of an ACA podcast to keep members connected to the industry. The ACA invests a significant amount of time and resources in ensuring that members stay up to date and have a consistent stream of information available to them. In the meantime, if you do have a question that you need answering, we ask that you contact us directly at [email protected]. Kind Regards, The Admin Team.

02.01.2022 Over the past few weeks, the ACA has been advocating tirelessly against the proposed increase of fees for Counselling Degrees. Qualified Counsellors are essential to the delivery of vital mental health services and the need for registered professionals is even greater than before. The Minister for Education, The Hon Dan Tehan, has sent direct correspondence to the ACA, confirming that Counselling has been officially added to the professional counselling stream and students c...an now benefit from the reduced fees. The ACA will officially be working directly with the department of education in order to advise students on the professional pathway through higher education. The ACA is delighted that the Government have realised the importance of Registered Counsellors within the mental health workforce.

01.01.2022 ACA live Facebook Q&A with CEO Philip Armstrong Update The ACA Live Facebook event will now be held on Wednesday the 2nd of September from 6pm to 8pm AEST. We have moved it to a later time in the hope that more members will be able to get involved. A recording of the session will be made available for those that cannot see the live event! ... We will be using the Q&A as an opportunity to answer your questions pertaining to the ACA or the Counselling Industry. The video will be live-streamed from ACA headquarters and members will be able to have their questions answered in real-time. We also encourage members to send in their questions beforehand to help us address any of the more popular topics. Please send us a DM with any relevant questions or email us at [email protected] We look forward to greeting you on the evening. Kind Regards, The ACA team