The 5+1 internship is a one-year supervised program following an accredited fifth-year psychology degree. It requires 1,500 hours of psychological practice, including at least 500 client contact hours, 80 hours of supervision and 60 hours of education and training, over a minimum of 44 weeks full time.
Most lost hours are lost the same way: not by falling short of the total, but by breaching a sub-minimum or accruing practice at a moment the Board does not count. The requirements below come from the Psychology Board of Australia's Guidelines for the 5+1 internship program, which took effect in December 2025, and from the Board's 5+1 internship program page.
What are the requirements of the 5+1 internship?
The Board sets three components, each with its own floor. Meeting the headline total is not enough if a sub-minimum is missed.
- Psychological practice: 1,500 hours. This total includes your supervision and education and training hours rather than sitting on top of them. Within it, client contact must be at least 500 hours.
- Simulated contact: capped at 60 hours. Up to 60 of those 500 client contact hours can be simulated learning, such as role play, peer actors, simulated testing techniques, or shadowing a senior psychologist with a real client. Your principal supervisor approves what counts.
- Supervision: 80 hours. At least 50 of the 80 must be individual supervision with the principal supervisor. Up to 30 hours may be group supervision or individual supervision with a secondary supervisor.
- Direct observation: four sessions every six months. At least two must be psychological assessments and at least two must be interventions. Observation can be live or by audiovisual recording.
- Education and training: at least 60 hours. The principal supervisor decides what these are, and they must include demonstrating a health equity and human rights approach when working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and people from diverse groups.
The guidelines note that 80 hours works out to roughly one hour of supervision for every 18 hours of practice, though the supervisor sets the actual frequency.
When can you start accruing hours?
Three rules govern the start of the internship, and they are the ones most often misread.
First, entry requires provisional registration plus an internship program plan (form INPP-76) lodged with Ahpra, naming your Board-approved supervisor and work role. Ahpra will only approve the plan once your fifth-year degree is complete, but you can start the internship immediately after lodging it. That is a meaningful difference from the registrar program, where approval must land before you begin.
Second, nothing you did during the degree carries over. The guidelines are explicit that additional placements undertaken in fifth year "will not be credited towards the requirements of the 5+1 internship".
Third, there is a 28-day bridge. Provisional psychologists moving into the 5+1 pathway may keep working in addition to their university placements for up to 28 days after finishing the fifth-year degree while the internship plan is finalised. Once the supervisor signs the plan, simulated client contact hours can start accruing, and direct client contact once the supervisor assesses you are ready.
If the plan later needs significant amendment, a revised plan goes to Ahpra, and hours under the new arrangement accrue from the date the principal supervisor signs it.
How much supervision do you need, and who provides it?
Eighty hours, structured. The 50-hour individual floor with the principal supervisor is the number to protect, because group supervision cannot backfill it later.
Individual supervision must be real-time verbal communication, in the same room or by telephone or videoconference, and must include direct observation of your practice with clients. It must be provided frequently throughout the internship whenever you are practising, regardless of how many hours a week you work.
A secondary supervisor is not optional: the Board requires the appointment of at least one. Secondary supervisors report to the principal supervisor, and it is the principal supervisor's job to confirm the secondary holds Board-approved supervisor status by checking Ahpra's Find a supervisor search. If a secondary supervisor lacks Board approval, the guidelines say plainly that the supervision they provide "will not be recognised towards the supervision hours for the internship".
Two further points catch people out. Input from related professions such as psychiatry, social work or academia may be valuable, but it must be logged as education and training or client-related activity, not as psychological supervision. And an offsite principal supervisor needs Board approval, applied for on the internship plan form, with the Board satisfied you will still get adequate onsite direction. Our guide to clinical supervision notes and templates covers how to document those sessions.
What work roles count towards the internship?
Roles must be psychological in nature, paid or unpaid, and must involve assessment planning, problem formulation, test and intervention selection, diagnosis, intervention, and risk assessment and prevention. A single role works if it delivers enough breadth; many interns need two or more.
Roles the Board will not approve:
- Independent practice. Provisional psychologists cannot work independently or establish an independent private practice, because general registration is required for that. The Board defines independent practice as operating as a sole trader or contractor and receiving a fee for service from a client or third party. Working within a private practice alongside other psychologists may be approved if the role meets internship requirements and the support and supervision are sufficient. If you are planning ahead to that stage, see our guide to starting a private psychology practice.
- Teaching, tutoring, supervising other professionals, or research positions. These do not constitute psychological work for internship purposes. Supervised applied psychological research inside a practice role may be accepted, but only up to 200 hours.
- Roles in an unrelated professional field. An internship plan built on one will not be accepted.
Changing or substantially amending a work role means lodging an amended plan with a position description, ideally before the change and no later than 28 days after it.
What do you have to record and report?
Three documents, on three different rhythms.
The logbook (LBPP-76) is updated each week and records psychological practice, supervision, and education and training activities. The Board can request it at any time during the internship and until general registration is approved, so it needs to be defensible on demand rather than reconstructed at the end.
The progress review happens every six months with the principal supervisor: their evaluation of your progress, plus your critical self-reflection. The format is the supervisor's call, and an example template sits on the Board's website. It is kept by you and your supervisor, not submitted, unless the Board asks.
The final assessment of competence report (PACF-76) is completed by the principal supervisor at the end, and the sequencing matters: it comes after the National Psychology Exam has been passed.
Weekly logging quietly decides whether the year holds up, and it is easier when session records, supervision notes and hours sit in one system rather than a spreadsheet beside a clinical file. PractaLuma is AI-native practice management software for Australian mental-health practices, and its supervision tools and clinical notes keep that record in one place.
How long does the 5+1 internship take?
It is designed as one year full time, or the part-time equivalent, but the binding number is a minimum of 44 weeks full time: Ahpra will not consider a general registration application until those are done. There is no maximum timeframe, though the recency of practice standard still applies.
Leave is built in. Up to eight weeks of annual or personal leave per internship year is allowed for and does not need to be reported. Anything longer than eight weeks in a year counts as extended leave and must be approved by Ahpra in advance and in writing. Extended leave can be granted for up to 12 months in exceptional circumstances, and if approved you resume the internship without penalty.
The harder constraint is registration, not the internship. Provisional registration runs for 12 months from the date of approval and, under section 64(3) of the National Law, may be renewed only twice: it cannot be held for more than three years without a new application. If you need longer, lodge a new application for provisional registration at least 60 days before the end of your third year so practice is not interrupted. A new internship plan is not required unless the previous plan has changed.
What happens at the end of the internship?
You must pass the National Psychology Exam before applying for general registration. The Board's reasoning is structural: the internship year is not regulated under the accreditation standards, because internships run in the industry sector rather than the education sector, so the exam tests the threshold competencies instead.
Once you have completed the internship and passed the exam, you apply online for general registration and your principal supervisor submits the PACF-76. If the Board is not satisfied the requirements have been met, it may require a further period of internship.
Until then, use the title "provisional psychologist" or "intern". You must not use "psychologist" or "registered psychologist", or anything implying general registration or an endorsement. Our post on Ahpra advertising guidelines covers how those title rules apply to websites and profiles.
FAQ
Can I complete the 5+1 internship part time? Yes. The internship is one year full time or the part-time equivalent, but the minimum of 44 weeks full-time equivalent still applies before a general registration application will be considered.
Do provisional psychologists need professional indemnity insurance? Yes. All practising psychologists, including provisional psychologists, must meet the Board's professional indemnity insurance registration standard. If you work for a public-sector employer, your employer's cover may be sufficient, provided it meets the standard.
Can supervision be delivered by video conference? Yes. Supervision can be by video or web conference provided you and your supervisor can clearly see each other's facial expressions and body language. Some supervision may also be conducted by phone and email.
Can I move interstate during my internship? Yes, but you must tell Ahpra of any change to your principal place of practice. If the move changes your supervisor or work role, submit a revised internship plan. Practice already completed is still recognised.
Is the 4+2 internship still available? No. The 4+2 program closed to new applicants on 30 June 2022 and the Board will not consider late applications or exemptions. The 5+1 internship and the higher degree pathway are the remaining supervised practice routes to general registration.
This article is general information about the Board's published requirements, not registration advice. Check the current guidelines and forms on the Psychology Board of Australia website and confirm your arrangements with Ahpra and your principal supervisor.