The big 4-0 has well and truly hit Medicare and it’s not all about blowing out the candles on the cake. The Australian Physiotherapy Association’s (APA) 2024-25 Pre-Budget submission demands reform that can give Australians a health system that is getting better with age.

Joseph is a two and a half year old who was diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) at birth, a rare and complex genetic disorder. He is now thriving with the support of his physiotherapist and therapy team, and has attained the majority of age-appropriate skills just-in-time to start pre-school this year.

Recent studies^1-5 have shown there is no clear association between heavy school back packs and low back pain in school children, contrary to the popular belief that the weight of a school bag is the main culprit behind the growing prevalence of low back pain in kids.

Low back pain (LBP) affects up to 4 in 10 Australian students at any point in time; 30 to 50 per cent will have pain persisting longer than three months³. 

The NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) is going down the path of ‘Americanising’ healthcare by changing who patients can see for complex and serious low back medical problems.

SIRA has announced the seemingly innocuous removal of the term ‘physiotherapist’ from the clinical care pathway in its Low Back Pain Model of Care, replacing it with ‘physical therapies’ to allow NSW patients to be treated by non-Ahpra regulated and limited scope exercise providers.