Parliamentary Friends of Occupational Therapists

OTA is proud to announce that we have established a Parliamentary Friends of Occupational Therapists group. This bipartisan forum is dedicated to elevating the role of occupational therapists in shaping better health, disability, aged care, veterans’ affairs and mental health policy. Co-chaired by Senator Tammy Tyrrell and Henry Pike MP, the group will help connect parliamentarians with the expertise of occupational therapists working across communities every day. A formal launch is being planned for early 2027.

New Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner

Culturally safe practice is a core professional obligation under the relevant National Board codes of conduct and is fundamental to improving health and wellbeing outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Cultural safety extends beyond individual practice to the systems in which care is delivered, making it critical that aged care settings and structures enable and support culturally safe care.

OTA welcomes the Federal Government’s passage of legislation to establish a permanent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aged Care Commissioner within the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission from 1 July 2027.

The creation of this statutory role implements a recommendation of the 2021 Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety and embeds an independent, culturally informed voice within the Commission to help drive systemic change.

The Commissioner’s office will monitor systemic reform issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and elevate their experiences, feedback and priorities to inform the development and delivery of aged care policy and services.

Thriving Kids: Shaping the next phase of early childhood support

As Thriving Kids moves towards implementation, OTA is focused on ensuring the new system delivers meaningful outcomes for children and families, with occupational therapy expertise appropriately recognised and utilised.

Through recent discussions with the NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS), Whereto Research and the ACT Government, we have been reinforcing three priorities: 

1. Meaningful outcomes: Support must focus on children’s participation in everyday life, including at home, in early learning and in their communities.
2. The right expertise at the right time: Service pathways must recognise when occupational therapy is needed, including for children with more complex developmental and functional needs.
3. Workforce capability: Implementation must be supported by a workforce with the skills and resources to deliver effective supports across universal, community-based, group, parent-mediated and targeted services, with individualised intervention where needed.

As implementation arrangements become clearer, OTA will continue advocating for a system that connects children’s needs with appropriate supports, recognises professional expertise and measures what matters to children and families.

Grants available in NSW

As part of the NSW rollout of Thriving Kids, the NSW Government is investing in advocacy and safeguarding supports for children, families, carers and kin. A new $1 million Thriving Kids DAFP grant round will support projects that:

• strengthen the capacity of service providers to deliver advocacy and safeguarding supports
• help children, families, carers and kin connect with the services and supports they need
• build community understanding of developmental delay and support developmental literacy.

Grants of $30,000 to $100,000 will be available to eligible providers. Priority will be given to projects supporting communities that face additional barriers to accessing services and supports.

Applications close at 4pm on 24 November. Find out more about the DAFP grants and how to apply here.

Sparked Community Co-Design workshops (NSW)

Are you interested in improving digital platforms that support care coordination and continuity? Join the in-person Sparked Community Co-Design workshops in Sydney on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 November. The workshops will focus on AUCDI requirements for hospital discharge summary information and the AU Encounter Record Summary. Allied health perspectives on the information needs of multidisciplinary teams will also be a key focus. Find out more and register here.