OTA's Federal Election Toolkit is now available!

With the 2025 Federal Election fast approaching, now is the time to advocate for occupational therapy. OTA’s Federal Election Advocacy Toolkit provides everything you need to engage with local candidates and highlight our profession’s priorities.

Meeting Your Local Member Guide

This guide is designed to support Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) members in preparing for one-on-one meetings with their local federal election candidates. It provides practical advice on how to prepare, conduct, and follow up after a meeting to effectively advocate for the occupational therapy profession ahead of the 2025 federal election.

OTA's 2025 Federal Election Playbook

The OTA 2025 Federal Election Playbook is a key resource for OTA members, OTs, supporters of the profession, and government officials seeking to understand and shape policies that impact healthcare, disability, aged care, mental health, veteran care and workforce planning from the perspective of the occupational therapy profession.

OTA's 2025 Federal Election Statement

The 2025 Federal Election is a critical opportunity to invest in the allied health workforce and strengthen healthcare services. This Statement outlines 27 strategic calls to action essential for addressing pressing issues. A detailed breakdown of each ask is available in OTA’s 2025 Federal Election Playbook.

NDIS Evidence Advisory Committee – EOIs now open

NDIA has announced they are seeking expressions of interest for an Evidence and Advisory Committee (EAC) as well as technical subcommittees (AT, capacity building and economics).

Kruk Update and AHPRA Vexatious Complaints Review

Read the latest updates on the registration process for overseas-trained health professionals and the release of AHPRA’s Framework for Identifying and Managing Vexatious Notifications.

National Allied Health Workforce Strategy

The Federal Government has released a draft of the National Allied Health Workforce Strategy for public consultation, with feedback open until March 3, 2025. The strategy focuses on five key priorities, including workforce recognition, data improvement, sustainability, and support for Indigenous and rural allied health professionals.

New Victorian Chief Allied Health Officer

Rachel Elliott has been appointed as the new Victorian Chief Allied Health Officer, bringing over 25 years of experience as an occupational therapist. She will lead reforms and advancements in allied health services across Victoria. OTA has congratulated Ms. Elliott on her appointment and looks forward to collaborating with her to support and advocate for occupational therapists.

NDIS Announcement: The National Disability Insurance Agency has announced new work to design and develop NDIS assessment tools

The National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) announced that it has commenced work to design and test a new way of gathering information about the support people with disability need and to set their NDIS budgets.

Route Development Tips

Workforce

We know there are significant workforce challenges and opportunities for the occupational therapy profession, such as attracting and retaining OTs. To address these challenges, we've consulted with our members to develop a workforce development plan.

Workforce Development 3-5 Year Operational Plan

See our Workforce Development 3-5 Year Operational Plan.

Occupational Therapy National Workforce Data Report (2023)

In 2023 OTA commissioned a significant workforce development project which aimed to formulate a workforce development plan in partnership with the occupational therapy profession. This report provides details of the data analysis that was provided to OTA. This analysis was prepared for the purpose of understanding the key trends across the Occupational Therapy (OT) workforce for the development of the Occupational Therapy Australia (OTA) Workforce Plan.

Workforce Development Project Summary Report (2024)

In 2023, OTA commissioned a significant workforce development project which aimed to formulate a workforce development plan in partnership with the occupational therapy profession. This report provides a summary of the key findings, details of the data analysis, and key priorities that were provided to OTA.

Workforce Development Project

Here at OTA, we know there are significant workforce challenges and opportunities for our profession. To address these challenges, we've developed the OTA Occupational Therapy Workforce Plan. It was devised using an evidence-based approach which included a literature review, an analysis of OT workforce data, a survey of Australian occupational therapists, interviews and focus groups.