Speak Out
December 2014
3
From the President
Welcome to this final edition of
Speak Out
for 2014.
What a momentous year
it has been
for the Association! With the Senate Inquiry,
the International Communication Project 2014
(ICP2014), and the strengthening of Certified
Practising Speech Pathologist status and the
mentoring program, significant activity has
centred around two of our Strategic imperatives
– Influence and Professional Standards.
As you will read in this edition, considerable
activity in lobbying, policy, and advocacy has
occurred as a follow-up to the Senate Inquiry,
and in response to Federal and State government
consultative processes and local issues. Gail
Mulcair, National Office staff, other Directors,
and myself continue to engage in meetings with
politicians and their advisors to gain support
for the Senate Inquiry recommendations. Over
20 written submissions have been made in
response to consultative processes across a
wide range of pertinent topics including oral and
mental health, child and youth health, a code of
conduct for health workers, and child care and
early childhood learning. A submission to the
National Registration and Accreditation Scheme
outlining the profession’s stance on inclusion
in this Scheme was also made to the review
committee. You can view these submissions on
the Association website.
State and Territory Branches continue to be
active and creative in raising awareness of
the plight of people with communication and
swallowing disorders through high profile
events and digital media. Congratulations
must go to members of the Tasmanian Branch
who organised a highly effective reception at
Government House in Hobart hosted by the
Lieutenant Governor of Tasmania. Numerous
influential members of the justice, health and
education systems were in attendance to
acknowledge and support the work of our
Association and its members. The short film
produced by Tasmanian members is further
testament to the impact that we can all have on
raising awareness across Australia.
SPA is committed to supporting developing
countries to train speech pathologists and
establish sustainable services for their people.
To this end, the Association invited applications
for funding from two not-for-profit organisations
in the Asia-Pacific region. I am delighted
to announce that funding was awarded to
CABDICO – The OIC Project in Cambodia and
to the Trinh Foundation for activities in Vietnam.
We wish these organisations every success in
their important work in these countries and look
forward to reporting on the outcomes of their
projects in
Speak Out
in the future.
Private practitioners are a large component of
our membership base. A review of activities
during 2014 in this sector is outlined in this
edition of
Speak Out
. I draw your attention to
the array of resources now available on the
SPA website for private practice members, the
seminars that will be conducted in 2015, and
the availability of an advisor in National Office to
assist members with their queries.
The ICP2014 is now coming to a close. The
range of activities undertaken across the country
under this banner has been fantastic. I am
pleased to inform you that the ICP will continue
into 2015 and we are working with our global
partners in this initiative to determine the themes
and activities for next year. My sincere thanks to
everyone for their creativity and tireless efforts in
making the ICP2014 such a success across the
country.
Congratulations to all of the new 2014
graduates in speech pathology. Welcome to the
profession! We look forward to engaging with
you throughout your careers. Your contribution
to the Association, no matter how large or small,
will make a difference in ensuring that services
to clients with communication and swallowing
disorders is optimised. Collectively, we will
enhance the professional lives of all speech
pathologists across Australia.
As 2014 comes to a close, I would like to take
this opportunity, on behalf of myself, the Board
of Directors, and staff in National Office to thank
you all for your contributions to the Association
and to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a
Happy New Year!
Deborah Theodoros
National President
Happy
holidays!
The National
Office and
Branch staff
wish you a
happy and safe
holiday and
festive season.
National Office
will be closed
from
12 noon
on Wednesday
24 December
2014
and will
re-open
Monday 5
January 2015
.
