I am very pleased to be writing my first article for InMotion as the new General Manager, Policy and Government Relations at the APA. 

At the time of writing, I’ve been in the role for just over two months, having started not long after Rob LoPresti, our new CEO.

Like Rob, I also trained as a physiotherapist. Since then my career journey has taken a number of interesting twists and turns that might be considered eclectic.

After graduating from the University of South Australia, I worked as a physio in the public healthcare system for around 15 years—in three different states in Australia, across metropolitan and regional settings, and in the National Health Service in the UK. 

I also worked for about the same number of years in the Victorian Government, across a range of health portfolios, with two years in private health insurance thrown in for good measure.

Somewhere in among these various roles, I recognised that there were many things in the healthcare system that didn’t make sense to me or didn’t work as I thought they should or could. 

I wanted to understand how I could be part of changing this—contribute to building a more effective, fairer and better system for everyone. 

So I went back to university (this time La Trobe University) and completed a Master of Public Health, with a focus on policy.

All of which gives you a brief explanation as to how I came to this role—back to the fold if you will—and why I am so excited to be working at the APA. 

I am glad to be able to bring the skills, knowledge and experience I’ve gained in my previous roles to this one—problem-solving, clinical knowledge and empathy from my physio background; understanding commercial drivers and members’ needs from
my time in private health insurance; and systems thinking, navigating government and understanding how policy is made, funded and implemented from my time in government.

It’s been interesting to read previous InMotion advocacy articles while I’ve been preparing to write this one. 

They reminded me that when it comes to policy and advocacy, sometimes it can appear that nothing much is happening even when it is moving quickly, at least in policy terms.

Policymaking—and change—is not organised or systematic or linear. 

It’s also rarely (if ever) just one decision—it’s more like a web of decisions that grows and evolves over time, sometimes imperceptibly. 

If that sounds hard to pin down, you are absolutely right. Take it from this physio—policy and advocacy are more art than science.

You’re scanning the environment, building relationships and planting policy seeds that may take years to germinate.

Gathering evidence, picking your timing and building on work that’s been done before.

It’s a delicate balancing act between being opportunistic and being patient. So—what’s happening right now?

I feel very fortunate to step into this role at this moment because, to quote APA National President Scott Willis, right now we are closer than we’ve ever been to meaningful reform and progress for physiotherapy as a profession.

I see many opportunities to drive physiotherapy forward through the reforms that are currently building—starting most obviously with the Scope of Practice Review. 

While it might seem at first glance to be focused on primary care settings, this shift acts as a critical tipping point even if all our asks did not make it through to the final recommendations.

Remember the web of decisions? Planting the seeds? Being both opportunistic and patient?

This is policy and advocacy at work. And it’s thanks to the efforts of many people who have worked tirelessly at building the relationships, gathering the evidence and getting the timing right that we are starting to see the elusive policy window opening up. 

It is one more step forward in a long game.

Over the past couple of months, there has been a power of work going on in the background. 

I’d like to highlight some of what the team has been doing, in close collaboration with colleagues across the APA and with our national groups.

This includes preparing detailed, evidence-based written submissions to government, supporting the president and CEO on parliamentary delegations and providing evidence at parliamentary inquiries, holding strategic meetings with funders and ministers’ offices to progress opportunities for physiotherapy, developing tools to support advocacy via the Valuing Skills Series, seeking your feedback via a range of mechanisms including quick polls and delivering on major campaigns like the recent Department of Veterans’ Affairs campaign in October.

This is just a small set of examples of the work of the Policy and Government Relations team at the APA.

I will keep you updated and share ongoing insights into the APA’s policy and advocacy work through this column as we continue to advance opportunities for physiotherapy across the healthcare system. 

I look forward to engaging with you through our range of platforms and am excited to see how we can build momentum and deliver on our policy aspirations into the future.