Spiritualists provide a degree of self-regulation. The Australian Psychics Association has a seven-point code of ethics, including a requirement that "at no time should professional members promise to be 100% accurate" and stipulating that the association will not tolerate any members asking for exorbitant sums in return for services that fall outside the normal psychic advice.

Natasha Watkins, vice-president of the Tarot Guild of Australia, says members of her guild go through an extensive accreditation process. "They have to do several readings before professional committee members, and fill out a paper on our code of ethics, which is very strong."

Terry Kelly, president of the Victorian Skeptics, says that self-regulation is inadequate. "I'm a social worker, I've done a lot of grief and loss counselling and run grief and loss groups. You get people who go off to see these psychics who claim to be speaking directly to the dead person. There are plenty of tricks the psychics can use, and the result is that the grieving person isn't actually dealing with the death at all."

Kelly says the bottom line is that if psychics can speak to the dead, why has nobody claimed the $110,000 prize offered in Australia and the $US1 million ($A1.07 million) that James Randi is offering in the US, to anybody whose psychic claims can stand rigorous scientific testing?

Psychic laws, though, can be slow to change. The British Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951, being repealed this month, superseded the Witchcraft Act, which was drafted into law in 1735.

Consumer Affairs Victoria advises that consumers are protected by the Fair Trading Act 1999, which applies to all Victorian traders, including those providing psychic and occult services, and says the Government has no plans to introduce new regulations.

Copyright: The Age