Presenting a strong, united voice for advocacy at a national level, is essential for meeting the evolving needs of the Rehabilitation Counselling profession.

We are pleased to announce that after more than two years of working together to advance the profession, the members of RCAA and ASORC agreed to merge the professional bodies to improve communications with governments, peak bodies, and industry.

Gaining full access to the strengths and experience of all rehabilitation counsellors, from academia and the industries in which they work, is critical to leading the Rehabilitation Counselling profession into the future.

If you are accessing this website for information on RCAA and the rehabilitation counselling profession or to apply for RCAA membership, we encourage you to access the ASORC website using this link: ASORC Website

Membership of RCAA is no longer available or processed through this site. If you have any questions about membership, please contact Therese at admin@asorc.org.au

Rehabilitation Counselling Association of Australasia (RCAA) was established in 2003 out of recognition for the need for a professional association focused solely on representing tertiary qualified rehabilitation counsellors.

The founding members believed the integrity of the rehabilitation counselling profession and the need to recognise it as a profession in its own right required an association that matched the standards of associations for comparable professions such as occupational therapy, physiotherapy and psychology. To achieve this, RCAA was established as a national and regional body with membership categories only for full members with tertiary qualifications in rehabilitation counselling and student members undertaking tertiary qualifications in rehabilitation counselling.

The foundations of RCAA were established by Jocelyn Rennie, Vicky MacDonald, Nicholas Buys and Christine Randall with contributions from Lynda Matthews, Michael Hancock, Herbert Biggs, Nina Williams, Torsten Becht, Dominique Bird and Anna Holder, and legal advice from Grant White and Michael Vickers. The RCAA Constitution came into effect on 6 August 2003.

The 11 inaugural directors of RCAA were Jocelyn Rennie (President), Vicky MacDonald (Secretary), Christine Randall (Treasurer), Lynda Matthews (Vice President), Nicholas Buys, Herbert Biggs, Denis O’Keefe, Fran Feldman, Malcolm Ross, Mike Hancock, and Patricia McLeod. The inaugural administrator for RCAA was Susie Glover.

RCAA’s first professional development events were offered by Richard Goddard on 17 July 2003 on the topic of ‘Brief Therapy’ and Robyn Stagg on 27th November 2003 on the topic of ‘Anti-Discrimination Legislation’. In January 2004, WorkCover NSW officially recognised that RCAA members with the necessary experience were eligible to provide occupational rehabilitation services under the NSW WorkCover system. Other workers’ compensation authorities and rehabilitation organisations followed.

National and International relationships with peak bodies were also established early with the American Rehabilitation Counseling Association (ARCA), the Vocational Rehabilitation Association (VRA) in the UK, and the Career Industry Council of Australia (CICA). The RCAA Code of Professional Ethics for Rehabilitation Counsellors was developed and endorsed from 1 July 2005.

RCAA is the only professional association exclusively representing tertiary qualified rehabilitation counsellors in the Australasian region. RCAA represents a single profession with only qualified rehabilitation counsellors and student members. RCAA works to uphold high standards of professional and ethical practice of rehabilitation counsellors and strives for ongoing advancement and recognition of our profession.

We aim to:

• Promote the profession of Rehabilitation Counselling and its unique contribution to human service and allied health service delivery in Australasia.
• Represent the interests of the profession of Rehabilitation Counselling.
• Maintain the professional integrity of Rehabilitation Counselling through setting and safeguarding the highest standards of education and professional practice.
• Provide relevant and expert advice to governments, policy makers, organisations, groups and individuals on issues impacting on rehabilitation and rehabilitation counselling.
• Contribute to research and the growth of expert knowledge, for the benefit of individuals and society, in the fields of:
  • Rehabilitation Counselling profession and practice.
  • Occupational/Vocational Rehabilitation.
  • Disability and Injury management.
  • Disability service delivery.
  • Other human service areas.