As 2024 winds up, it’s no accident that this article mirrors a discussion I had with the APA’s National Advisory Council at a recent workshop in Perth. 

I always think that taking the opportunity to reflect on some of the highlights of the year is important, as is sharing them.

You might be aware that the APA has a policy and advocacy blueprint, endorsed by the Board of Directors, for the period 2023–2026. 

The blueprint guides our strategic priorities for policy and advocacy.

It spans five pillars: access, scope, funding, workforce and research. Under each of these pillars sits a suite of more specific goals that drive our work. 

The end of 2024 marks the halfway point of the current blueprint and we are tracking well against it.

To give you a sense of the priorities that fall under each of these pillars, consider the following. 

Our advocacy for greater access to physiotherapy includes calling for genuine primary care pathway reform through new access pathways that will strengthen care for all Australians. 

For scope, there is a core focus on valuing skills, enabling multidisciplinary care and shining a light on advanced practice and hospital physiotherapy. 

As far as funding is concerned, we are leading campaigns to secure better payment models across our care priorities and in private health insurance.

The workforce is an essential consideration for the profession, especially in terms of future supply. 

We are addressing issues in this area through the dissemination of a workforce census and campaigns to secure incentives across training and skills programs to support and sustain our workforce. 

And research, of course, underpins our advocacy efforts, as it does the evidence base of physiotherapy itself.

Naturally, not all goals or reform opportunities sit under one pillar or another. 

Many span multiple areas. With regards to policy leadership and government relations, for example, we have continued to build relationships with ministers, political staffers and government departments to further our advocacy agenda. 

Key deputations in Canberra in July reactivated the Department of Veterans’ Affairs campaign for Veterans’ Health Week in October and initiated a student placement advocacy push.

We have also increased our focus on state advocacy, particularly during the state and territory elections held this year. 

This work has been underway for quite a while and is gaining traction at a critical time. 

(It’s important to note that while enabling reform happens in Canberra, it is often the states and territories that lead innovation in models of care and funding.)

The APA has continued to be a prolific contributor to reform consultations and our input has been both significant and a key element of our advocacy in regards to aged care, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, women’s health and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs throughout 2024. 

A number of these reform activities have been undertaken concurrently and at a breakneck pace. 

As part of the APA’s primary care patient pathway reforms campaign, we released the Nous Group report Direct patient pathways for physiotherapy, which shows $162.7 million in potential savings from direct referral policy changes. 

Focusing on direct referrals, the federal government’s Scope of Practice Review has been a major reform opportunity for physiotherapy and is a critical enabler of future reforms, particularly as we head towards an election year.

We will continue to build on the momentum of these and other successes in 2025. 

With a federal election on the horizon, the APA 2025 pre-Budget and election statements will be critical elements in our ongoing advocacy campaign. 

Work on these began in October and builds on the 2024 pre-Budget framework. 

As we move into the new year, election campaign readiness will be a priority. 

This work always takes a team and we will work closely with our media and public relations colleagues to deliver the campaign, along with the CEO, National President and others.

With the APA’s strategic planning cycle now underway, we will use this opportunity to review our advocacy objectives, resources
and timing to ensure that we can continue to execute our strategy blueprint well into 2026.

It is a crowded reform space and we need to pick our wins. 

Like any organisation, we will adjust our resourcing and our efforts to prioritise areas that will drive the most value. 

This is even more critical in an election year.

In 2025, this is likely to include an increased focus on private health insurance on the back of data from the APA Workforce
Census. 

Key to this will be the development of a value proposition that demonstrates what physiotherapy can and does bring to
that space.

Speaking of futureproofing, the next generation white paper is underway for delivery in 2025. 

We are excited about delivering this paper and anticipate that it will become a cornerstone of our suite, much like Future of Physiotherapy in Australia: a 10-year vision policy white paper. 

This effort is part of our broader value agenda, aimed at shaping a strong reform narrative and enhancing our policy legitimacy with the government. 

Through the strategic planning process, we are exploring opportunities to build our advocacy capabilities across the APA as we collectively elevate physiotherapy as a profession. 

We also need to ensure that we are keeping our members informed and involved with our advocacy on a number of different levels. 

I look forward to exploring this with you further as we move into 2025.

On a final note, it would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the enormous contributions of the Policy and Government Relations team, my predecessor Simon Tatz and other past staff throughout 2024. 

For everyone involved it has been a very busy year of delivering on priorities and setting the groundwork for the years to come.