The economic value of psychology in Australia: 2001

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to update the Guldberg & Sivaciyan (1995) estimates of the value of psychology based on 1991 figures. In addition, this paper expands the scope of their work by including comparisons of other related professional groups (those with tertiary training in psychiatry, mental health nursing, social work, counselling, occupational therapy and human resources). Economic modelling indicated that psychology contributes $8.6 billion to the National economy – some 500% more than in 1991, and more than all other related professional groups combined. However, psychology incomes in most sectors have marginally decreased in real terms, and still lag 9.2% behind related professionals. The number of individuals trained in psychology has also risen dramatically to at least 37 978. Many of these individuals (17 364) have only a bachelor degree, and experience a higher rate of unemployment than both their higher qualified peers in psychology, and the national average for individuals with the same level of qualification. The ongoing lack of Federal funding for professional higher degrees, and the training guidelines of the Australian Psychological Society are likely to lead to rises in the cost of postgraduate education in the coming years. There is nonetheless a substantial economic advantage to students undertaking professional higher degrees in psychology. The implications for the profession of psychology are discussed.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern Queensland for their generous funding of this project. I would also like to thank Mick Symons for providing additional data on his study with Alison Garton, the Registration Boards of every State and Territory for their data on the number of registered psychologists, and Grace Pretty and Analise O'Donovan for their valuable input on an early draft of this paper.