One of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my time as president is that advocacy is never achieved alone. 

Every meeting in Canberra, every policy submission occurs because we build alliances—with politicians, with community groups, with researchers, with consumers and, most importantly, with each other as physiotherapists. 

This year the APA has been challenged with significant threats to practice viability. 

The July NDIS pricing cuts to physiotherapy and travel have placed enormous strain on our members, particularly those working in rural and remote areas. 

Yet in response, over 300 physiotherapists wrote to their local member of parliament, thousands engaged with our election platform Physiotherapy: putting patients at the centre of care and we saw our campaign taken into Parliament itself, with Senator Jordon Steele-John tabling our NDIS petition in the Senate. 

This is what collective advocacy looks like: physiotherapy voices, united and amplified. But the challenge is bigger than any one campaign. 

Sustainable reform requires us to broaden our circle of influence and to build a movement of ‘friends of physiotherapy’. 

This means connecting with people outside our profession who understand and value what we do and who are willing to speak up alongside us. 

We have seen how successful this model can be in other sectors. 

The Heart Foundation, Painaustralia and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia all mobilise ‘friends’ who keep issues on the political agenda. 

Perhaps it’s time we did the same. 

Imagine if every physiotherapist recruited one ally—a patient, a GP or their local member of parliament—to become a ‘friend of physiotherapy’. 

Their role is simple: share their story, endorse our evidence and help decision-makers see physiotherapy as a public good, not an optional extra. 

Over time, this network could grow into a powerful coalition of voices. We already have the evidence. 

The new national Preventing falls and harm from falls in older people guidelines position physiotherapy-led exercise at the heart of falls prevention. 

The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce has called for multidisciplinary team-based care and better use of allied health. 

Our group programs with the RACGP show that GP–physio models for osteoarthritis, back pain and falls prevention can save millions while improving patient outcomes. 

These reforms are ready to scale. 

Of course, building this network also strengthens us internally. It reminds us that physiotherapy does not stand in isolation. 

This is why co-design has become such a central theme in our advocacy agenda. 

Later this month, at our scientific conference APASC25, we will hear directly from researchers on why co-design is not optional but essential. 

Their voices will challenge us to ensure that our advocacy always includes those with lived experience, particularly First Nations people, culturally diverse communities and people living with disability. 

My dad is a former elite cyclist and para-cycling coach for the Australian Institute of Sport, so I know firsthand the discipline and mental toughness required to perform at the highest level. 

Personally, I am looking forward to hearing from our opening plenary speaker, Olympic champion cyclist Anna Meares, on resilience, patience and persistence. Success rarely happens overnight. 

It requires staying power, adaptability and the ability to get back up after setbacks. 

These are the qualities that define elite athletes and high-performing professions and we need the very same qualities in advocacy. 

So my call to you is simple: help us build a network of ‘friends of physiotherapy’. 

Share your advocacy wins, recruit allies and bring new voices to our cause. 

The more diverse and authentic the stories, the stronger our movement will be. 

I look forward to catching up with many of you—and our growing circle of friends—at APASC25 in Adelaide on 23–25 October. 

It will be a chance to launch and discuss our strategy, to learn from world-class speakers and to strengthen the friendships that sustain us as a profession. 

Rik Dawson APAM MACP

APA Titled Gerontological Physiotherapist 

APA National President