Awards and recognition
The APA has an extensive awards and recognition program incorporating honoured memberships, milestone achievements, service recognition, student awards, National Group awards, trustee prizes and individual state branch awards.
Honoured members
APA Honoured Membership is an acknowledgement of conspicuous service, leadership, and exceptional contributions to the APA and the broader profession.
APA Honoured Members are nominated for recognition by their peers and formally awarded by the Board after consideration of set criteria.
Nominators of members for Honoured Membership of the Australian Physiotherapy Association should consider all areas on the nomination form (opens March every year) and provide as much information as possible that is relevant of the nominee. Nominee members will need to demonstrate exemplary examples of employment and leadership positions, awards and recognition, sustained outstanding APA service, and personal contributions to the physiotherapy profession.
The following members are acknowledged for their conspicuous service, leadership, and exceptional contributions to the APA and the broader profession:
1984 Elma Casely
1984 Claire Deverson
1984 Melville Furness
1984 Doreen Moore
1984 Isobel Shaw
1986 Patricia Cosh
1988 Phyllis Hawkin
1988 Margaret Nayler
1989 Beatrice Burke
1989 Elizabeth Fussell
1989 Beryl Haynes
1989 Margaret Mack
1992 Jeanne-Marie Ganne
1992 Marie Hammond
1992 Geoffrey Maitland
1993 Yvonne Burns
1193 Margaret Peel
1994 Lance Twomey
1995 Margaret Bullock
1998 Joan Cole
1998 Robyn Cupit
1998 Dorothy Jewell
1998 Sandra Mercer Moore
2000 Doreen Bauer
2000 Anne McCoy
2001 Elizabeth Ellis
2002 Colleen Liston
2002 Patricia Trott
2004 Brian Edwards
2005 Gwendolen Jull
2006 Ruth Grant
2008 Joan McMeeken
2009 Prudence Galley
2009 Catherine Nall
2010 Robert Elvey
2011 Gillian Webb
2012 Max Zusman
2013 Paul Hodges
2013 Roberta Shepherd
2013 Janet Carr
2013 Helen Whitelock Bishop
2014 Lorimer Moseley
2014 David Butler
2015 Marilyn Morgan
2017 Peter Fazey
2017 Melissa Locke
2018 Wendy Braybon
2018 Karen Schneider
2019 Mary Margarey
2019 Mary Galea
2019 Dianne Wilson
2021 Barbara Singer
2021 Michael Ryan
Awards for Professional Excellence (APE)
The APE program celebrates the commitment and outstanding achievements of members and rewards them for their contribution to the APA. The program is administered by each state branch and awards are presented for achievements including:
- contribution to the promotion of the profession
- contribution to the Association by a recent graduate
- contribution to an APA group or state branch
- contribution to physiotherapy research.
Trustee prizes
Trustee prizes are bestowed unto members as a result of bequests left to the APA.
Student awards
Merit-based student awards are for best results in academic study in a field of physiotherapy. Each university has its own awards program and the APA state branches and national groups support these by awarding gifts in several categories.
- Board of Directors' 2024 winner is Jianqi LI , who will sit on NAC in 2025 as the student rep for QLD
- 2024 Certificate of Merit to Phoebe Walker of NSW
For more information, see Board of Directors’ Student Prize.
2018 Victoria Hutton
2019 James Jansz
2020 Caroline Le Quesne
2021 Victoria Quaini
2022 Abeshek Nadarajah
2023 Callum Neish
2024 Jianqi Li
National Group awards
A number of our national groups offer research grants and prizes to members who have made a substantial contribution to a particular area of interest.
- APA National Paediatric Group - Yvonne Burns Award
- APA National Cardiorespiratory Group - Nicole Turney Memorial Grant
- Felice Rosemary Lloyd Trust (VIC)
Member milestones
Every year we celebrate the milestone anniversaries of our members. Members achieving 5, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 years of continuous membership are recognised for their ongoing commitment to the APA. Celebrate our latest milestone achievers. Celebrate and view our latest milestone achievers.
Service recognition and appreciation
Every year we say a special ‘thank you’ to the amazing APA members who work across our various committees, branch councils, college council and committees, national groups and other groups or activities. Take a look at our latest group of esteemed contributors on our appreciation page.