Launched at APASC25, the APA’s Physiotherapy. Shaping our future together: next generation white paper addresses a critical gap—the need for a structured graduate pathway to support early-career physiotherapists as they enter the profession. 

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. 

For senior physiotherapist Natalie Davis APAM, no two days are ever the same. 

In May this year, I travelled to Tokyo alongside APA National President Dr Rik Dawson and Chair of the Board Mark Round to attend the World Physiotherapy Congress 2025. 

The scale of the congress made the event a brilliant opportunity for us to represent Australia on a global stage and to network and connect with physiotherapists from around the world. 

During our time in Tokyo, we were able to meet with board members and senior executives from numerous countries including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Nepal, the United States and the United Kingdom. 

Physiotherapy is an increasingly integral part of the healthcare system, playing a vital and broad role across many areas. 

In regional Australia, especially in rural and remote communities, disparities in access to healthcare lead to health challenges and health inequity. 

During my undergraduate degree, I was fortunate enough to complete a number of regional placements across Victoria, including in Wangaratta, Shepparton, Ballarat and Bendigo. 

Working alongside dedicated local teams, sharing accommodation with fellow students and becoming part of the fabric of each town enriched both my practice and my understanding of what healthcare means to regional Australians. 

As we have seen recently with the NDIS and aged care sectors, this perception is not only inaccurate but dangerous. 

Physiotherapy is not a cost to be trimmed; it is an investment in independence, quality of life and long-term sustainability.

Across the country, we are witnessing a troubling trend. 

Our new strategic plan identifies key priorities that will guide our work as the peak body representing 45,000 physiotherapists across Australia. 

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a largely preventable and treatable—but not fully reversible—lung disease, characterised by a chronic obstruction of lung airflow that interferes with normal breathing.