Last week, OTA ramped up our national advocacy efforts, with our Chief Executive Officer and Head of Policy & Advocacy meeting federal politicians and sector representatives in Canberra and Sydney.

We pressed for urgent action on issues affecting our profession, including NDIS pricing, the Thriving Kids program and student clinical placement funding.

Meetings in Canberra

We started the week in Canberra, meeting with Ministers and ministerial offices, including Minister for Early Childhood and Education, Jess Walsh, Sophie Scamps MP, Dr Helen Haines MP, and Senator Jordan Steel-John.

These meetings provided an opportunity to present the results of our annual NDIS Provider Survey, highlight the importance of including OT expertise in the design of Thriving Kids, and call for Commonwealth Prac Payments to be extended to OT students.

We also delivered our NDIS Report to the office of NDIS Minister Jenny McAllister, along with the full petition from our No OTs: No NDIS campaign. The discussion focused on what the data means in practical terms for occupational therapists on the ground.

Thank you to the more than 600 members who contributed to the survey and 16,000 people signed and shared the petition – support that continues to strengthen OTA’s advocacy.

Sector engagement

Our CEO Samantha Hunter joined the Allied Health Reference Group alongside other allied health peaks to discuss coordination within the sector.

Later in the week, we also attended a roundtable hosted by Minister McAllister and Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA), where allied health representatives, including OTA, called for called for the representation of allied health professions on advisory groups on NDIS pricing and Thriving Kids.

Connecting with members

While in Canberra, OTA also hosted a ‘sundowner’ event attended by about 40 ACT members.

The event provided valuable insights and stories from our members, which were woven into the week’s advocacy.

Partnerships and campaigns

We met with Indigenous Allied Health Australia to discuss culturally safe services and joint policy priorities, and also attended a Dementia Australia event at Parliament.

The campaign, Nobody can do it alone, launched by the Parliamentary Friends of Dementia, highlighted the prevalence and impact of dementia and the need for greater support for carers.

Next steps

We will continue to share further updates on these key advocacy areas in the coming weeks.

Last week, OTA met with Ministers, MPs and sector leaders, presented our NDIS survey results and petition, and pressed for action on Thriving Kids, prac payments, and sustainable allied health reform.