In July, our Deputy CEO Craig Maltman will retire after 14 remarkable years at the APA. Over that time, Craig has served in several pivotal roles: General Manager of Corporate Services, Company Secretary and Deputy CEO. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank him for everything he has contributed to this organisation and to the physiotherapy profession and to acknowledge what a privilege it has been to have him as a colleague. 

Craig is an exceptional leader. 

He commands enormous respect from the Board, the executive team and everyone who works alongside him. 

He leads with integrity, respect and support and has earned the trust of all those he works with. 

He’s been someone that I could always rely on for advice and keen insights. 

He will be sorely missed. In his 14 years at the APA, Craig has both witnessed and shaped significant change. 

When he joined in 2012, the Board was focused on finding meaningful ways to reduce the administrative burden on members and strengthen the value of membership. 

That thinking gave rise to our Member Master Insurance program. 

Subsequently, membership grew from 13,500 members to 19,000 in just three years, a remarkable increase that also strengthened our financial position and allowed us to invest in upgrading our digital capabilities at the time. 

Our members can look to us as a reputable, trusted brand and have confidence that our insurance offering is backed by rigorous research, careful deliberation and hard-won negotiation – representing the best available product in the market. 

However, insurance is not a set-and-forget offering for us. 

At the time of writing, we are in the final stages of a brokerage review, with a recommendation before the Board to appoint a new brokerage partner that will work with us to further enhance our insurance offering and ongoing service for our members.

On 27 May, we held our annual general meeting – an opportunity to reflect on a strong year and share key insights from 2025. Among the highlights was our financial result, which I’m very proud of. 

We have once again received a clean audit and maintained robust internal controls, which speaks to the discipline and integrity underpinning our financial stewardship and management. 

In fact, last year we budgeted a small deficit of $200,000 but closed 2025 with a surplus of $870,000 instead. 

That turnaround is a direct result of the exceptional membership growth we achieved throughout the year, finishing with approximately 36,000 members. 

Strong financial stewardship is not simply about managing the books. It is about positioning an organisation to grow, adapt and respond when it matters most. 

The APA has maintained a healthy financial position for many years, which has served us well, most recently during the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. 

Today, we hold considerable cash reserves that enable us to invest in projects as they arise. 

Over the next few years, those funds will underpin a significant digital transformation – upgrading our internal systems, refreshing our website and reimagining how members engage with CPD. 

This work aligns directly with our strategic plan, Towards 2030. 

After establishing education as our first pillar of focus, we are now turning our attention to how we deliver our services through a world-class digital transformation uplift. 

The financial foundations are in place. The strategy is clear. And I am excited about what lies ahead for the APA and for the physiotherapy profession we proudly serve. 

Rob LoPresti 

APA Chief Executive Officer