Consultation: Draft National Allied Health Workforce Strategy

Overview

The Department of Health and Aged Care, on behalf of the Australian Government, is working with state and territory governments to develop a National Allied Health Workforce Strategy, as recommended in the Independent review of Australia’s regulatory settings relating to overseas health practitioners Final Report.

Development of the Draft Strategy has been led by a Strategy Steering Group. The group comprises Chief Allied Health Officers from each state and territory, as well as senior executive from several Australian government agencies. An Advisory Group, comprised of members from the Allied Health Industry Reference Group, also provides advice and supports the Steering Group in this role.

The Draft Strategy can be viewed in the related attachments below. It outlines what steps are recommended to ensure there are enough allied health professionals distributed across the country to meet the needs of diverse Australian communities. It highlights the importance of the Australian Government, state and territory governments, universities, allied health peak bodies and professional associations, and relevant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations to work together to improve allied health workforce planning at a national level. It has been developed as a high-level document, with the intention for it to be supported by an implementation plan.

Why your views matter

We appreciate your views on the Draft Strategy. The prospective priorities and actions that are presented reflect the key allied health workforce issues, ideas and feedback identified through research and raised during previous stakeholder consultations. We now seek feedback from people and organisations with an interest in the allied health workforce. The experience and knowledge of all stakeholders and interested members of the community are valued and will contribute to further development of the Draft Strategy.

It is important to note that when the Draft Strategy is finalised, it will be properly formatted and typeset. As such, additions such as a glossary of terms, tables, figures and other graphics have not yet been included. Text will undergo further proofreading and stylistic changes, so feedback is not required on these elements.

Instead, we ask respondents to focus on the policy content of the Draft Strategy. To assist this, please read the entire Draft Strategy before responding to the questions. There is also further background on the development process that has been taken so far. This can be found in the Word Document version of the survey, which can be found in the related attachments below.

What happens next

Thank you for your participation. Your input to the development of the National Allied Health Workforce Strategy is greatly appreciated. We will be reviewing submissions, collating your responses, and using it to assist in further drafting and finalisation of the Strategy.