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JCPSLP Volume 17, Number 1 2015 33
1996 to 2011 in the in the number of speech pathologists
born outside of Australia. There was a small increase (0.7%)
in the number of speech pathologists born in Southern and
East Africa. However, some consideration must be given to
that fact the “did not respond”/“incomplete response” for
this question for the 2011 census (6%) was double that for
the 1996 census (3%), and thus the rate of speech
pathologists who were born overseas may in fact be slightly
higher.
Regarding linguistic diversity, Lambier (2002) reported
less than 9% of speech pathologists (who were members
of SPA) spoke a language other than English at home. The
Health Workforce Australia (2014) report only considered
whether speech pathologists were born overseas, which
is not necessarily an indicator of cultural and linguistic
diversity, as many overseas born speech pathologists will
come from an English speaking country (e.g., UK), and
many people born in Australia speak other languages. The
SP workforce needs to identify methods to collect data on
participation rates for people from culturally and linguistically
diverse backgrounds, as this is currently not accessible
through government agency reporting. Such data is crucial
to inform the development of targeted strategies aimed
at increasing representation to levels consistent with the
general population.
International SLP students
The Health Workforce Australia (2014) data indicate that
while there was a peak in the proportion of international
students on study visas entering SP programs in 2009
(11.0%), the largest intake of international students was in
2011 (n = 94). The total number of international students
increased from 52 in 2008 to 91 in 2012, consistent with
overall increased program intake numbers, resulting in a
maintenance of the proportion of SP students who were
international students (7.9%). The results do not provide
information regarding course enrolment type (i.e. Bachelor
versus postgraduate), although Atrill, Lincoln, and McAllister
(2012) reported there were a higher proportion of
international students entering graduate than
undergraduate SP programs.
There was a small but steady increase (2.2%) in the
proportion of international students completing SP
programs (11.1% in 2012). This suggests a comparatively
higher completion rate for international SP students. Atrill
and colleagues (2012) reported that cultural and linguistic
background was a more important factor than country of
birth in regard to SP student competency development.
The impact of cultural and linguistic background on both
intake and completion of a speech pathology program in
Australia needs further examination. Consideration must
also be given to a number of factors that may impact future
enrolments of international students into SP programs,
including foreign exchange rates, program costs, English
language requirements, and delivery of SP program content
overseas.
Relevant factors influencing client
attendance at SLP services
Research suggests that some groups in the community
(e.g., Indigenous Australian and culturally and linguistically
diverse families) are less likely to access both health
(Kelaher & Manderson, 2000; Ou, Chen, Hillman &
Eastwood, 2010) and SP services (Broomfield & Dodd,
2004; Pickering & McAllister, 2000). An American review of
cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD) across health care
The 2011 census data (Health Workforce Australia, 2014)
also identified that there were comparatively more males
(7.5%) than females (6.8%) aged over 55 years, indicating
in the next 10 years a greater proportion of males will likely
retire from the profession. Therefore, unless the number
of male entrants into the SP programs increases in the
next six years (i.e., allowing for four years for program
completion), the proportion of males working as speech
pathologists will fall further in the future.
Unfortunately, the university commencement data
indicate that there continues to be poor representation of
males entering SP programs. This suggests that a change
in the sex balance of the SP workforce is not going to
occur in the near future. The information on students both
entering and completing university programs from the
Health Workforce Australia (2014) report provides potential
prediction of the “drop out” rate of male SP students. This
is a crude technique, which acknowledges that not all
students will be required to complete the four years of the
degree and that not all will do so as a full-time students, nor
in consecutive years. Nevertheless, the data indicate that
students who commenced the SP program in 2008 were
95.4% female. However, those completing in 2012 were
97.1% female. This discrepancy indicates that not only are
fewer males entering SP programs, but also that a lower
proportion of those males complete programs. The reasons
for this discrepancy warrant further investigation.
Table 2: Indigenous Australian participation in SP
workforce
Census 1996 Census 2011
Number of speech
pathologists identifying as
Indigenous Australians
3 11
% Indigenous Australian
speech pathologists
.13% .21%
Source: Health Workforce Australia, 2014
Participation rates of Indigenous
Australians
There is some good news in regards to the participation
rates of speech pathologists identifying as Indigenous
Australians. While the overall number of Indigenous
Australian speech pathologists is still extremely low (n = 11
in 2011), the number has increased nearly four-fold. More
importantly the proportion of Indigenous Australian speech
pathologists has increased by 61%. While this provides a
positive indication of the ability to change the demographic
profile of SP in Australia, it needs to be stressed that there
is still significant work to be done. There needs to be a
concerted effort to strategically increase the Indigenous
Australian participation rate in SP in Australia, in order to be
reflective of the Australian population and to provide a role
model and conduit within with the Indigenous Australian
community and Indigenous Australian clients. The Health
Workforce Australia (2014) report does not provide
information on enrolments or completions of students who
identify as Indigenous Australians.
Participation rates of people who are
culturally and linguistically diverse
The Health Workforce Australia (2014) data suggests a
small increase from 16.3% to 17.1% in the period from