FAQs

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You need to do your best to provide a strong application, including choosing referees who can best attest to your suitability for a professional career in psychology or counselling and psychotherapy.

Examples of an academic referee include:

• Teachers
• Tutors
• Lecturers
• Research supervisors

These referees need to be able to comment on your writing and research abilities, as well as your suitability for a career in your chosen field. For the Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration), you can use your professional supervisor as an academic referee.

Examples of professional referees include:

• Employers/managers
• Volunteer coordinators
• Representatives from an organisation you volunteer for (e.g. a Lifeline team leader)
• Professional counsellor or psychologists
• Any other relevant person you have worked with, who can comment on your work ethic and your personal qualities with some authority.

Referees should not be close friends and should not be related to you.

We do not answer questions about the suitability of your choice of referees and do not pre-assess applications. If you need help in finding suitable referees and making the best application possible, we suggest that you speak to your current academic advisors, or someone you know in the fields of counselling or psychology.

We are a small school and cannot provide tailored support to all applicants. Ultimately applicants are responsible for finding suitable referees who know them well enough to comment on the relevant areas of their ability.

We endeavour to let applicants know as soon as possible once a decision is made regarding their application.

For our July mid-year courses, will be provided an outcome whether their application was successful or not by end of June 2023.

Courses that have admissions interviews will only make offers once an interview has been completed.

February 2024 intake: First round offers in most programs will be made in December 2023 through January 2024.

You can view the status of your application in our Application Portal. Please do not contact Cairnmillar to follow up on the status of your application – these requests do not accelerate the selection process.

To find our whether the course(s) you’re interested in require an admissions interview, please check the relevant course page.

Mid-year 2023 intake

• Bachelor of Psychology & Counselling: Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in May-July 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.
• Grad Certificate, Grad Diploma & Masters of Child, Youth and Family Mental Health – Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in May-July 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.

February 2024 intake 

• Bachelor of Psychology & Counselling: Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in November 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.
• Grad Certificate, Grad Diploma & Masters of Child, Youth and Family Mental Health – Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in November 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.
• Master and Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology): Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in November 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.
• Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration): Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in late November 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.
• Master of Professional Psychology: Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in November 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.
• Counselling and Psychotherapy Programs: Interviews will be held over several rounds starting in November 2023 and will be held via Microsoft Teams.

If your course does not appear on this list, then interviews are not involved in the selection process. Please see the course page for further information.

Please visit the relevant course page(s) via our Find a Course page. Course pages contain information regarding application periods, entry requirements, tuition fees, course structures and accreditation.

Applications are submitted online via our Application Portal (https://apply.cairnmillar.edu.au/). Detailed instructions on navigating the portal can be found in our How to Apply page and other FAQ items.

If you require additional assistance, please contact our IT team (helpdesk@cairnmillar.edu.au) or School Admin Team (applications@cairnmillar.edu.au).

To see whether a curriculum vitae (CV) is required to apply, please check the entry requirements on the specific course page.

The best content and format for a CV will vary depending on your personal and professional history and experience. There is no single best format or practice for all applicants. In general, a shorter CV (1-3 pages) is best. You may be able to find templates and advice online to best suit your situation.

Ultimately, applicants are responsible for making decisions regarding their application and presenting the best possible application. We are a small school and cannot give external applicants specific advice about application planning and document preparation. Please contact your current or previous institution for careers advice, or talk to a trusted friend or professional for assistance with your CV and application preparation.

Please note: Those applying to the Master of Clinical Psychology (Post-Registration) program must demonstrate they meet specific admissions criteria to be considered for selection. Some of this information can be included in your CV, as well as your personal statement. Please visit the course page for further information.

Please check the entry requirements on specific course pages to see if the relevant course(s) require a personal statement.

Your personal statement should address why you wish to study a particular course at Cairnmillar, including any relevant work or volunteer experience, certifications and career or future study aspirations.

Personal statements should be no longer than 500 words. 10% leeway either side is normally acceptable.

For those applying to any Counselling and Psychotherapy program, please note that a personal statement is not required. Instead, applicants will be asked to provide extended responses to questions within the application form directly. Please see the relevant course page(s) for further information.

Applicants to the Master of Clinical Psychology (Post-Registration) must explain in their personal statement (and/or curriculum vitae) how they satisfy the specific admissions criteria outlined in the course page, in order to be considered for the program. Please visit the course page for further information about what should be included in the personal statement.

Entry to all programs at Cairnmillar is competitive. Entry requirements are listed on each Course Page and detail the minimum to be considered for entry. Satisfying these requirements does not guarantee entry.

Selection at Cairnmillar is holistic and includes factors other than academic grades. In addition to academic results we take a number of factors into consideration, in particular performance in an admissions interview and referee reports, if applicable. There is no guaranteed entry grade and grades for those who received offers in prior intakes will vary.

Please note: For courses that do have a minimum grade to apply, this is strictly enforced and personal or professional experience and references cannot be taken instead of the required academic results. Meeting the minimum cut-off to apply is not normally enough for an offer to be made.

Example – Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology): While a high H2A (75%) is the minimum WAM to apply, to be competitive for entry to this program results in the 80-85+ range (e.g. H1 or HD) are likely necessary.

Information on the specific entry and admissions requirements, including which documents need to be provided, can be found on specific course pages.

International students should also visit our International Students page, for further information and resources regarding making an application and studying at Cairnmillar.

Instructions on how to apply and navigating our online Application Portal can be found on the portal itself here, or our How to Apply page here.

Note: If you are using copies of official documents they must be certified, however if you are scanning and uploading originals they do not need to be certified.

If you need to amend your application once it is submitted, you can do so via the Application Portal, or emailing applications@cairnmillar.edu.au.

All international applicants and overseas-born domestic applicants (for Counselling & Psychotherapy only) will need to provide evidence of English proficiency for entry to our courses and provisional registration as a psychologist (if applicable).

See our International Students page for further information on unique entry requirements.

Equivalent evidence may include:

• All of your primary and secondary education was taught and assessed solely in English in a recognised country (as per AHPRA English Language Standards).
• The IELTS (academic module) with a minimum overall score of 7 and a minimum score of 7 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• The PTE Academic with a minimum overall score of 65 and a minimum score of 65 in each of the four communicative skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• The TOEFL iBT with a minimum total score of 94 and the following minimum score in each section of the test:
  • 24 for listening,
  • 24 for reading,
  • 27 for writing, and
  • 23 for speaking.
• The OET with a minimum score of B in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking).

Psychology courses will not consider any international applicants or overseas born domestic applicants with an IELTS lower than 7 (or equivalent). All psychology applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements for AHPRA registration. See the AHPRA website for more information.

The Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy may provisionally consider applicants who have an IELTS score of 6.5 or better where other factors are exceptional. The Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling may consider applicants who have an IELTS score of 6 or better for a conditional offer where other aspects of the application are exceptional.

We do not consider international applications without an IELTS score or other evidence of meeting English language requirements, and we are unable to offer conditional places on these grounds. Applicants attending an English course in Australia or elsewhere are encouraged to apply at the end of that course once their IELTS or equivalent test score has been improved.

Unfortunately, because your current or former institution uses a GPA grading system or does not provide exact marks on your official academic transcript, we will require an additional document from you in order to process your application.

For instructions on using and navigating the online Application Portal, please see our How to Apply page.

For technical issues with the portal, please contact our IT team via their email address: helpdesk@cairnmillar.org.au.

All applicants must provide an official transcript as evidence of their past results. If you are currently completing a course of study, you will still need to request an official transcript and upload it with your application. Please contact your current institution for advice about obtaining an Official Academic Transcript or similar official evidence before you have completed your course.

Screenshots do not count as official evidence of prior results and will not be accepted.

Given that your prior studies and therefore transcript will be incomplete, your application will still be provisionally considered and ranked based on weighted average mark (WAM) for the units that have been completed.

Once you have final grades for all units of study, you can re-submit your updated Official Academic Transcript and final WAM score to applications@cairnmillar.edu.au and your application will be updated at that time.

If your grades are not listed out of 100 (i.e., in GPA or letter grade format), you may be asked to provide evidence from your current/previous institution that translates your grades into a WAM.

All offers are conditional upon maintaining minimum entry requirements, including complete and final WAMs.

We do not pre-assess applications and cannot assist you with specific enquiries about overseas degrees.

Psychology Courses

Counselling & Psychotherapy Courses

Applicants will need to provide an assessment of overseas qualifications from the APS with their application. We recommend that you apply for the APS assessment as soon as possible as these can take weeks to obtain during peak periods and your application will not be considered until a valid APS assessment is provided. You can find more about APS assessments here: https://www.psychology.org.au/membership/qualifications/university/

Your qualifications will be assessed once you make an application. We do not pre-assess applications and you will need to use your best judgement about the equivalency of your overseas qualification to the Australian AQF system. You can find the entry criteria for all of our courses on their specific course pages here.

You can find more detailed information on the International Students page here.

All references for applications at Cairnmillar must be provided through the online system HODSPA (http://www.psychologyreference.org).

A guide on how to use the service can be found here. Remember, once your referee has completed their reference, you must return to the portal and ‘share’ this reference with Cairnmillar, before we can access it.

Please see the relevant course pages for detailed entry requirements, including how many references to provide.

As a quick guide, the following courses require references:

• Master of Professional Psychology
• Master of Professional Psychology Practice
• Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
• Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
• Master of Clinical Psychology (Post-Registration)
• Doctor of Philosophy
• Graduate Certificate of Counselling & Psychotherapy
• Graduate Diploma of Counselling & Psychotherapy
• Master of Counselling & Psychotherapy
• Graduate Certificate of Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
• Graduate Diploma of Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
• Master of Child, Youth & Family Mental Health

The following programs do NOT require references:

• Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling
• Graduate Certificate of Psychological Science
• Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science
• Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)
• Graduate Certificate of Pre-Professional Psychology

Entry to all programs at Cairnmillar is competitive. Entry requirements are listed on each Course Page and detail the minimum to be considered for entry. Satisfying these requirements does not guarantee entry.

We take into consideration a number of factors in addition to academic results, in particular performance in an admissions interview and referee reports, if applicable.

In general, intakes to most programs include 2-4 rounds of offers. Some indication of maximum intake numbers are as follows:

• Master of Clinical Psychology (Post-Reg): 60 places (part-time only).
• MPsych(Clinical) and DPsych(Clinical):  25 places (combined).
• Master of Professional Psychology: 40 places.
• Bachelor of Psychology (Honours): TBC/not advised.
• Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science: TBC/not advised.
• Counselling and Psychotherapy programs: 30 places (combined).

Note: This information is indicative only. We reserve the right to vary our intake numbers with or without notice based on availability of resources and the calibre of applications in any given application period.

References for our relevant postgraduate programs are submitted through an online reference request system, referred to as HODSPA. Please refer to the entry requirements of the course you are applying for, to see if and how many references are required.

A guide on how to use the service can be found here.

This is a paid service and you will need to have an active subscription to request and share references with Cairnmillar and other institutes.

Please note that each HODSPA (www.psychologyreference.org) subscription lasts for 12 months. On the 1 August each year the database is wiped, meaning that you will need to activate your subscription, request and share your references every year.

This is an external service used by most higher education providers of psychology, counselling and psychotherapy. As such, please contact HODSPA directly if you have any questions or issues with the service psychologyreference.helpdesk@deakinco.com.

For psychology applicants, your WAM should be calculated using results from all units (including failed units) in your most recent APAC accredited qualification.

Because entry is competitive for all of our courses, we are unable to pre-assess applications. It is the responsibility of applicants to ensure that they are eligible to apply.

The minimum entry requirements for each course are listed on the relevant Course Pages. You can also visit our Pathways & Registration page for detailed information about eligibility and study pathways in psychology, counselling and psychotherapy.

Any requests for pre-assessment of specific eligibility may not be responded to.

Applicants can login to the application portal at anytime to check the status of an application. Any progress or outcomes regarding your application will be promptly communicated to you via email.

For courses that require references, please check the HODSPA portal to confirm that the minimum number of references required have been shared correctly with Cairnmillar. A delay in providing references past 31 October means a delay in your application being processed. Cairnmillar is not responsible for ensuring that referee reports have successfully been provided.

You may see the following statuses attached to your application:

Pending	Once submitted, an application is pending until it has been preliminarily reviewed. You are still able to edit your application while it is pending.
Incomplete	After an initial review, an incomplete application status means that some important information is missing and your application cannot be progressed until it is provided. This can include documents outlined in the entry requirements, or key demographic information. You will receive a request for this missing information via email. If the additional information is not provided, then your application will not be progressed further. You are still able to edit your application while it is incomplete.
Complete	After an initial review, an application is marked as complete if no further documents or information is required. The application will be progressed for further review. You are not able to edit a complete application. Please email applications@cairnmillar.edu.au to request changes.
Interview	For courses that include admissions interviews, this status means that your application has been progressed and you will be receiving an invitation to interview for this program via email. Please note, that this applies only to the course that you have applied for and does not mean you will be invited to interview for all programs. We ask for your patience when receiving interview invitations. If your application has this status, you will be receiving an invitation once available times have opened up.
Offer	This status means to expect an official offer of study via email. Please be patience as our School Admin Team communicates a large number of offers during the admissions period.
Declined	This status is displayed when an application has been unsuccessful for the current admissions period. Our Academic Registrar will communicate this outcome via email.

 

All admissions interviews will be conducted remotely.

These are usually conducted via Microsoft Teams.

All interviews are offered and conducted using (AEST) Melbourne time – please ensure you are prepared for the correct time if based in a different time zone.

Applications for the July 2023 part-time intake for the Graduate Certificate, Graduate Diploma and Masters of Child, Youth and Family Mental Health, Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) programs are now open.  .

There is no mid-year intake for the other courses offered at Cairnmillar.

Applications for our PhD Doctor of Philosophy and advanced entry to the Master of Professional Psychology Practice internship program remain open throughout the year.

To keep up to date on when future mid-year applications will open, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, or register your interest here.

You may wish to check out our Single Subjects page to explore other options.

If you are scanning original documents, or providing a digitally signed electronic document (such as those downloaded from My eQuals), they do not need to be certified.

If you are scanning a copy of a document, then it needs to have been certified as a true and correct copy of the original.

No, you do not need to provide a police check or WWCC to apply for any of Cairnmillar’s programs. You will however be required to successfully pass both checks if you will be undertaking placement as part of your course.

If we make you an offer of study, we will send you detailed information about what kind of checks are required and when and how you must provide them.

We do not assess Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) applications until after an offer is made and accepted.

Students who are offered a place can apply for RPL and where previous studies are directly comparable to our accredited units of study, RPL may be granted for up to 50% of the credit points in a course of study (program). For example, if the course has 8 units total, then a maximum of 4 units can be granted via RPL.

Our RPL policy can be found here. More information on the RPL process will be available when offers are made.

For Psychology courses, RPL and credit can normally only be granted if your prior studies were in an APAC accredited program or the same or higher level than the one you are applying to. This means you cannot get credit for 4th-year psychology units in a 5th-year course, nor 2nd or 3rd-year level units in a 4th-year course even if they have similar nomenclature such as both being Graduate Diplomas.

If the status of your application is ‘Pending’ or ‘Incomplete’, then you are able to edit the application in the portal yourself. A link to the Application Portal can be found here.

If you need to add or amend documents or information for a ‘Complete’ application, you will need to email your new or updated documents to applications@cairnmillar.edu.au. We will confirm by return email once your application has been updated.

Information on the specific entry and admissions requirements, including which documents need to be provided, can be found on specific course pages.

International students should also visit our International Students page, for further information and resources regarding making an application and studying at Cairnmillar.

Instructions on how to apply and navigating our online Application Portal can be found on the portal itself here, or our How to Apply page here.

Note: If you are using copies of official documents they must be certified, however if you are scanning and uploading originals they do not need to be certified.

If you need to amend your application once it is submitted, you can do so via the Application Portal, or emailing applications@cairnmillar.edu.au.

All international applicants and overseas-born domestic applicants (for Counselling & Psychotherapy only) will need to provide evidence of English proficiency for entry to our courses and provisional registration as a psychologist (if applicable).

See our International Students page for further information on unique entry requirements.

Equivalent evidence may include:

• All of your primary and secondary education was taught and assessed solely in English in a recognised country (as per AHPRA English Language Standards).
• The IELTS (academic module) with a minimum overall score of 7 and a minimum score of 7 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• The PTE Academic with a minimum overall score of 65 and a minimum score of 65 in each of the four communicative skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• The TOEFL iBT with a minimum total score of 94 and the following minimum score in each section of the test:
  • 24 for listening,
  • 24 for reading,
  • 27 for writing, and
  • 23 for speaking.
• The OET with a minimum score of B in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking).

Psychology courses will not consider any international applicants or overseas born domestic applicants with an IELTS lower than 7 (or equivalent). All psychology applicants must meet the minimum English language requirements for AHPRA registration. See the AHPRA website for more information.

The Masters of Counselling and Psychotherapy may provisionally consider applicants who have an IELTS score of 6.5 or better where other factors are exceptional. The Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling may consider applicants who have an IELTS score of 6 or better for a conditional offer where other aspects of the application are exceptional.

We do not consider international applications without an IELTS score or other evidence of meeting English language requirements, and we are unable to offer conditional places on these grounds. Applicants attending an English course in Australia or elsewhere are encouraged to apply at the end of that course once their IELTS or equivalent test score has been improved.

We do not pre-assess applications and cannot assist you with specific enquiries about overseas degrees.

Psychology Courses

Counselling & Psychotherapy Courses

Applicants will need to provide an assessment of overseas qualifications from the APS with their application. We recommend that you apply for the APS assessment as soon as possible as these can take weeks to obtain during peak periods and your application will not be considered until a valid APS assessment is provided. You can find more about APS assessments here: https://www.psychology.org.au/membership/qualifications/university/

Your qualifications will be assessed once you make an application. We do not pre-assess applications and you will need to use your best judgement about the equivalency of your overseas qualification to the Australian AQF system. You can find the entry criteria for all of our courses on their specific course pages here.

You can find more detailed information on the International Students page here.

We do not currently accept applications from, or pay commissions to educational agents. We do not pay commission for enrolments under any circumstances. This policy is non-negotiable.

We ask that education agents do not contact us or our staff.

Temporary student visa holders are required to maintain adequate health insurance during their stay in Australia.

Please find more information on OSHC here:

• Study Australia
• Study Melbourne
• Private Health (government website)

You can also find more information on our International Students page here.

The current and future Academic Calendars are available on our Key Dates page.

Most courses start in late February or early March each year, with orientation typically occurring during the week prior to classes commencing. Orientation for all courses is compulsory and in-person attendance is required.

The Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) and Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) start with a two week intensive from 6 February 2023.

Class timetables are not yet available. A detailed provisional timetable will only be provided to applicants once they become Cairnmillar students.

We try to ensure where possible that classes with in-person attendance requirements are clustered, so that students only need to attend the campus for a maximum of two days per week (depending on full/part time study load). Most classes occur during business hours on weekdays (9am to 4pm).

In general, students have one 3-hour class per coursework unit each week, plus placement and thesis supervision (if applicable – to be arranged with your supervisor/s directly). This does not include non-contact hours.

A detailed provisional timetable will be provided to applicants only if an offer is made. It should be noted that the final class timetable is subject to change up until the first week of teaching.

Requests for more information on specific courses or class times may not be answered.

All of our classes run on weekdays, with most occurring during business hours (9am to 4pm).

Some units in the Master of Clinical Psychology (Post-Registration) run classes during the evening (5pm to 7pm), however this is on a semester-by-semester basis.

Timetables are published internally to students during the semester prior.

Most of our Higher Education programs are taught in person, at our Hawthorn Campus campus: 391-393 Tooronga Road, Hawthorn East, Victoria, 3123.

The Graduate Certificate of Psychological Science and Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science are taught online. The Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration) is primarily online, but has face-to-face intensive classes (see: Course FAQs for more information).

Introduction

The Cairnmillar Institute makes every effort to collect, use and then destroy your information in accordance with its Privacy Policy and in accordance with Australian Privacy Laws.

Your personal information is collected at application, acceptance and during enrolment. To provide your education and meet our legal obligations, your information may be shared with government agencies and/or other approved parties, for the purposes of government reporting, HELP loans, tuition protection or other legal and compliance purposes. 

 

Cairnmillar’s formal Privacy Policy can be found here. 

Current grade scale (2018 onwards)

Graded results (marked out of 100)

Letter Grade	WAM/Marks	Description	GPA Equivalent
H1	80-100%	First-Class Honours	4.00
H2A	70-79%	Second-Class Honours (Level A)	3.00 – 3.99
H2B	60-69%	Second-Class Honours (Level B)	2.00 – 2.99
P	50-59%	Pass	1.00 – 1.99
F	0-49%	Fail	0.00 – 0.99

 

Ungraded and Other

CP	Completed Pass. Satisfactorily complete (competency-based or pass/fail unit)
INC	Incomplete/Pending
LWD	Late Withdrawal (Fail)
NYE	Not Yet Examined
NYS	Not Yet Submitted
RPL	Recognition of Prior Learning

 

Historical grading schema (2012 and prior)

H1	80-100%	First-Class Honours (excellent)
H2A	75-79%	Second-Class Honours Level A (very good)
H2B	70-74%	Second-Class Honours Level B (good)
H3	65-69%	Third-Class Honours (competent)
P	50-64%	Pass (satisfactory)
F	0-49%	Fail (not satisfactory)
NYE	–	Not Yet Examined
NYS	–	Not Yet Submitted
RPL	–	Recognition of Prior Learning

See also: TLP002 Assessment Policy and Procedure.

For further information about current or historic results and grading systems at the Cairnmillar Institute, please contact education@cairnmillar.edu.au.

From the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) website:

“A program is determined as accredited with conditions when:

• it meets most of the Accreditation Standards, and those not met at the time of assessment are likely to be met within the time specified by APAC. A determination of accreditation with conditions will be accompanied by a list of conditions to be addressed and a date by which those conditions must be addressed.
• if a higher education provider (HEP) makes changes to its program and/or its supporting resources after the accreditation process such that the program no longer meets the Standards, and the Standards not met at the time of assessment are likely to be met within the time specified by APAC.”

Re-accreditation for most programs and providers occurs on a 5-year cycle. Reports from Cairnmillar’s 2021 re-accreditation can be found on the APAC website here.

The Cairnmillar Institute has a policy and procedure in place to ensure complaints are resolved as quickly and fairly as possible. If you wish to complain or appeal against a decision which affects you, please contact education@cairnmillar.edu.au.

For further information, please go to Student Grievance Policy and Procedures.

Our only fully-online courses are the Graduate Certificate of Psychological Science and Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science.

The Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration) is primarily online, however there is a face-to-face intensive component at the end of each semester. Please visit the course page for further information.

All other courses are delivered either fully in-person, or primarily in-person at our Hawthorn East campus, with a minimum expectation of 80% attendance.. Some individual units within courses may be partially taught online.

Please see our Find a Course page for a full listing of our courses by study mode.

 

Due to the highly competitive nature of our programs, deferral is normally only possible on compassionate grounds or in unforeseen circumstances. Each deferral application is assessed on its individual merits.

If you have been made or accepted an offer and you think you may need to defer, please contact the School Admin Team via email education@cairnmillar.edu.au for further advice.

Please see the Cairnmillar Professional Psychology Info Sheet for more information on our 5+1 programs and Dual Masters options.

In Australia, psychology and psychologist are restricted titles and protected by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

Psychotherapist and counsellor are not legally regulated titles in Australia, however they are professionally regulated by their accrediting associations, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) and the Australian Counselling Association (ACA). These associations have particular training standards, to ensure the quality of counselling and psychotherapy education and practice. In order to obtain professional insurance and maintain required standards of their professional practice, practitioners should join PACFA or ACA.

For more information, visit our Pathways & Registration page.

If you completed an APAC accredited undergraduate degree (or equivalent overseas qualification as assessed by the APS) more than ten years ago and have not undertaken any additional APAC accredited studies in psychology in the intervening time, then you may be asked to complete a refresher sequence prior to a formal offer being made for the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours).

The information below applies to applicants who are asked to complete a refresher sequence prior to applying for the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours): 

You will need to complete four units (one semester full-time or equivalent part-time) from a Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science or equivalent APAC accredited 2+3 year sequence (APAC level 1) or the Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling undergraduate degree.

We recommend our Graduate Certificate in Psychological Science. The Graduate Certificate consists of any four of the six offered units from the Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science program. It can be studied full time in one semester (half a year) or part-time in two semesters (one year).

You must undertake PSY402 (Research Design and Statistics) or an equivalent research methods unit as part of your refresher sequence, unless you are otherwise able to demonstrate current knowledge and training in statistics and research methods. You can undertake any three of the other units offered.

If you already hold an APAC accredited undergraduate degree or equivalent you will need to obtain a 70 average in your four units and maintain satisfactory academic integrity and personal conduct during your studies, in order to receive a guaranteed offer to our APAC accredited 4th year program the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours).

NOTE: the Graduate Certificate in Psychological Sciences is taught online only, whereas the Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) is only offered in-person at our Hawthorn East campus.

In this situation you will be required to refresh your skills and knowledge by completing our Graduate Certificate in Pre-Professional Psychology.

The units you will normally need to complete as a refresher program are:

• HON401 – Professional Practice and Professional Ethics
• HON402 – Psychological Assessment
• HON404 – Developmental Psychopathology Across the Lifespan
• HON407 – Research Methods

Approval of a refresher sequence does not guarantee admission to a masters program, however it may make you eligible to apply.

You can also contact applications@cairnmillar.org.au for additional advice or to develop an individual pathway plan. For example, applicants who have recently completed a PhD may not need to refresh their Research Methods subjects.

Note: this advice does not apply to registered psychologists seeking admission to the Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration). Registered psychologists are required to maintain current skills and knowledge through CPD and practice. See instead the following FAQ item: I am a registered general psychologist, can Cairnmillar help me become a Clinical Psychologist?

Professionals who wish to expand or refresh their existing skills can consider enrolling in a single higher education subject (or subjects) as part of their Continuing Professional Development (CPD). See: Single Units.

Please also view our suite of short courses in our Professional Development & Training page.

The 2019 APAC standards enable APAC to accredit standalone “refresher” or “bridging sequence” studies for psychologists who have registered through a 4+2 or 5+1 general registration pathway and wish to add an endorsement such as Clinical Psychology to their AHPRA registration.

Cairnmillar offers the Master of Clinical Psychology (Post-registration) for such circumstances. See the course page for entry requirements and how to apply.

Psychologists with other endorsements (e.g., MPsych(Org)) are also welcome to apply to ‘endorsement bridging programs’.

This answer is for applicants who do not have any prior higher education qualifications or undergraduate studies and are interested in pursuing an undergraduate psychology degree in Australia.

The first step in becoming a psychologist will be an APAC accredited undergraduate (APAC level 1, AQF level 7) program for students without any prior studies. The Cairnmillar Institute offers the Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling. This is a double major degree in both counselling and psychology.

A psychology major alone is not enough to register as a counsellor. If you undertake a dual major program (such as our Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling) then you may be able to register as a counsellor on completion of your undergraduate degree, but not yet as a psychologist.

On completion of your undergraduate degree and APAC accredited (Level 1) major sequence, a further year of study will be required to complete a standalone APAC accredited 1-year Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) or an inclusive Honours year. (Honours is considered APAC level 2, and AQF level 8).

Once you have completed an Honours program, you would then be able to apply for a Master of Professional Psychology (commonly referred to as a 5+1 program) or a Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) or a Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology) or other APAC accredited Masters or Doctoral programs in psychology.

At a minimum this will be at least 2 more years of study and/or supervised practice before you can gain registration as a psychologist with AHPRA.

This pathway would take at least 6 years for you to become a registered psychologist, if studied full-time with no breaks or interruptions in your studies. For more information about Masters programs and final pathways see our Pathways & Registration page.

The first step in becoming a psychologist will be an APAC accredited undergraduate (APAC level 1, AQF level 7) program.

Prospective students with an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) of 65 or higher are welcome to apply to our Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling.

If you graduate from the Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling at Cairnmillar with a WAM of 70 and a grade of 70 or higher in the subjects PSY202 and PSY302, you will be guaranteed an offer to continue into our Bachelor of Psychology (Honours) program, if you so choose.

You can also find further information on our Undergraduate page and Pathways & Registration page.

 

Please see our Pathways & Registration page, for a detailed breakdown of the relevant industry bodies, programs and pathways to become a registered psychologist or counsellor in Australia.

No, we do not offer any 4+2 internship programs at Cairnmillar. As per the Psychology Board of Australia website, this pathway was retired in June 2022.

We do have an integrated 5+1 program starting with the Master of Professional Psychology, with the potential option to progress into the Master of Professional Psychology Practice to complete the +1 internship year.

Please see our Pathways & Registration page for further details.

Cairnmillar does not offer PsyBA approved registrar programs for endorsement.

See Pathways & Registration for detailed information on the different study pathways available at Cairnmillar.

You need to do your best to provide a strong application, including choosing referees who can best attest to your suitability for a professional career in psychology or counselling and psychotherapy.

Examples of an academic referee include:

• Teachers
• Tutors
• Lecturers
• Research supervisors

These referees need to be able to comment on your writing and research abilities, as well as your suitability for a career in your chosen field. For the Master of Clinical Psychology (Post Registration), you can use your professional supervisor as an academic referee.

Examples of professional referees include:

• Employers/managers
• Volunteer coordinators
• Representatives from an organisation you volunteer for (e.g. a Lifeline team leader)
• Professional counsellor or psychologists
• Any other relevant person you have worked with, who can comment on your work ethic and your personal qualities with some authority.

Referees should not be close friends and should not be related to you.

We do not answer questions about the suitability of your choice of referees and do not pre-assess applications. If you need help in finding suitable referees and making the best application possible, we suggest that you speak to your current academic advisors, or someone you know in the fields of counselling or psychology.

We are a small school and cannot provide tailored support to all applicants. Ultimately applicants are responsible for finding suitable referees who know them well enough to comment on the relevant areas of their ability.

This is not a required field and refers to your student ID from your previous institutions, not Cairnmillar. Please either leave the field blank or use your student ID from your last institution to help your referees identify you. Contact your referees if you are not sure if they require your old ID number for reference purposes.

Please do not contact Cairnmillar about ID numbers. New students will not be given ID numbers until after they have accepted a potential offer of study and been enrolled in their course.

All references for applications at Cairnmillar must be provided through the online system HODSPA (http://www.psychologyreference.org).

A guide on how to use the service can be found here. Remember, once your referee has completed their reference, you must return to the portal and ‘share’ this reference with Cairnmillar, before we can access it.

Please see the relevant course pages for detailed entry requirements, including how many references to provide.

As a quick guide, the following courses require references:

• Master of Professional Psychology
• Master of Professional Psychology Practice
• Master of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
• Doctor of Psychology (Clinical Psychology)
• Master of Clinical Psychology (Post-Registration)
• Doctor of Philosophy
• Graduate Certificate of Counselling & Psychotherapy
• Graduate Diploma of Counselling & Psychotherapy
• Master of Counselling & Psychotherapy
• Graduate Certificate of Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
• Graduate Diploma of Child, Youth & Family Mental Health
• Master of Child, Youth & Family Mental Health

The following programs do NOT require references:

• Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling
• Graduate Certificate of Psychological Science
• Graduate Diploma of Psychological Science
• Bachelor of Psychology (Honours)
• Graduate Certificate of Pre-Professional Psychology

References for our relevant postgraduate programs are submitted through an online reference request system, referred to as HODSPA. Please refer to the entry requirements of the course you are applying for, to see if and how many references are required.

A guide on how to use the service can be found here.

This is a paid service and you will need to have an active subscription to request and share references with Cairnmillar and other institutes.

Please note that each HODSPA (www.psychologyreference.org) subscription lasts for 12 months. On the 1 August each year the database is wiped, meaning that you will need to activate your subscription, request and share your references every year.

This is an external service used by most higher education providers of psychology, counselling and psychotherapy. As such, please contact HODSPA directly if you have any questions or issues with the service psychologyreference.helpdesk@deakinco.com.

Important dates, including census dates and when upfront payments are due can be found in the Academic Calendar, found on our Key Dates page here.

First time tuition fee payments for 2023 will be due on 3 February 2023 for intensive units and 17 February 2023 for Semester 1 units. Online eCAF forms to apply for FEE-HELP will be due by the same dates.

Semester 2 2023 tuition fees will be due on 21 July 2023.

For more information about tuition fees, click here.

When you accept an offer using the official Offer Acceptance and Enrolment Form you will become officially enrolled in the program. You will be liable to pay or arrange payment of the standard tuition fees by the relevant due dates (see Key Dates).

If you choose to withdraw, you will need to do so before the first relevant Census Date. You can find the relevant Census Dates in the relevant Academic Calendar here. There are no additional charges involved with accepting and withdrawing an offer from a course, other than standard tuition fees for your units of study (subjects).

A link to Cairnmillar’s Couse Withdraw or Leave of Absence form can be found here.

If you are a domestic student and you formally withdraw before the census date, your tuition fees will be refunded. For International Student Refund Conditions, please check your International Student Agreement or contact education@cairnmillar.edu.au.

Information about tuition fees can be found on individual course pages and our Fees & Scholarships page.

Tuition fees are charged by teaching period on a per unit basis and are subject to reasonable variation each year.

Eligible students who indicate in their offer acceptance form that they wish to defer their tuition fees via the Australian government’s FEE-HELP loan scheme, will be sent an online eCAF invitation once enrolled into their first units.

You can find more information about tuition fees and payment options on our Fees & Scholarships page.

For information about FEE-HELP and eligibility criteria, please see: http://studyassist.gov.au/.

We are a non-university higher education provider accredited through TEQSA. As such, our programs are not eligible for CSP funding.

However, we are a registered FEE-HELP provider. The FEE-HELP loan scheme works in a similar way to the HECS-HELP loan scheme. We suggest that you visit www.studyassist.gov.au to find out more about FEE-HELP. For more details about our fees and fee structure, see our Fees & Scholarships page.

Yes, all of our Higher Education courses are TEQSA accredited and we are a registered HELP provider, meaning that FEE-HELP is available to eligible students who have not reached their loan limits.

For more information on the FEE-HELP program and eligibility criteria see: www.studyassist.gov.au.

For more information on tuition fees and course costs see our Fees & Scholarships page.

 

“Admissions transparency means that prospective domestic undergraduate students can easily find good quality admissions information that allows them to compare courses and providers and make informed study choices” (TEQSA).

Information regarding Cairnmillar’s undergraduate degree, the Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling, can be found on the course page and our Undergraduate page.

 

The only course at Cairnmillar that requires applicants to apply through VTAC is the Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling. Please note mature-aged (non-yr 12) international applicants for this program must apply directly through Cairnmillar’s Application Portal.

Please see the Undergraduate page and How to Apply page for further information and instructions.

Please see our Undergraduate page for information on applying for special consideration through VTAC.

Alternatively, you can also find more information about the SEAS on VTAC’s website here.

VTAC does not issue refunds on course application processing fees (except when required by law). You remain liable for the course application processing fee even if you withdraw your course application, because all applications are processed immediately when received.

See the VTAC website for further information.

If you need to make changes to your Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling application, including changing your preference list, you can do so via your VTAC account.

Please note: during the period leading up to offer rounds, changing of preferences is closed. See here for further information.

See the following pages on the VTAC website for information on:

• Supplying documentation for your application
• Changing your course preferences
• Making changes to your application

If you are a mature-aged international applicant and have applied to the Bachelor of Psychology and Counselling directly through Cairnmillar’s Application Portal, you are able to edit your application until it has been marked as ‘complete’. See ‘Can I edit my application after it is submitted?’.

 

Once students have accepted an offer, Orientation details will be made available via email and the student website myCMI.

Most courses will have at least two compulsory Orientation Days prior to classes starting (see Key Dates). Optional skills and preparation workshops will also run during the weeks prior to classes starting.

Links and information to RSVP will be communicated to students in due course.

Discover how personalised education can enhance your career at our Information Evenings

Our information evenings and open days are the best opportunity to learn the ins and outs of your dream course, whilst having the opportunity to talk directly to our experienced practitioners, researchers and excellent educators, as well as current students and alumni.

To find out about up next Open Day or Information Evening, please visit our dedicated page here.

If you are a current student or alumni and your records are from 2013 or later, you can use the Online Transcript and Official Letter Request form (https://eforms.cairnmillar.org.au/official-letter-transcript-request/).

If there is a postage or re-print cost attached with your request, you will need to pay this via PayPal.

If you require evidence or re-prints of records from earlier than 2013, please contact education@cairnmillar.edu.au before you fill in the form to confirm that we are able to provide the document or record that you require. We cannot always provide formal documents for programs offered before we became APAC and TEQSA accredited.