ANZACATA upcoming events

Arts-based supervision skills training with Tilly Dawson (Sept/Oct) (25 Sep 2026)

Fri, 25 Sep 2026 02:00:00 GMT

This training will contain theory, experiential learning, and opportunities for supervision practice, and can be used as either an arts-therapy based PD opportunity, or towards registration as an approved supervisor with ANZACATA.

It is best suited to experienced professional members, as it assumes a working clinical knowledge and experience in arts therapy.

The training will cover:

Definitions of supervision
A variety of models and approaches to supervision
Arts-based integration
Clinical practice
Ethics and Contracts

The course will be 40 hours over 5 sessions (including 15 hours of experiential practice) in keeping with ANZACATA policy requirements of Approved Supervisors. Participants will be expected to engage in supervision practice with other participants between the online sessions in order to complete the required number of hours to register as an ANZACATA supervisor.

Please note only Professional Members can be on the ANZACATA Approved Supervisor listing and completion of this training course does not constitute an application to become an ANZACATA Approved Supervisor.

PRESENTER BIO

Tilly Dawson (she/her) is a professional member, practicing art therapist, and ANZACATA-approved supervisor. Tilly specialises in clinical art therapy within healthcare and oncology settings. She is a passionate clinician with experience in providing individual and group sessions for patients and their families across the lifespan. Throughout her career, Tilly has supervised numerous students and has work as a casual Academic at La Trobe University within the Master of Art Therapy program. Her areas of interest and application in art therapy include medical art therapy, palliative care, trauma-informed practices, and supervision.

When: 25^th, 26^th, 27^th September and 10^th, 11^th October 2026
Time: 12–5 pm AEST (2–7 pm NZST, 10 am–3 pm AWST/HKT/SGT)
Duration/CPD: 40 hours over 5 sessions
Where: Zoom
Cost: $500 (+GST for Aust. members)
Open to: Experienced Professional Members
Min/Max: 8/16 participants
Recorded session: No (Privacy Reasons)

Cancellation Policy:
When you register and pay to attend one of our events, you are holding a space on our calendar that is no longer available to other members. In order to be respectful of your fellow members and the presenter, please email us as soon as you know you will not be able to attend the event. We keep our events as affordable as possible and need to pay presenters the fee they request. While we understand sometimes urgent matters come up, if registrants cancel at the last minute, we struggle to pay presenters. A full refund will be given if the cancellation occurs more than 24 hours before the event. If the cancellation occurs less than 24 hours before the event, 50% of your registration fee will be refunded only to defray our costs.

cATch up with James, Pete and Sara - the leadership team at ANZACATA (30 Sep 2026)

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 02:00:00 GMT

This hour-long drop-in session with the leadership team at ANZACATA occurs the last Wednesday of the month and all members are welcome to join. There is no agenda, no commitment, just pop in anytime you like for a chat with James Beckford Saunders (CEO), Peter Muntz (Membership and Communications lead) and Sara Kirsner (Policy and Regulations Lead) and with other ANZACATA members.

When: Wednesday 30 September 2026
Time: 12pm-1pm AEST
10am-11pm AWST
11.30am-12.30pm ACST
3pm-4pm NZDT
Duration/CPD: 1 hour
Where: ZOOM
Cost: Free
Open to: All members
Recorded session: No (privacy reasons)

ANZACATA Member Forum Part 1 Navigating NDIS change as a creative arts therapist (02 Oct 2026)

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 02:18:00 GMT

If your NDIS-facing practice feels like it’s standing on shifting ground right now – you're not alone. Changes to the NDIS are coming thick and fast, and it can be hard to keep up.

This forum brings together sector-level overview and the experience of creative arts therapy practitioners navigating these changes, to give you a clear, honest read on where things stand – and what we can do.

We will cover:

The state of play – where things stand with the NDIS Amendment Bill (passed in August 2026) and pricing now frozen, the shift of some supports outside the NDIS altogether, changes to the assessment process, narrowing claims windows.
What it means day to day – how compliance obligations are shifting; what the frozen rates mean for charging, pricing and viability; the specific data the new item codes now require you to gather; and what needs to change in your service agreements.
Where to next – the case for working together rather than each of us figuring this out alone; Thriving kids and Foundational supports; and advocacy efforts in partnership with Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA).

We'll also flag other funding pathways members are already working in, and give you a first look at Part 2 – our follow-up forum on diversifying your practice beyond the NDIS, where members will share their experience in more depth

While no one has the full picture yet, what we do have is each other’s experience from which to learn.

Panellists

James Beckford Saunders – CEO, ANZACATA
Jasmine Sernberg, AThR – Facilitator and Owner, Papernook Arts Therapy & Wellness
Elaine Sullivan (Camlin), AThR – Director, Unique State Art Space
Alana Stewart, AThR – Director, Finding Wellbeing Art Therapy & Counselling

When: Friday 2 October 2026 (Part 1)
Time: 12.30pm – 1.30pm (AEST)
12.00pm – 1.00pm (ACST)
10.30am – 11.30am (AWST)
Duration/CPD: 1 hr
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Relevant to: All Australian members
Recorded session: Yes

Neurodiversity Affirming Arts Therapy Practice with Autistic Clients with Miriam Saines (30 Oct 2026)

Thu, 29 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

A Professional Development Workshop for Arts Therapists facilitated by Miriam Saines, Registered Professional Arts Therapist (AThR) and Autistic Self-Advocate.

This professional development workshop is designed for arts therapists seeking to deepen their understanding of autism and develop neurodiversity affirming therapeutic practices. Led by an Autistic arts therapist with lived experience and professional expertise, this workshop offers a unique opportunity to gain insights into creating more effective, respectful, and empowering therapeutic relationships with Autistic clients.

The workshop challenges traditional deficit-based approaches and introduces participants to neurodiversity-affirming practices that honour Autistic ways of being, communicating, and experiencing the world. Practical strategies, artmaking examples, and experiential activities will provide participants with actionable tools to enhance their clinical practice.

This event is appropriate for ALL ANZACATA members. However, it is aimed particularly to new graduates and members who have little understanding, knowledge and experience of neurodiversity affirming practice and autistic identity.

Please note this workshop is delivered in 2 parts on consecutive days.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Describe autism from a neurodiversity-affirming perspective, using affirming language, and identify how this differs from pathologizing approaches.
Address the intersectionality of autism and create sensory-informed and trauma-informed arts therapy spaces for therapeutic engagement.
Expand their understanding of 'art' to encompass diverse sensory and social expressions relevant to Autistic clients.
Support authentic emotion regulation without imposing neurotypical expectations.
Incorporate special interests as therapeutic strengths rather than viewing them as distractions.
Foster self-advocacy skills in Autistic clients of all ages

PRESENTER BIO

Miriam (she/her/they/them) is a late-identified AuDHD (autistic and ADHD) arts therapist, professionally registered with ANZACATA. She graduated with her Master of Arts Therapy from Western Sydney University in 2013 and practises on Awabakal Country at Newcastle Music and Arts Therapy. Miriam's lived experience, as an AuDHD person and parent, has significantly shaped her arts therapy practice, which is grounded in neurodiversity-affirming principles, and has led to her strong interest in Autistic culture and advocacy.

Miriam works predominantly with neurodivergent clients who identify as Autistic, ADHD, AuDHD, PDA, as well as those with diverse disabilities, and mental health issues across all ages and backgrounds. Her arts therapy practice combines professional expertise with authentic understanding, offering creative strategies that honour rather than change neurodivergent ways of being. newcastlemusictherapy.com.au.

When: Friday 30 October (Part 1) and Saturday 31 October 2026 (Part 2)
Time: 10am–1.30pm AEDT
(12pm NZT, 7am AWDT/HKT/SGT)
including a 30-minute break
Duration/CPD: 6 hrs
Where: Zoom
Cost: $90 (+GST for Aust. members)
Open to: All members
Max: 20 participants
Recorded session: No (Privacy Reasons)

Cancellation Policy
When you register and pay to attend one of our events, you are holding a space on our calendar that is no longer available to other members. In order to be respectful of your fellow members and the presenter, please email us as soon as you know you will not be able to attend the event. We keep our events as affordable as possible and need to pay presenters the fee they request. While we understand sometimes urgent matters come up, if registrants cancel at the last minute, we struggle to pay presenters. A full refund will be given if the cancellation occurs more than 24 hours before the event. If the cancellation occurs less than 24 hours before the event, 50% of your registration fee will be refunded only to defray our costs.

Arts-based supervision skills training with Tilly Dawson (Oct/Nov) (30 Oct 2026)

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 01:00:00 GMT

It is best suited to experienced professional members, as it assumes a working clinical knowledge and experience in arts therapy.

The training will cover:

Definitions of supervision
A variety of models and approaches to supervision
Arts-based integration
Clinical practice
Ethics and Contracts

PRESENTER BIO

When: 30, 31 October and 1, 14, 15 November 2026
Time: 12–5 pm AEDT (11am – 4 pm QLD, 2–7 pm NZDT, 9 am–2 pm AWST/HKT/SGT)
Duration/CPD: 40 hours
Where: Zoom
Cost: $500 (+GST for Aust. members)
Open to: Experienced Professional Members
Min/Max: 8/16 participants
Recorded session: No (Privacy Reasons)

ANZACATA Member Forum Part 2 Diversifying your practice beyond the NDIS (06 Nov 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 01:30:00 GMT

Aged care, hospitals, schools, victim services and more – creative arts therapy has a home well beyond the NDIS, and this forum draws on the experience of members already working across these areas.

ANZACATA is bringing together practitioners who've built practice beyond the NDIS to share what that actually looks like, and what it takes to get there.

We will cover:

The landscape – the funding pathways and service settings members are already working in beyond the NDIS, including Victims Support Schemes, WorkSafe and workers compensation, Schools, Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA)-funded supports, Primary Health Networks (PHNs), aged care and private fee-for-service practice.
What it takes in practice – how panellists found their way into these settings, the referral pathways involved, and what changes in compliance, insurance, reporting and pricing compared to NDIS work.

Diversifying looks different for every practice, but there's a lot to learn from how others have found their way beyond the NDIS.

Panellists

James Beckford Saunders – CEO, ANZACATA
Katishe Grudnoff (AThR) – Manager, Newcastle Music & Art Therapy
Additional speakers TBC

When: Friday 6 November 2026 (Part 2)
Time: 12.30pm – 1.30pm (AEDT)
12.00pm – 1.00pm (ACDT)
9.30am – 10.30am (AWST)
Duration/CPD: 1 hr
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Relevant to: All Australian members
Recorded session: Yes