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Growing a safe workforce involves responding to the current shortage and uneven distribution of registered occupational therapists, while ensuring that the public continues to receive safe services.
The Occupational Therapy Board of Australia published a fact sheet summarising findings about occupational therapists who participated in Ahpra’s Workforce Retention and Attrition Project. We are working with stakeholders to discuss the factors linked to the retention and attrition of occupational therapists in Australia, and to target issues including burnout.
The Board has developed streamlined qualification assessment and registration pathways for overseas-qualified practitioners. The new pathways will allow overseas-qualified practitioners to apply directly for general registration if they hold qualifications that are substantially equivalent or based on similar competencies to Australian qualifications. These pathways will open in late 2025.
The Board is also working to streamline assessment of all overseas qualifications so that appropriately qualified occupational therapists can more easily apply for registration to work in Australia.
Other work underway includes identifying formal education pathways for safe re-entry to practice for occupational therapists who wish to return to the profession after taking a substantial break.
The Board continued to approve the accreditation of new programs of study, and reviewed existing programs throughout the year.
There are now 71 occupational therapy programs of study delivered by 27 education providers across Australia. This is a 48% increase in programs of study since the end of 2023/24.
The Board met with key stakeholders including:
These meetings provided the chance to discuss emerging issues and identify opportunities to enhance collaboration on activities that are being carried out across the respective organisations.
The Board also completed a preliminary consultation to review the Australian Occupational Therapy Competency Standards, engaging with People with Disability Australia, Indigenous Allied Health Australia, Occupational Therapy Australia, and the Occupational Therapy Council of Australia.
In December, the Board attended Indigenous Allied Health Australia’s annual conference to continue Board members’ journeys of unlearning structural racism and to hear the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in healthcare.
The Board hosted events in Hobart in October and Adelaide in December to meet with local practitioners and share important information and discuss their issues and concerns. Engagement with local practitioners was valuable for keeping the Board informed about emerging issues for occupational therapists.
In December, we said farewell to Dr Claire Pearce, who was a practitioner member from the Australian Capital Territory and had been on the Board since March 2021. Our sincere thanks to Claire for her commitment to regulating occupational therapists and her contributions to the National Scheme.
In July, the Board was fortunate to welcome a new member: Ms Nicole Manganaro, practitioner member from Western Australia. In December, we welcomed two new members: Adjunct Professor Petrina Coventry, community member from South Australia, and Ms Amrita Sinha, practitioner member from Tasmania.
Ms Rebecca Singh, Chair
