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Lecture

From referral to first contact: celebrating 50 years of professional independence

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It's 50 years since the APA repealed its first ethical principle requiring that physiotherapists only see patients referred by a medical practitioner, one of the most significant changes to physiotherapy practice in the profession's history. Since then, this world-leading move has been adopted by many other countries.

As the profession advocates for physiotherapists to play a greater role in first contact medical care, we look back at the push for first contact physiotherapy, physiotherapist Prue Galley's groundbreaking speech at the APA's 1975 Annual Scientific Meeting and the impact on the profession in the decades since.

To mark this milestone, the APA is proud to premiere a short documentary, Referral revolution: how Australian physiotherapy changed the profession, on World Physiotherapy Day.

Find out how one decision made by the APA led to physiotherapists becoming more independent and professional, opening the door for private practice to expand and the profession to evolve.

Presenters

Prudence Galley


Prudence Galley APAM (retired) graduated with Honours in Physiotherapy from The University of Queensland (UQ) in 1965 then worked as a clinician in Australia and the UK. She later completed a Master's Degree in Education and an Advanced Diploma in Choreology (Clinical). She was a lecturer at UQ for many years.Prue's vision and advocacy in the 1970's led to the adoption of patient self-referral to physiotherapists. This practice had not been previously allowed. Australia led the world with this change and since then first contact practice for physiotherapy has been adopted in many countries. The World Confederation for Physical Therapy awarded Prue with its International Service Award (Practice) in 2011. She is an Honoured Member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (London).

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Lecture
08
Tuesday
08 September
01:00PM - 01:30PM AEST
Level 1 1175 Toorak Road
Camberwell VIC 3124 View map
Price:
Non-Members: $0.00
APA Members: $0.00
Registration closing date:
07 Sep 2026
Event status:
Open
CPD hours:
0.50
Your registration status:
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At a glance
Price:
0.00: $Non-Members
0.00: $APA Members
Registration closing date:
07 Sep 2026
Event status:
Open
CPD hours:
0.50
Your registration status:
Presenters

Prudence Galley


Prudence Galley APAM (retired) graduated with Honours in Physiotherapy from The University of Queensland (UQ) in 1965 then worked as a clinician in Australia and the UK. She later completed a Master's Degree in Education and an Advanced Diploma in Choreology (Clinical). She was a lecturer at UQ for many years.Prue's vision and advocacy in the 1970's led to the adoption of patient self-referral to physiotherapists. This practice had not been previously allowed. Australia led the world with this change and since then first contact practice for physiotherapy has been adopted in many countries. The World Confederation for Physical Therapy awarded Prue with its International Service Award (Practice) in 2011. She is an Honoured Member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association and an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (London).


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