All NSW residents are able to apply for appointment as a Community Member to any of the 15 Health Professional Councils in NSW. Selection is based upon experience and the needs of the particular Council. The application and selection process can take quite some time to resolve and is ultimately at the discretion of the Minister for Health. The Psychology Council of NSW has eight Members, being five Practitioner Members, two Community Members, and one Legal Member. Whilst all Members of the Council have their own speciality and perspective, all have equal standing and decisions of the Council are made by consensus.  Council Members are appointed for a term of three years and are eligible for reappointment for a maximum period of nine years. The current Community Members are Joanne Jousif and Robert Lorschy.

Community Members are the face and voice of the community. The role of a Community Member on the NSW Psychology Council requires patience, sound listening skills, an openness to a diversity of opinions and backgrounds, and the ability to express one’s views in a clear, reasoned, and logical manner. It also requires one to be respectful to other sitting Members’ decisions and to be flexible and prepared to change one’s own position in response to well-reasoned arguments presented by other Members.  The personal qualities of Community Members are critical to Council’s successful operation. Integrity, competence, insight, dedication, and effectiveness are vital. A Community Member’s special gift is empathy – a knack for understanding the complainant’s motivations, needs, and goals, and the ability to bring these to the attention of the Professional Members of the Council. At the same time, it is essential to comprehend and benefit from the perspective of the Professional Members given they are senior practitioners with extensive working experience in the profession. Ultimately, it is the safety of the community that is of primary consideration for all Council Members, followed by the professional development and welfare of the practitioner.

As Community Members we are required to possess a high level of professional expertise in an area such as governance, ethics, research, stakeholder engagement/management, consumer rights in health, or finance. We are also expected to demonstrate a capacity to actively participate as a Member of Council in the regulation of psychology practitioners to protect the public. The personal qualities of Council Community Members are critical to the Council’s successful operation. Integrity, competence, impartiality, social awareness, insight, dedication, effectiveness, and a deep interest in the mission of the Council are all vital.  

During the selection process we must demonstrate that we possess a high level of oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to influence and negotiate, to perform the duties of our role. We also need to demonstrate experience or capacity to work collaboratively and productively in a management or governance team. As Community Members, we need to ensure that decisions are made based on sound information and rationales, and that they reflect the interests of the communities served by the NSW Psychology Council. We are expected to sit on interview panels and Council meetings and engage in decision-making processes without bias, always acting with integrity and professionalism.

On appointment of each new term, we must sign the Council Member Code of Conduct declaration and always adhere to this Code to ensure that public confidence and trust is maintained in practitioners and the Council. We must also disclose, in advance, any financial or other interests that may conflict with our role as a Council Member, and we must manage any conflicts in accordance with public sector standards. This includes registering any personal or professional conflict of interest and abstaining from decisions that present a conflict. We are also required to sign the Pecuniary/Financial Interests Declaration form annually.

We were provided some training when we were appointed to the NSW Psychology Council, which has continued through webinars and other  forms. It takes some time before you feel you have grasped the fundamental responsibilities of the Council as well as how to interpret and apply the legislation. Even then, you are continuously learning on the job.

The complaints come from all walks of life and involve a diversity of practitioners from different fields of psychological practise. It is important that the community has recourse to make complaints to the NSW Psychology Council when dissatisfied or concerned by the services provided by a practising psychologist.

The process for receiving and managing complaints is well established. Complaints can be made by any person through the Health Care Complaints Authority (HCCC), directly to the HPCA, or through the Psychology Board. Each month the Psychology Council meets with representatives of the HCCC to consult on new complaints and review ongoing matters. Two delegates of the Council perform this task each month on a rotational basis, one Member being a Practitioner Member of the Council. The Psychology Council meet monthly, (excluding January) to manage new complaints and ongoing matters, and to receive and review reports on the monitoring of practitioners in the complaint management system. Professional issues regarding the training and ongoing education of psychologists are discussed at these meetings. HPCA provide monthly financial and performance indicators which are also overseen by Council Members.

We have different pathways for managing these different types of complaints. The pathways include the power to act quickly in urgent cases by suspending a practitioner’s registration to protect public health and safety, or in the public interest, while we make other inquiries. This is an interim step called taking ‘immediate action.’ Sometimes because of a complaint, a practitioner’s practice is restricted by imposing conditions on their registration to keep the public safe. The Council monitors a practitioner’s compliance with any restrictions that have been imposed on their registration. After the Council has examined a complaint, it may decide that no further action is needed to protect the public and maintain public safety. Sometimes this is because during interview it has become clear that the practitioner has accepted the guidance and suggestions of the Council and demonstrated sufficient insight to avoid a similar issue arising again in the future.

In conclusion the primary role of the Psychology Council of NSW is the protection of the public. As Community Members we hope we bring skills that contribute to the Council’s purpose of ensuring that registered psychologists in NSW practise safely and competently. It is a privilege to be a Community Member, as much satisfaction is gained from addressing complaints, ensuring that psychologists meet the required standards of the profession, and making decisions that will protect the public.

Council powers are contained within the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (NSW).

Further information can be found on the Psychology Council website.

Joanne Jousif and Robert Lorschy
Community Members