Speak Out October 2016

Indigenous Allied Health Australia , a national not for profit, member based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander allied health organisation is inviting you to attend its 2016 National Professional Development Forum. The forum will be held from 29 November to 1 December in Canberra. The national forum will include a diverse program with a range of interactive professional development workshops. The forum provides a culturally safe place, and space to enjoy a diverse range of interactive and thought-provoking workshops that will enhance your professional and personal journeys. Workshop topics have been chosen across a broad range of themes to provide opportunities to increase your knowledge and skills, within the context of improving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing. The professional development workshops are designed for participants from any health profession, job role and sector. Interprofessional engagement with other participants, utilising the collective perspectives, strengths and attributes from across disciplines and sectors, will value add to learning experiences for all. So whether you work in health service delivery, management, policy, research or academia, there will be something for everyone. The full program is available on the IAHA website www. iaha.com.au/events/2016-iaha-national-forum-program For more general information about the forum visit www.iaha.com.au Indigenous Allied Health Australia PD workshops Speech pathologists working in private practice will know that rebates for speech pathology services through private health insurance products offer extremely low value for clients. Speech Pathology Australia therefore welcomes the appointment of a Federal Private Health Ministerial Advisory Committee to oversee reforms to the private health insurance industry. We are hopeful that reforms will focus on improving the value of these insurance products for our clients. The Australian Government expects reforms to increase competition in the sector, while also improving affordability and value for money for consumers through: • The development of easy-to-understand categories of health insurance, so that consumers understand what their policies will and will not cover; • addressing regulatory issues that are adding to the cost of premiums and discouraging innovation; • developing a private health insurance product designed specifically for Australians living in rural and remote areas. The committee includes industry, consumer and provider representatives. As a member organisation of Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) we are especially pleased that representatives of AHPA will be on the committee. We hope this means that there will be a focus on improving value for allied health “ancillary” products. Speech Pathology Australia will make a formal submission to the public consultation process in due course. Reforms to private health insurance

face-to-face, including the development of the ICP’s engagement and advocacy strategy following the receipt of the Weber Shandwick consultant’s report, commissioned in 2015 by the ICP. Subsequent discussions through the week with ICP members and IALP, as well as additional useful contacts, focused on how best to leverage influence with key people in the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to achieve international recognition of communication disability and work towards world-wide accepted standards for communication inclusivity. The ICP was also able to raise its profile and promote its activities by staffing its own stand throughout week. Much of the ICP’s efforts at the congress were directed at promoting the important underlying theme that communication is a basic human right. Speech Pathology Australia was also front and centre in the congress’ poster display, with a poster explaining the Association’s Speech Pathology 2030 project. Our poster generated a lot of interest and discussion about the future of the profession – many themes and challenges are universal! The congress closed with the exciting news that the New Zealand Speech-language Therapists’ Association was successful in its bid to host the IALP Congress in 2022. Speech Pathology Australia is very pleased that our neighbours were successful in getting the congress “down under”, albeit across “the ditch”. Gail Mulcair Chief Executive Officer

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October 2016 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

Speak Out