Australia’s second-largest health workforce needs its national plan now
Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) is renewing its call for the Australian Government to release the National Allied Health Workforce Strategy, following last week’s launch of Australia’s first National Nursing Workforce Strategy.
AHPA has congratulated the Australian Government, Health Minister Mark Butler and Australia’s nursing profession on the release of the nursing strategy, welcoming its strong focus on nationally coordinated workforce data, planning and modelling, education and training, sustainable careers, scope of practice and rural and remote workforce development.
AHPA CEO Bronwyn Morris-Donovan said the new nursing strategy demonstrated the value of taking a long-term, national approach to securing the health workforce Australians will need into the future.
“It is incredibly heartening to see data, modelling and planning at the forefront of the National Nursing Workforce Strategy, and we congratulate the Government and our nursing colleagues on reaching this important milestone,” Ms Morris-Donovan said.
“Understanding where our health professionals are today, where demand is growing and where shortages are likely to emerge is fundamental to good health policy.
“The allied health community is eagerly awaiting the release of our own national workforce strategy; the timing could not be more important to support health care delivery across all states and territories.
“Australia is progressing significant reforms across aged care, disability, primary care and the broader health system, while our population is ageing and the burden of chronic and complex disease continues to shape demand for care.
“We want more Australians, whether they live in our cities, regional, rural or remote communities, to have the opportunity to benefit from allied health care throughout their lives.
Australia’s allied health workforce comprises more than 300,000 professionals across a wide range of disciplines and settings, including occupational therapists, psychologists, sonographers, speech pathologists, physiotherapists, dietitians, social workers, podiatrists, audiologists and many more.
“We need a much clearer national picture of our allied health workforce supply and demand so that governments can make informed decisions about where to invest, which professions and communities require additional support, and how Australia builds our critical workforce pipeline for the years ahead.
“There isn’t one front door to allied health in Australia. People access our professions through Medicare, disability, aged care, veterans’ care, hospitals, community services and private practice, and every one of those systems makes decisions that influence where allied health professionals are available and where services remain sustainable.
“We need workforce planning and funding policy to work together, rather than individual parts of the system making decisions in isolation and inadvertently moving workforce pressure from one sector to another.
“People can understandably become weary of hearing about another strategy or another plan,” Ms Morris-Donovan said.
“Allied health is a broad and highly interconnected workforce, spanning many professions, jurisdictions and funding systems. Bringing those pieces together through a cohesive national approach gives us the opportunity to make better decisions for the workforce and, ultimately, deliver better access to care for Australians.
To arrange interviews with Allied Health Professionals Australia Chief Executive Officer Bronwyn Morris-Donovan please contact Amy Phillips on 0429 196 694.