Supervision Requirements

Under the requirements of Communication Assistive Technology accreditation (including both CAT 1 & CAT 2), assessors 'must participate in clinical supervision related to Communication Assistive Technology assessment. Supervision should be undertaken with another person who is already approved as a Communication Assistive Technology assessor.'

Details of the Enable requirements for supervision can be found here.

ATANZ is committed to ensuring quality supervision for all those with Communication Assistive Technology (CAT) accreditation. ATANZ recommends that best practice within this specialist field is to receive supervision from supervisors who meet the following requirements:

Have CAT level 1 or 2 registration
Have at least 3 years experience in this field and
Have completed a minimum of 5 funding application over 3 years
Are eligable for membership to a relevant professional body e.g. NZSTA or the OTB.

ATANZ recommends CAT supervision as required, typically 3-4 times per year.

Important points to note:

Supervision related to CAT assessments is/may be separate to other forms of supervision you access. This will depend on how much of your day-to-day role is focused solely around AT/AAC assessments.
CAT supervision is separate from MOH requirements to have a report reviewed by Talklink as part of the application process for tablet devices.
CAT Supervision is separate from the 12 hours /3 year period of Professional Development

For further information about supervision principles/requirements/position statements,
please see NZ Speech-Language Therapy Association Supervision or Occupational Therapy Board Supervision Requirements

Find a Supervisor

Cheryl Palmer	Area of Expertise: ASD, Paediatrics CAT Level 1 Supervision Style: I work from a sliding scale of mentoring, coaching and supervision depending on my supervisee. In supervising students and new graduate SLTS I have become aware of different needs within supervision and the need to move between reflective questioning, providing information, challenging and support. I use GROW and GAINS as my primary models within a supervision and coaching model. Contact Details: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Helen Bayldon	Area of Expertise: AAC implementation for children with complex bodies and/or emergent communicators, particularly PODD communication books with partner assisted scanning and high-tech devices with eye-gaze access. CAT Level 1 Supervision Style: I seek to provide a reflective model of supervision as well as coaching and mentoring as needed. Reflective supervision encourages reflection on personal experience, events or issues that the supervisee wishes to discuss, goes through a process to determine possible ways forward, and helps to highlight specific learning or additional issues which may need discussion. I know that supervision can be a space for supervisees to speak freely and I support them to process the issues which they bring. Contact Details: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Hilde van Santen	Area of Expertise: AAC assessment, application and implementation for children in special school with a variety of diagnoses such as Cerebral Palsy, ASD, Down Syndrome and chromosomal mutations. Supervision, Dysphagia. CAT Level 1 and 2 Supervision Style: The model that I use is Reflective Practice in Supervision. The purpose of the reflective supervision model is to support the agenda, task and process in the supervisory relationship towards critical reflection of practice. My philosophy is that supervision should: enable colleagues to develop their own AAC practice and become independent and empowered in their work enable colleagues to make good decisions based on research and holistic thinking recognise areas of need for professional development and ways of accessing this. Contact Details: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
TalkLink	TalkLink have multiple supervision options available for clinicians with their CAT 1 or 2 accreditation, or those seeking accreditation. See their website here for details.

Please note that it is the supervisee’s responsibility to confirm the credentials and suitability of a supervisor. ATANZ does not endorse any particular supervisors, however in order to get onto the list of available supervisors a panel of ATANZ board members have reviewed initial information to confirm ATANZ membership and Professional Development requirements at the time of application.

We encourage that as part of the supervision contract, you have clear agreed procedures about bringing up any serious concerns about clinical practice with either party.

If there are concerns that aren’t resolved within the supervision relationship of someone on the available supervisor list, you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with “supervision concerns” in the subject line or contact a board member. This will be treated as confidential by the supervision team within the wider ATANZ board. This could be in regard to clinical advice, ethical/safety concerns, and/or interpersonal dynamics. We reserve the right to remove anyone’s name after a fair process regarding concerns raised to us

If you would like to be added to the list of available supervisors please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.