Dear sir/madam,

Australia has one of the best health systems in the world, but it is under threat. The ongoing and systemic underinvestment into primary healthcare – the whole of primary healthcare – will jeopardise the gold standard health system we value so dearly.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) is calling on the Federal Government to clarify how critical physiotherapy care for older Australians will be funded, to allay uncertainty about the health of older Australians being put at risk and prevent job losses across the aged care sector.

APA National President Scott Willis said despite the Government saying that older people will receive physiotherapy under its new residential aged care funding, it hasn’t addressed the issue and has repeatedly failed to explain both how and how much.

While the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) fully supports government measures to control COVID-19, including warranted lockdown restrictions, the APA is calling for a nationally consistent approach to accessing physiotherapy care that balances health needs with restriction of community movement.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association’s (APA) ‘With Your Physio’ campaign is designed to inform the more than 11 million Australians who live with chronic health conditions on a daily basis, the important role physiotherapy can play in improving and managing their health journey.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) has raised concerns with the Victorian Government about the impact of the ongoing restrictions which severely limit access to physiotherapy care.

At present, physiotherapy care in private practice can only be provided to critical patients and is not available to patients not meeting that threshold.

Inconsistent lockdown restrictions on essential health services applied by the Western Australian (WA) Government shows an urgent need for a national approach to ensure all Australians have access to vital health services during the ongoing pandemic.

Following their previous lockdown, the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) wrote to the WA Government alerting them to the impact on patients’ health care during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The APA called on the WA Government to allow face to face physiotherapy care for patients with critical need.

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) welcomes the $123 million investment in rural health workforce and training under the Stronger Rural Health Strategy. This investment delivers a strong package for the rural health workforce and health services to tackle health disparities and strengthen access for rural and remote communities.