How to Find a Supervisor for Your 5+1 Psychology Internship

What AHPRA requires from your supervisor

The Psychology Board of Australia sets specific requirements that a person must meet to supervise a provisional psychologist. These requirements are most stringent for your principal supervisor, who carries primary supervisory responsibility.

• Must hold current general registration as a psychologist with AHPRA (not provisional)
• Must not have any conditions or undertakings on their registration relating to supervised practice
• Must have at least three years of recent post-registration experience in the area/s in which they are supervising you
• Must have completed, or be actively working toward, approved supervisor training
• Must be able to directly observe your practice a minimum of four times per six-month period

Principal vs secondary supervisor: understanding the difference

Your principal supervisor holds primary governance responsibility for your supervised practice. They conduct the majority of your individual supervision, complete your formal assessment reports, directly observe your practice, and sign off on key logbook milestones. You can only have one principal supervisor at a time.

A secondary supervisor provides supplementary supervision — often from a different clinical specialisation or setting. They are valuable when your principal supervisor's areas of expertise do not fully cover the range of presentations you are encountering. There is no limit on the number of secondary supervisors, though the Psychology Board specifies how secondary supervision hours count toward your overall minimum.

Where to find a qualified supervisor

The best starting point is your employer. Most supervised practice positions are structured so that supervision is part of the employment arrangement, with your employer providing access to a registered psychologist who meets the requirements. If you are applying for positions, ask directly in the hiring process whether supervision will be provided, by whom, and whether that person meets the Psychology Board criteria.

If you need to find your own supervisor independently, the following resources are useful:

• APS Supervisor Register: the Australian Psychological Society maintains a searchable register of psychologists who have completed APS-approved supervisor training — available at psychology.org.au
• University clinical training coordinators: if you completed honours or postgraduate study at a university with a clinical training unit, they may be able to assist with supervisor connections
• Peer referrals: colleagues who have recently completed their 5+1 are often the most reliable source of honest supervisor recommendations
• Direct outreach: it is entirely acceptable to contact registered psychologists in your area — particularly those in private practice — to enquire about supervision availability

Questions to ask a potential supervisor

Before committing to a supervision arrangement, have a substantive conversation with the prospective supervisor. This is a professional relationship you will be in for up to a year, and its quality will shape your entire internship.

• "How do you structure supervision sessions?" — look for clear structure over informal chat
• "How do you approach formal competency assessment and feedback?"
• "Are you available between sessions if I have an urgent clinical question?"
• "What is your process for the four required direct observation sessions?"
• "Do you have experience supervising in the contexts I will be working in?"
• "Are you familiar with the current Psychology Board supervised practice guidelines?"

Red flags to watch for

Not all supervisors who technically meet AHPRA requirements will provide quality supervision. Watch for early warning signs:

• Dismissive attitudes toward logbook requirements or documentation
• Chronic unavailability and a default stance of "email me if something comes up"
• Unfamiliarity with the current Psychology Board supervised practice guidelines
• A registration record that shows current or past conditions (always check)
• Arrangements that seem primarily focused on generating client revenue for the practice, with supervision as an afterthought

Managing the supervisory relationship

The supervisory relationship is one of the most formative professional relationships in a psychologist's career. Approach it with both assertiveness and genuine openness to feedback. Come to sessions prepared with cases, specific questions, and honest reflection on difficulty.

If the relationship is not working — if meaningful feedback is absent, if your supervisor is consistently unavailable, or if you have concerns about the ethical quality of their practice — document your concerns and escalate. Contact your university coordinator, the Psychology Board, or AHPRA directly if necessary. A poor supervision arrangement is not something to tolerate for a year.