ACDHS Update – February 2026

Feb 25, 2026 | 0 comments

Welcome to the February edition of the ACDHS Update.

This month’s Update highlights key workforce policy discussions currently shaping the allied health education landscape, alongside research engagement opportunities and program updates for members.

With national debate continuing around clinical placement funding and broader workforce reform, ACDHS remains focused on advocating for coordinated, system-level solutions that strengthen equity, sustainability, and long-term capacity across the health sciences sector.

We also share a new research invitation for early-career academics and the latest developments in the Mental Health First Aid program, including webinar resources and upcoming instructor training dates.

As always, we welcome contributions from members for future editions.

 

IN THIS ISSUE

  • Feature Story: Growing the Allied Health Workforce Requires Structural Reform – Not Short-Term Fixes
  • Policy & Sector Collaboration: Placements: Barriers and Enablers – Joint UK, Australia and New Zealand Event 
  • Research Invitation
  • Strategic Issues and Policy Focus
  • Mental Health First Aid Update
  • Events, Conferences, Opportunities & Resources
  • Jobs Board

Feature Story

Growing the Allied Health Workforce Requires Structural Reform – Not Short-Term Fixes

Australia’s allied health workforce challenge is not emerging – it is entrenched.

Demand for services continues to rise across aged care, disability, primary care and hospital settings, yet the pipeline of graduates entering the workforce remains constrained by structural pressures within higher education funding, clinical placement capacity, and student income support settings.

Policy analysts have long warned that workforce growth in priority professions cannot be separated from higher education system design. Higher education policy expert Andrew Norton* has consistently highlighted how funding structures, student contribution settings, and income support mechanisms influence participation and completion. Broader sector commentators including Danielle Wood*, in her national productivity leadership roles, have simarlily emphasised that workforce shortages require coordinated structural reform rather than isolated interventions.

For allied health, this analysis is reinforced by ACDHS’s own evidence base.

The ACDHS Allied Health Aged Care Workforce Model (2022-23) highlighted several critical pressures across the sector:

  • Persistent growth in student enrolments across multiple allied health disciplines
  • Increasing reliance on complex, distributed placement networks
  • Escalating supervision and coordination costs not fully reflected in funding settings
  • Capacity constraints in rural and regional placement environments
  • Rising student financial stress during extended clinical placement blocks

These findings underscore a central reality: workforce expansion targets cannot be achieved without corresponding reform to the systems that underpin education and training.

Mandatory clinical placements are essential learning components of professional preparation. However, extended placement requirements can limit students’ capacity to undertake paid employment, compounding financial pressures during clinical training. The current debate around expansion of Commonwealth Prac Payment arrangements therefore sits within a broader structural question – whether national workforce policy settings are aligned with the operational realities of allied health education. From an ACDHS perspective, three key challenges stand out:

  • Demand is growing faster than capacity. Australia needs more allied health professionals, but university funding and placement opportunities have not kept pace.
  • Equity is a stated priority, but barriers remain. Financial pressures continue to affect students from rural, regional and lower socio-economic backgrounds most acutely.
  • Allied health is essential, yet policy is not coordinated. While its importance to system sustainability is widely acknowledged, responsibility sits across multiple portfolios, resulting in fragmented responses rather than a clear, aligned strategy.

Expanding financial support for students undertaking placements would be a positive step. However, it must sit within a broader reform agenda that addresses placement capacity models, supervision funding, university cost recovery, and long-term workforce planning.

Growing the allied health workforce requires alignment across higher education policy, health funding, and labour market strategy. Without that alignment, Australia risks perpetuating cyclical shortages in professions that are central to prevention, rehabilitation, chronic disease management, and community care.

As national conversations on workforce reform continue throughout the year – including within higher education and health policy forums – ACDHS will continue to advocate for sustainable, system-level solutions that support equitable access to education and long-term growth of the allied health workforce.

*Andrew Norton, Professor of higher education policy, Monash University
*Danielle Wood, Productivity Commission, Chair

Policy & Sector Collaboration

Placements: Barriers and Enablers – Joint UK, Australia and New Zealand Event

This joint online event, Placements: Barriers and Enablers, brings together members of the Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery (CDNM), the Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences (ACDHS), and the Council of Deans of Health (CDH) for a focused cross-sector conversation on the future of clinical and professional placements.

The session will open with short, thought-provoking perspectives from speakers across New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. These contributions will highlight the key barriers and enabling factors currently shaping placement delivery, including pressures associated with mandated placement hours, workforce capacity constraints, supervision models, and the increasing complexity of both student cohorts and service environments.
Building on these insights, the event will prioritise networking and structured discussion. Participants will have the opportunity to share experiences, compare approaches across professions and jurisdictions, and exchange practical examples of innovation and good practice.

This event is designed to strengthen cross-council dialogue, surface shared challenges, and identify opportunities for coordinated action in support of sustainable placement systems.

Date: Thursday, 23 April 2026
Time: 5:00pm AEST

Register here

Research Invitation

Supporting New Health Professional Academics

Monash University is inviting eligible early-career health professional academics (within their first five years in academia) to participate in Phase 2 of the PATH study, piloting a new assessment tool designed to identify confidence and preparation needs when transitioning into university teaching roles across nursing, midwifery and allied health.

The anonymous online survey takes approximately 10–15 minutes to complete.

Learn more and access the survey

Strategic Issues and Policy Focus

2026 SIG Project Proposals

2025 saw strong engagement from our Strategic Issues Groups, with five project proposals submitted for ACDHS Board funding in 2026. These covered key sector priorities including accreditation, clinical education, early career academic development, and allied health research. An independent review panel-supported by CDNM’s CEO and Professor Gregory Kolt-assessed each proposal using a structured matrix aligned with ACDHS strategic objectives.

The panel assessed and ranked all five proposals. The Board has agreed to fund the two highest-ranked projects.

The first is the Allied Health Community of Practice project from the AH Teaching SIG. The Board will now work closely with the SIG to finalise commissioning arrangements so the project can commence as soon as possible.

The second relates to the SIG Accreditation proposal. Before progressing this project to commissioning, the Board intends to open a more direct dialogue with Ahpra. This will help advance shared priorities and provide feedback to further refine the proposal prior to formal approval.

The 3rd and 4th ranked proposals will also receive additional advice about the possibility of late‑2026 funding, and proposals not successful this round may still be considered for 2027.

All SIGs will receive tailored feedback on their proposals to help strengthen future submissions and spark new ideas for 2026–27. In addition, with a new Manager, Policy & Projects joining ACDHS, we’ll be supporting smoother collaboration between SIG activity and our broader policy and project planning.

SIGs have begun meeting again for 2026 and anyone interested in joining one of the groups should contact Anne Keohane strategicsupport@acdhs.edu.au.

ACDHS supports expansion of Commonwealth Prac Payments

 

The Australian Council of Deans of Health Sciences supports Allied Health Professions Australia’s petition calling on the Australian Government to expand the Commonwealth Prac Payment to include all allied health students.

Allied health students are required to complete extensive mandatory clinical placements, often involving significant unpaid hours and associated living costs. Financial hardship during placement remains a persistent barrier to participation and progression, with implications for equity, workforce supply, and long-term sustainability of the health system.

Expanding placement support across all health disciplines would represent an important step toward reducing placement poverty and strengthening Australia’s future allied health workforce.

Members are encouraged to review and share the petition within their networks:

Sign the petition

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Update

Mental Health First Aid for Health Professional Students – Webinar Recording Available

Thank you to those who joined the recent Mental Health First Aid for Health Professional Students: Strategies for Success webinar.

If you were unable to attend, or would like to revisit the discussion, the recording is now available: Watch the webinar.

You can also download the presentation slides from the session: Download the slides.

The webinar explores practical implementation strategies, lessons learned from participating institutions, and approaches to embedding MHFA within health professional programs.

MHFA Instructor Training Course (ITC) – Registrations Now Open

MHFA Instructor Training Course registrations are now open. The link to register can be found in the ITC Applicant Instructions.

The 2026 ITC dates and application deadlines are as follows:

2026 Course dates Application Deadline
4-8 May 23 March
22-26 June 11 May
3-7 August 22 June
7-11 September 27 July
12-16 October 31 August

Institutions planning to train new MHFA instructors in 2026 are encouraged to review these dates early and support suitable applicants to apply within the relevant deadlines.

Upcoming Events, Opportunities and Resources

Events

    OPPORTUNITIES

    RESOURCES

    While this guide was developed in Aotearoa New Zealand, its insights into allied health career development are relevant to all allied health professionals. Te Awa Tārai – A Career Development Guide for Allied Health – Hauora Haumi provides a thoughtful framework for recognising diverse pathways, building skills, reflecting on professional growth and planning future development. It highlights stages of career progression and encourages reflective practice and ongoing skill enhancement that many in our sector will find useful in shaping their own career journeys. Download HERE.

    Jobs Board

    VIC
    QLD
    TAS
    SA
    WA
    ACT
    NSW
    Overseas

    Know someone (or something) we should celebrate?

     

    Member Acknowledgements recognise significant achievements, honours, and contributions across our ACDHS community. If you, or a colleague, have recently received an award, fellowship, major appointment, or other noteworthy recognition, we would love to hear from you.

    Please email brief details (and a photo if available) so we can feature them in an upcoming Update. (leonie@acdhs.edu.au)

    Feedback & Engagement

    Have a story or research achievement to share? We’d love to hear about it!

    leonie@acdhs.edu.au.

    Thank you for reading the ACDHS Update. We look forward to bringing you more inspiring stories and valuable updates next month.

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    We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Australia’s lands and waters and their enduring connection to Country. As an education and health sciences association, we recognise the vital role of Indigenous knowledge in shaping holistic approaches to learning, wellness, and healthcare. We honour Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, past and present, and their custodianship of knowledge embedded in the land. In paying our respects to Elders, we commit to fostering cultural understanding and partnerships for equitable and inclusive education and healthcare.