PACFA held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 11 October 2025, bringing together members to celebrate the Federation’s achievements and reaffirm its strategic direction. The meeting coincided with the release of the 2024–25 Annual Report, which highlights another year of strong growth, strategic investment, and continued advancement for the counselling and psychotherapy profession.
AGM Highlights
Chaired by President Nigel Polak, the AGM provided members with a comprehensive overview of PACFA’s strong performance during the 2024–25 financial year. Reports from President Polak, CEO Johanna de Wever, and Treasurer Francis Kim highlighted record membership growth, expanded education and accreditation programs, and strengthened advocacy for the counselling and psychotherapy profession.
A highlight of the meeting was the presentation of Life Memberships to Ron Perry OAM and Dr Elizabeth Day, recognising their lifelong dedication to PACFA and their outstanding contributions to the profession.
With no Board positions up for re-election this year, the current Board of Directors continues to provide consistent leadership and governance, guiding PACFA through a period of growth and sector transformation.
2024-25 Key Highlights
Membership Growth
PACFA reached a record 11,820 members, welcoming 3,548 new members in the past year - a 22.5% increase from 2023-24. This surge reflects growing recognition of the value of professional regulation and the rising demand for qualified counselling and psychotherapy services.
Education and Professional Development
PACFA supported ongoing professional excellence with over 7,000 members participating in CPD events and 243 accredited courses offered across 60 providers. This expanded learning ecosystem enables our members to stay current with best practice and evolving client needs.
PACFA’s Accreditation Standards for Counselling Programs, which came into effect on 1 January 2025, were developed through an extensive consultation process with broad sector engagement. The Standards reflect input from education providers, Heads of academic organisational units, academic staff of PACFA-accredited and non-accredited programs, private providers, universities, and specialist training providers. PACFA also acknowledges the valuable contributions of clinical registrants, supervisors, members of the College of Indigenous Healing Practices, and the Diversity in Gender, Body, Kinship and Sexuality Interest Group. Input from employers of counselling graduates, industry and government representatives, including Health Ministers, higher education regulators such as TEQSA, and Health Workforce Australia, ensured that the Accreditation Standards represented a wide range of perspectives across the profession.
Financial Health
PACFA strategically invested in staffing and systems to support our growing membership base. Our strong financial reserves ensure we can continue delivering value to members while building for sustainable future growth.
We invite all members to review the full Annual Report to explore how PACFA continues to advance the counselling and psychotherapy profession. Our achievements this year would not be possible without the dedication of our members, staff, and volunteers—thank you for your vital contribution to our mission.