It’s time for peak bodies to collaborate, not compete

Shane Warren
Mar 12
2 min read

PUBLIC STATEMENT FROM THE CHAIR, Shane Warren

For Immediate Release

12 March 2026

It’s time for peak bodies to collaborate, not compete

Australia is in a moment of genuine opportunity and responsibility, as we explore the best way forward to implement the National Standards for Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

VMHPAA supports a nationally consistent framework that strengthens consumer safety and lifts practice quality. But we also hold a clear principle: access to care is a safety issue. Any model that unintentionally shrinks the workforce, increases costs, or excludes capable practitioners will ultimately harm the very communities these reforms are meant to protect especially in rural, regional and outer-suburban Australia.

That is why I am calling on all peak bodies and professional associations to collaborate, not compete.

We can disagree on the preferred regulatory model, but we should not allow fragmentation to become the story. Our colleagues at PACFA itself has acknowledged the risks of inconsistency and duplication across professional bodies and the confusion this creates for practitioners, employers and the public.

VMHPAA members have raised the same concern: that competition between peaks risks becoming costly and counter-productive at the very time we need alignment.

The sector will not move forward well if the consultation becomes a contest for who “wins” regulation. We must move toward what the community needs: a professional system that is credible, accountable, transparent and workable in real life.

VMHPAA’s collaboration offer

The VMHPAA is ready to work with other peak bodies now on practical alignment measures, including:

Shared minimum governance criteria with transparent reporting, clear ethics and conduct procedures, along with fair and independent complaints handling
Clearer consumer-facing directories so the public can easily identify practitioners who meet recognised standards
Consistent supervision expectations that are competency-based and strengthen quality without restricting workforce capacity

Our non-negotiables for any future model

VMHPAA will continue to advocate that any future architecture including any co-regulatory model must:

include explicit vocational pathways (AQF 4–6) as part of Australia’s legitimate and essential counselling workforce
provide fair transitional recognition for experienced practitioners, with clear timeframes and pathways based on demonstrated competence
be designed to avoid workforce loss, reduced affordability, and reduced access to care

The profession’s credibility will not be built by excluding the people currently delivering safe, effective support across our communities. It will be built by doing the hard work of designing a proportionate, transparent system together.

This is the moment to lead with maturity.