International Qualifications Assessment

Register with International Qualifications


If you obtained your counselling qualification overseas, you must apply for ACA registration through the International Qualification Assessment (IQA) pathway. 

Our assessors review your qualifications and professional experience to determine eligibility and the appropriate ACA registration level.

Processed in 10-15 Business Days

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Assessment Fee
AUD $50.00

Apply here for an IQA via email

What is an International Qualification Assessment?

An International Qualification Assessment (IQA) evaluates your overseas counselling qualification and professional experience to determine whether you are eligible for ACA registration. If approved, the assessment will also determine which registration level you are eligible for, according to the criteria outlined in the ACA Scope of Practice.
 

Successful applicants will pay a $50 assessment fee plus the cost of their first year of registration.

How to Apply


Submit all documents via email to admin@theaca.net.au. 
 
  • Justice of the Peace (JP) certified copies of your certificate of qualification and official academic transcripts (where needed, transcripts must be translated into English at your own cost and provided in a PDF format) 
  • Formalised proof of professional counselling employment 
  • Evidence of post-qualification supervision (if applicable) in the following forms: 
  • Letter from current or past supervisors stating the total number of hours of supervision received in the time frame you were seeing them, either in private practice or in the workplace 
  • Signed workplace logbooks or supervision records showing clearly the individual hours provided (not supervision notes, as they are confidential) 
  • Curriculum vitae (CV) / resume 
  • National Police Check completed within the past 2 years

If you have any questions prior to applying, please contact admin@theaca.net.au. 

Eligible Qualifications

ACA only accepts counselling and psychotherapy qualifications for registration.

The following fields are not accepted for ACA registration:
  • Psychology 
  • Social science
  • Social work 
  • Welfare  
  • Mental health 
  • Education 
  • Theology 
  • Genetic counselling 
  • Financial counselling 


However, due to global differences in course naming, some qualifications not explicitly labelled “Counselling” may still be eligible if they contain substantial counselling or psychotherapy training. Each international qualification is assessed individually, based on the units listed in your academic transcript. 

Degrees with a primary focus on Psychology are not eligible for ACA registration as per the requirements set out in the ACA Scope of Practice. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Your eligibility can be assessed prior to moving to Australia; however, finalisation of your application will be granted once residing in Australia. If migrating, you will need to apply for an ACA practicing registration once you have confirmed your residential status within Australia. Once your application is approved, your registration offer will remain valid for six (6) months, after which time you will need to reapply.

ACA practicing registration (Levels 1-4) is only available to those who are residing and looking to practice within Australia.

No, we need to conduct a full assessment to determine your suitability for registration. This includes reviewing and assessing your qualification, post-qualification supervision evidence, professional experience (including paid and voluntary work), and registration/licensure in your country of origin, if applicable. 

A Justice of the Peace (JP) is a trained community volunteer who can witness and certify important documents. JPs are volunteers and do not charge for their services. JPs are available in many public libraries and shopping centres and can also be found by searching on Google. JP-certified copies of your qualification certificate and transcript must be provided as part of the registration process with ACA.

All applications are assessed against relevant ACA policies, namely the ACA Scope of Practice. To be approved for registration, your application must demonstrate that you meet the ACA’s Recency clause as outlined below.

“Applicants who hold qualifications that are more than five (5) years old will need to provide evidence of working in the counselling profession or evidence of previous counselling supervision received since their qualification was awarded to meet qualification recency requirements.

Applicants holding formal counselling qualifications that are over ten (10) years old without evidence of professional development, clinical supervision and professional practice may not be eligible for registration with ACA. In these instances, an applicant may have to complete an updated formal counselling qualification to be eligible for registration.

ACA Members must ensure that they keep their skills and knowledge up to date with their chosen modalities, to ensure that clients are receiving the most appropriate therapeutic interventions.”

The ACA can only accept post-qualification supervision for the purposes or registration. This means that your eligible supervision must have commenced after the date that you were awarded your first counselling qualification.

If you have studied a subsequent qualification in counselling, (e.g. progressing to a Master of Counselling degree after completing a Bachelor of Counselling), you may use the supervision hours from that qualification to contribute towards your ACA registration.

We can only assess qualifications that have been completed. Mandatory documents for the assessment include your qualification certificate and transcript, which are issued to students upon graduation. 

Registration requirements can also change over time. This means that your application must be assessed against the current Scope of Practice; we cannot make any assessments around qualifications not yet awarded.

Employment evidence can include:
· Employment contracts
· Written references from previous/current employers
· Business licence/tax documents (if self-employed)