Training the Effective Supervisor, Intensive – September 2025, Western Australia

Following many years of successful provision of supervision and supervision training – we are now able to offer free Supervisor Foundation training for registered psychologists until 2026.

This funding is provided by the Australian Federal Government, Department of Health and Aged Care in-line with meeting the aims to support and increase the capacity of the psychology workforce.

Priority places will be given to psychologists supporting First Nations people, children and youth, those from CALD communities, and practitioners working in community mental health settings or regional, rural, and remote areas (located in MMM3-7). Supervisors who successfully complete all three components of the training, will be invited to complete a quick post-training survey allowing us to gather workforce data on our funded training initiatives. Completion of this survey will receive a VISA gift card of $300.

About The Training

The Cairnmillar Institute is a Psychology Board of Australia-approved supervisor training provider. We deliver all three components of the training required for eligible psychologists to apply for Board Approved Supervisor (BAS) status. The 32 hours of training is presented in three distinct and stipulated component parts:

• Knowledge Assessment (Component One)
• Skills Training (Component Two)
• Assessment and Evaluation (Component Three)

The course is suitable for psychologists who are seeking BAS status. BAS status is required for all supervisors who provide primary, secondary, or field placement supervision for:

• provisionally registered psychologists (e.g., via 4+2, 5+1 or higher degree pathways); and/or  
• registrars (undertaking registrar program for area of practice endorsement).   

Learning Outcomes

Participants will gain the knowledge and skills to provide competency-based supervision to provisional psychologists and/or registrars undertaking:

• A 4+2 internship program
• A 5+1 internship program
• An accredited higher degree program
• A Registrar program, leading to area-of-practice endorsement.

Participant learning outcomes include developing: 

• Greater knowledge and skills in the competency-based model of supervision 
• Effective supervision practices and recognising how to set supervision up for success 
• Knowledge and skills in establishing and managing the supervisory relationship, including responding to ruptures, conflict, or problems  
• The ability to assess and evaluate the psychological competencies of the supervisee, including identifying any progress concerns 
• The ability to evaluate the supervisory process.

Upon completion of all components, participants are required to submit the following registration form to the Psychology Board for professional recognition.

Eligibility

Psychologists are eligible to enrol if they have:

• Held general registration with the Psychology Board of Australia for at least 2.5 years or equivalent overseas registration, and/or
• Held an area of practice endorsement for at least two years (to supervise registrars and some Higher Degree field placements).

Our Trainer

Trainer/Author – Duane Smith

Duane is a registered Counselling and Clinical Psychologist and PsyBA board approved supervisor and trainer who has been practicing for over 35 years in Western Australia. Duane also has a passion for supervision and specializes in reflective and deliberate practice principles with all his supervisees.

Duane has been supervising 4+2, 5+1, Curtin University Counselling Psychology Masters program placement students and Area of Practice Endorsement (Counselling and Clinical Psychologists) for over 20 years. Duane is a fellow with the APS College of Counselling Psychology and is the current Executive Chair of the Association of Counselling Psychologists. 

Duane has also been in private practice for over 35 years supporting adolescent, adult, couple and family clients with a variety of complex life issues and moderate to severe mental health presentations including complex co-morbidity and psychopathology.

Duane is currently the Clinical Director/Owner of The Henry Street Centre in Fremantle and STREAM Psychology and provides psychological services, staff supervision, specialized training and clinical consultation to many agencies in WA including Youth Focus, St Johns Horizon House, CPFS, WANSLEA Family Service, PICYS, St Johns Ambulance (WA), Mission Australia and Headspace. 

Duane has collaboratively developed the PsyBA approved training workshops with Dr Daryl Chow (Phd) and has a passion for AI and digital applications and client centred feedback informed treatment.

Course Structure

There are three components for this course. Component One is an online course. Component Two and Three is a three-day consecutive workshop, conducted face-to-face in collaboration with STREAM Psychology. All relevant course information and details about training will be provided from Stream Psychology.

1. Component One (Knowledge Assessment)
   This component is delivered as an online self-paced eLearn module and comprises guided reading and related quizzes. Participants must achieve a minimum overall score of 90% in the assessments to pass this component and to be eligible to register for Component Two.
   This component constitutes 10 hours of coursework and CPD.
2. Component Two (Skills Training Workshop)
   The Component Two workshop is conducted over two days (9am-5.00pm).
   Component One is a prerequisite for this workshop however does not need to be completed at the same provider.
   Component Two constitutes 12 hours of coursework and CPD.
3. Component Three (Assessment and Evaluation)
   This is the final assessment component of the BAS training and is conducted during the third and final day of training.
   It involves submission of a 50-minute recording of a supervision session, together with a 1,000-word self-assessment essay. Guidelines for the submission requirements will be provided and align with the Component Two training.
   Components One and Two are prerequisites for this course. This course constitutes 8-10 hours of coursework and 10 hours of CPD.

Please note that full attendance at the three-day Component Two and Three workshop is a mandatory requirement set by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA). To be eligible for the completion certificate—essential for your BAS application—participants must attend the entire training. As such, late arrivals cannot be accommodated.