It comes some five or six years after the launch of the APA Career Pathways and the creation of a framework of learning and achievement for the profession that sits alongside, and provides an alternative to, traditional education pathways.

Career Pathways is an ambitious undertaking by the APA for the profession.

We sought to offer physiotherapists the opportunity to advance their learning and their careers in a flexible, practical way that works towards recognised credentials.

The pinnacle of these achievements is the attainment of Fellowship or specialisation of the College.

Indeed, we consider the College the custodians of the physiotherapy career path—its frameworks, curricula and standards.

Since it came into existence, College Fellowship has been associated with excellence and an uncommon commitment to the advancement of our body of knowledge in those who pursue it.

Accordingly, it is also seen as an endeavour requiring the kind of dedication and stamina few of us possess.

While the protection of its standing as an elite undertaking representing the peak of achievement and learning is paramount, we also recognise the need to make the College more accessible to our profession.

Only 185 physios in Australia can call themselves Fellows of the College and to many of even our brightest and most capable, it remains unattainable.

For the sake of the future of the profession, and in honour of our commitment to deliver aspirational but achievable pathway milestones, that needs to change.

The challenge before us is to maintain the quality and standards of our College while making it more open and accessible.

The number of physiotherapists achieving pathway milestones, namely titling and specialisation, needs to grow for a number of reasons.

Firstly, we need more ‘highly developed’ physiotherapists so that consumers and referrers have a viable choice in not only the clinical area, but also the level of expertise of their physio.

We need a critical mass of titled and specialist physiotherapists to drive our advocacy for better recognition by funders and employers.

And we know that rewarded achievement leads to greater career satisfaction and longevity in the workforce.

There are many operational and financial barriers that can be removed to encourage quality candidates to follow career pathways towards specialisation.

We’re actively working on those with our College Council and standing committees.

You may already have seen that a new tier of College membership was created to enable titled physiotherapists to become members of the College (and if you are eligible, I strongly encourage you to join your profession’s College).

In removing the remaining barriers, we remain steadfastly committed to protecting the quality of education and standards we associate with Fellowship and specialisation.

It is often challenging, complicated stuff.

After all, the creation and formalisation of career pathways for an entire profession has not been attempted by any other allied health profession.

It’s pioneering work and I applaud the College Council, its standing committees, members and APA staff who have pursued it for many years with dedication.

Keep an eye out for developments in this exciting arena over the next few months.

My warmest congratulations to the Australian College of Physiotherapists on its 50-year anniversary.

I am looking forward to what comes next.