The Physiotherapy Board of Australia is committed to helping to improve health outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

The board shares a commitment with Ahpra and the 14 other national health profession boards to encourage increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ participation in the health workforce and to help eradicate racism from healthcare.

In 2022, Ahpra ran a series of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce events, bringing together key stakeholders to meet and discuss important factors affecting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce.

The webinars highlighted the actions that will best support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners.

‘If we are to increase the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce, we need to accept that racism exists in the healthcare system and learn from the experiences of Indigenous practitioners,’ says Physiotherapy Board of Australia chair Kim Gibson.

‘As the regulator of the physiotherapy profession, we are committed to critically reflecting on our own practices and working with stakeholders to help create greater opportunities for Indigenous practitioners and to improve the support structures.’

Due to the challenges presented by COVID-19, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce summit was converted into an event series held in a blended format including online webinars.

A face-to-face event is planned for 2023.

Webinars

A series of three webinars ran in August and September 2022:
•    Beyond COVID-19: Career pipeline planning for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce (12 August)
•    The cost of failing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Practitioner (2 September)
•    Best practice models for supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners (23 September).

Calls to action

Each of the webinars identified important themes and clear calls to action, including the following.

Accept

Accept that racism exists in the healthcare system and that it has an impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Peoples need to lead educational cultural safety programs and conduct assessments of cultural safety, specifically in accreditation—this aligns with the National Scheme’s definition of self-determined ‘cultural safety’.

Educate

Address your own biases. The biases that exist in clinical and educational settings limit autonomy and growth in an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander practitioner’s practice.

Understand and value the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners*, health workers and health services.

They are critical to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and communities.

Support

Listen to and empower the voices of people who are experiencing racism. Reflect on what you hear.

Address scope of practice ‘turf wars’ and gatekeeping through education, including embedding cultural safety in education and continuing professional development.

Share power with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander practitioners. Accommodate the cultural needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practitioners.

Invest

Understand that representation is important and work to improve this in your institution through a Reconciliation Action Plan, an employment strategy, mentorship programs and dedicated culturally safe spaces.

Create safe spaces for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander colleagues in your institutions.

Provide the investment and step back; you don’t need to be part of the community.

Engage with Indigenous leadership and communities and embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led decision-making at every level.

Invest in and trust Indigenous leadership approaches.

Invest in growing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workforce. Build accountability into the healthcare system at individual and system levels.

Click here for recordings of some of the webinars.

*A nationally registered health profession under the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Practice Board of Australia.