When Pippa Flanagan MACP reflects on the moment she first became aware of physiotherapy, she laughs at the simplicity of it. 

As a teenager watching Home and Away, Pippa saw a character receiving hydrotherapy after a spinal injury and immediately wanted to know ‘what that job was’. 

When physiotherapists Jonathon Pearce and Jeremy Bottega joined Royal Darwin Hospital’s renal service, they stepped into new territory—both geographically and professionally. 

Jo Morris has been at the forefront of advanced and extended scope physiotherapy practice in Australia since 2007, when she began working in primary contact roles in the emergency department.

When frail older people present to hospital emergency departments, the decision about whether to admit them has enormous consequences. 

For some, a hospital stay is essential, but for many others, remaining in their homes with the right support leads to better outcomes, greater independence and a better quality of life.

Adrian Cush MACP’s pathway into physiotherapy began the way it often does for active young Australians—on the sports field. 

A rugby union player who was often on the receiving end of big tackles, Adrian found himself in physiotherapy rooms more than once.

But one injury in particular helped shape the course of his future.

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

As physiotherapists, we are often asked about pain, what causes it, how best to manage it and why so many people continue to suffer despite advances in care. 

Pain is one of Australia’s most pressing health challenges, affecting one in five adults and costing the economy an estimated $139 billion annually. 

Plastic waste is a global problem and emerging research shows adverse effects on marine life and human health from the ingestion and absorption of toxic microplastic waste products. 

As physiotherapists, we are well positioned to reduce plastic consumption in the clinic and to advise our patients to consider the effects of plastics/microplastics, helping to improve their health outcomes. 

While around 40 to 60 per cent of new physiotherapy graduates gain employment in private practice, only a small proportion of them receive private practice placements before they graduate.