Summary
The Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) requires registered members to log supervision hours as part of their ongoing professional development. The documentation discipline is consistent across membership categories: dated entries, supervisor identification, hours, modality, and reflective content. This guide details the structure. A note on terminology: PACFA uses "Certified Supervisor" (formerly "Accredited Supervisor"). The "Level 4 supervisor" designation belongs to the Australian Counselling Association (ACA), not PACFA — the two systems are sometimes confused.
What PACFA requires
The current PACFA Clinical Supervision Standard requires:
- Annual minimum supervision hours per the member's registration category (see PACFA's current OPD/Clinical Supervision Standard for category-specific requirements).
- Supervision provided by an appropriately credentialed supervisor — for clinical-tier members, typically a PACFA Certified Supervisor or an equivalent recognised supervisor.
- Mix of individual and group supervision, with caps on group hours counted.
- Reflective content, not just attendance logs.
Always check the current PACFA OPD/Clinical Supervision Standard — requirements have been refined periodically.
Becoming a PACFA Certified Supervisor
Certified Supervisor applicants generally need:
- At least 5 years' practice experience, including 3 years as a PACFA Clinical Registrant (or equivalent membership of a comparable association).
- Completion of a Supervisor Training Program meeting PACFA's Supervision Training Standards (at least 36 hours of theory and practice plus required hours of supervision-of-supervision).
Renewal requirements for Certified Supervisors include 20 hours of professional development and 15 hours of formal supervision linked to practice within the previous 12 months (PACFA recommends a portion of each relate specifically to supervision practice). Confirm current requirements against PACFA's published standard.
The supervision log structure
For each supervision session, record:
- Date of the session.
- Supervisor name and credentials (e.g. "PACFA Certified Supervisor", registration number; or note ACA Level 4 / equivalent if the supervisor is recognised through another body).
- Modality (individual, group, peer).
- Duration in hours.
- Format (in-person, telehealth).
- Topics / cases discussed (de-identified — no client-identifying information).
- Reflection / learning / action points.
- Cumulative annual hours.
A simple table suffices for the supervisee. The reflective content is what distinguishes a defensible log from an attendance record.
What supervisors must record
Supervisors keep their own record of supervisees, including:
- Names and credentials of supervisees.
- Dates and durations of sessions.
- Topics discussed (at the level appropriate for supervision records).
- Any concerns raised about the supervisee's practice.
- Any actions taken (referral, escalation, additional support).
For supervisors working under contract with an organisation, the contract should specify who owns the supervision record and how it is retained.
When supervision involves complex risk material
If supervision touches on serious risk content (suicide, child protection, medico-legal), the supervisor's notes are protected by supervision privilege only insofar as the underlying jurisdiction recognises that. In practice, supervision notes about high-risk content should be:
- Confined to the level of detail necessary for supervision purposes.
- Not duplicative of the supervisee's own clinical record.
- Stored securely with appropriate retention.
Related reading
How we review this guide
Library guides reference original Australian source authorities — not secondary commentary — and are updated when source material changes. Each guide cites the regulator, item descriptor, or governing standard it draws from so you can verify it directly.
- Sources checked
- • ACA / PACFA supervision standards
- Review cadence
- Reviewed annually and whenever a cited source authority publishes a material change. Last reviewed .
- Not advice
- Reference content for Australian practitioners and education staff. Not legal, clinical, or billing advice — verify against your governing body and current source documents.
Keywords: pacfa supervision documentation, pacfa supervision log requirements, counsellor supervision australia, pacfa cpd supervision hours, pacfa certified supervisor
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