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Speak Out October 2015 3
From the President
As I write this month’s introduction, the sun is shining between storms,
and my jacaranda buds are beginning to burst into their glorious purple
blossom. The seasons have changed, and Brisbane’s warmer wetter
season is on its way.
Jacaranda blossom in Southern
Queensland, signifying the end of the traditional
academic year; our student members are busy
studying, whilst our academic members are
busy finalising teaching and assessments for the
semester. Good luck and congratulations to all
those involved!
Branches will be busy planning ‘Welcome to
the Profession’ events for the newly graduating
cohort of students. It would be great for as many
speech pathologists as possible to attend these
events and meet the future of our profession. See
your Branch e-News for more information.
As you start to see the end of the year, don’t
forget that mandatory CPSP status for all
practising members will be in place for 2016. That
means you will need to meet the annual points
requirement for CPSP in 2015. Further information
on this can be found on page eight. A strong,
evidence-based profession is vital for the best
outcomes for our clients.
And talking of ongoing professional development
– don’t forget to start saving and planning for your
trip to the Perth Conference in May 2016,
the keynote speakers are announced in this issue.
I look forward to meeting you there (and hearing
and meeting our keynote speakers)!
Our advocacy works continues, and I would
like to thank all those members who have
provided their expertise and knowledge to the
development of submissions to various inquiries
and reviews. Outlined in this edition is a snapshot
of the data provided through the Private Practice
Survey (page six). This data was collected to
inform the reviews of Primary Health Care and
Medicare.
Professor Sharynne McLeod and I were invited
to present to the Australian Government
Senate Standing Committee on Education and
Employment inquiry into Current Levels of Access
and Attainment for students with disability in
the school system, and the impact on families
associated with inadequate levels of support.
The presentation (the introduction to which can
be found on page four), and our submission
focussed on the need to have speech
pathologists as an integral part of the school
team. The submission was informed by Professor
McLeod’s research on the effects of speech,
language communication needs on student
performance on NAPLAN. This work attracted
media interest with the East Coast major dailies
and a national paper running an article. More
information about this work can be found on
pages 4 and 5. Thanks go to Ronelle Hutchinson,
SPA's Policy and Advocacy Manager; Michael
Kerrisk, SPA's Communications and Marketing
Manager; Gail Mulcair, Chief Executive Officer;
and Professor Sharynne McLeod for all your work
with this.
Northern Territory Member Amanda O’Keefe and
Ronelle Hutchinson attended the National Rural
Health Alliance conference and met with many
politicians to talk about the difficulties associated
with accessing the right services at the right time
in rural and remote Australia. An unexpected
benefit of the meeting was being in Canberra at
the time of the leadership spill!
October brings Book of the Year to Brisbane this
year. The awards are being hosted by the State
Library of Queensland. This edition of Speak Out
gives you a sneak peek into the winners – but
shhh… it is a secret until 15 October (more info
on page 14).
At the time of writing Queensland has finally
announced its early launch sites of the NDIS,
and New South Wales and Victoria have signed
up to the full roll-out of the scheme. The NDIS is
continuing to raise questions and concerns with
members – but Super Speechie on page 12 has it
all under control!
I think that I am now over my allocated space –
so much to say, so little space to say it in…
Enjoy this month’s bumper issue of Speak Out,
catching up with all the latest Association News.
gaenor dixon
National President