4 SpeakOut
April 2014
SpeechPathology Australia
TheSenate Inquiry
has achieved
agreat deal of interest and responseon
behalf ofmembersof theprofession,
consumersof speechpathology services,
andawidenumber of alignedcolleagues
andorganisations. Todate, weareaware
therehasbeenover 310 submissions.
Unfortunately, due to some technical
issues and the volumeof submissions,
theseare still beinguploaded to the
.
SpeechPathologyAustralia’s submission
to theSenate Inquirywasdelivered to
theSenateon21February 2014. It is a
comprehensive responsewhichextends
to116pages, comprisinga90page
report plus references, and incorporates
55 recommendations. Youcanaccess
thedocument on the
The submission covers a broad range
of issues anddescribes the known
prevalence, impact of communication
and swallowingdisorders and services
available (or not available) for specific
client groups across the lifespan. The
submission also outlineswhat is not
known and requires further investigation.
The submission is introduced in
terms of communication needing
tobe recognised as a basic human
right, followedby an outline of the
economic impact of communication and
swallowingdisorders. It then discusses
communication and swallowing
disorders across the age spectrum of:
Infants; Toddlers andPreschoolers;
Primary School AgedChildren;
Adolescents andYoungAdults; Adults;
andOlder Adults and theElderly. Certain
issues that occur across the lifespan
are outlined including those relating to
Mental Health; ComplexCommunication
Needs; Access to justice for people
with complex communication disability;
andAccess to systematic support
[through funding] across the lifespan.
Data sources (and gaps in data) are
discussed in relation to communication
and swallowingdisorders inAustralia
and the speech pathologyworkforce.
Each section contains a range of
recommendations, whichwithin the
ExecutiveSummary are grouped under
the following themes:
•
Recognising communication as
a human right
•
Strengthening community
awareness and responses to
communication and swallowing
disorders
•
Identifyingproblems
•
Strengthening support and services
•
Ensuring access to rights and
justice for vulnerableAustralians
•
Ensuring access to fair, equitable
and adequate services
•
Data resources –Building
foundations for decisionmaking in
the future
Throughout the document we
incorporated client andmember
stories toprovide a ‘human’ element
to the impact for people not receiving
adequate services.
We believe the submission strongly
presents the value andbenefit of
speech pathology services, aswell
as the significant impact of untreated
communication disability and swallowing
difficulties on both individuals and
society.
Wewould like to thank themany
members and clientswho contributed
their expertise, insights and stories
to theAssociation’s submission. In
particular I would like to thankDr
JemmaSkeat for her expertise and clear
presentation of material as principal
writer of the submission, before she
resigned from theAssociation. I am
aware shewas ably assistedby a
number of contributors as clinical area
experts. I would also like to thank certain
memberswho contributed specific
material, including JadeCartwright,
Leanne Togher andProfessor Linda
Worrall. And significant thanks is also
extended toDr Cori Williams and
Gaenor Dixon, whoboth provided
extensive proofing and editing of the final
report. Finally, I would like to thank the
National Office team for their dedicated
efforts inmeetingwhat was a very tight
timeline to complete our submission by
the due date.
TheSenators are now finalising their
plans for holdingPublicHearings across
the country. They havewelcomed
suggestions fromSpeechPathology
Australia on potential site visits and
key people and organisations tobe
invited topresent at the hearings. Once
plans are confirmed, thesewill be
circulated tomembers. It is intended
that theAssociationwill also invite
media coverage of the hearings to raise
greater public awareness of the reasons
for the inquiry and the needs of those
with communication and swallowing
disability.
GailMulcair
Chief ExecutiveOfficer
February2014
SenateCommunityAffairsReferencesCommittee
Submission to the Inquiry into theprevalence of
different types of speech, language and communication
disorders and speechpathology services inAustralia
Inquiryof theSenateCommunityAffairs
ReferencesCommitteeUpdate
Prevalenceof different types of speech, languageand communicationdisorders
and speechpathology services inAustralia
associationnews
