From psychology honours to AHPRA general registration
The path from psychology student to fully registered psychologist is long and involves a maze of AHPRA requirements, supervision logs, board forms, and examinations. This hub covers the entire provisional psychology pathway — from applying for your psychology masters to completing your 5+1 internship and sitting the National Psychology Examination.
A plain-English guide to Ahpra notifications, mandatory reporting, informal Level 1 to 3 language, provisional psychologist vulnerability, AAPi, APS, and what to do if a concern is raised.
A practical guide to the Australian Psychology Board internship pathway. Understand the 5+1 requirements, logbooks, supervision hours, competencies, and how to survive without burnout.
Everything provisional psychologists need to know about finding, vetting, and committing to a principal supervisor — from searching the register to red flags before you sign.
80 hours sounds simple. The rules around what actually qualifies are anything but. A breakdown of individual minimums, flexible allocations, group supervision, and what AHPRA actually requires.
A practical guide for provisional psychologists on the green flags, red flags, and grey areas of the supervisory relationship.
A practical guide for provisional psychologists on what the form actually requires, where most people get stuck, and how to get it approved the first time.
A practical weekly system for provisional psychologists doing the 5+1 internship — built from real logbook experience, not the AHPRA website.
A clear breakdown of how 5+1 progress reviews actually work — the eight competency domains, what satisfactory progress means in practice, how developmental feedback is commonly misread, and what supervisors are genuinely
Prepare for the National Psychology Exam with a practical guide to what the NPE tests, the four domains, pass mark, study strategies, OLP vs test centre options, results, and what happens if you fail.
A practical and honest guide for neurodivergent psychologists and allied health clinicians navigating systemic ableism, masking, burnout, and finding environments where they actually thrive.
Everything Australian psychology honours graduates need to navigate postgraduate applications — pathway types, offer timing, WAM, waitlists, CSP places, and how to make good decisions under pressure.
What can happen to your progress if admin issues push you out of a clinical masters in semester one, and why documentation matters before changing pathways.
A practical Australia-wide guide to psychology honours year, WAM expectations, supervisor allocation, thesis life, university differences, APAC pathways, and what honours students should do before applying for masters.
A practical guide to psychology masters interview questions in Australia, covering format, case studies, reflective questions, university differences, WAM expectations, fit, common mistakes, and how to get through the pr
Every active Master of Professional Psychology (MProf) program in Australia for the 5+1 internship pathway, verified against APAC accreditation data. Listed by state with accreditation status, delivery mode, and direct u
For provisional psychologists, the biggest challenges are usually finding a board-approved supervisor, understanding which supervision hours count, navigating AHPRA's INPP-76 and LBPP-76 forms, and knowing what to expect from progress reviews. Add the National Psychology Examination to the mix and the workload becomes significant. This hub collects every PsychVault article on the provisional psychology pathway, from the masters application process through to general registration. Whether you're still applying for a masters program, currently completing your internship, or preparing for the national exam, you'll find targeted, practical information here.
The 5+1 pathway requires completing a 4-year psychology undergraduate sequence (3-year degree + honours year), then a 2-year masters degree in psychology (the '5'), followed by 1 year of supervised practice in an area of psychology practice (the '+1'). At the end, provisional psychologists sit the National Psychology Examination to gain general registration with AHPRA.
AHPRA requires a minimum of 3,000 hours of supervised practice completed over at least 2 years. At least 1,500 hours must be direct client contact. Supervision hours must be provided by a board-approved supervisor and documented using the AHPRA log forms.
The National Psychology Examination (NPE) is a computer-based exam administered by AHPRA that tests competencies across psychology practice areas. It must be passed before AHPRA grants general registration at the end of the internship. The exam consists of multiple-choice questions and candidates have three attempts.
AHPRA maintains a public register of board-approved supervisors. You can also search Psychology Board of Australia resources, contact your state psychological society, post in professional psychology Facebook groups, or ask your university's placement coordinator. Supervisors must hold board-approved supervisor status and practice in an endorsed area.
