ACDHS Update – July 2026

Jul 22, 2026 | 0 comments

Welcome to the July edition of the ACDHS Update.

This month brings significant news for the allied health sector, with the Australian Government announcing an expansion of the Commonwealth Prac Payment to include students from 10 additional allied health and frontline professions from 1 July 2027. We also share ACDHS’s response to this important reform, including comments from ACDHS Chair Professor Terry Haines on what this means for students, universities and the future health workforce.

Elsewhere in this edition, nominations are now open for the 2026 ACDHS Awards, recognising excellence and innovation across allied health education, research, leadership and community engagement. We also provide updates on the Council’s Strategic Issues Groups, policy and advocacy initiatives, and the continued growth of the Allied Health Clinical Education Community of Practice.

You’ll also find our feature on the passage of landmark PBS prescribing reforms, research highlights from La Trobe University’s new multidisciplinary Health Clinic, an update on the Mental Health First Aid program at the University of Melbourne, recognition of Speech Pathology Week, and the latest events, opportunities, resources and career vacancies from across the sector.

Thank you for your continued engagement with ACDHS and for the work you do to strengthen allied health education, research and the future health workforce across Australia and New Zealand.

 

IN THIS ISSUE

  • Late BREAKING NEWS – Expansion of the Commonwealth Prac Payment to include students from 10 additional allied health and frontline professions
  • 2026 ACDHS Allied Health Awards
  • Strategic Issues Groups
  • ACDHS Policy & Projects
  • Feature Story: Registered nurse PBS prescribing reform passes Parliament
  • Research Roundup: La Trobe opens landmark Health Clinic to strengthen allied health workforce
  • Mental Health First Aid Update – University of Melbourne
  • Speech Pathology Week
  • Events, Conferences, Opportunities & Resources
  • Jobs Board

Late Breaking News

Commonwealth Prac Payment expanded to allied health students

ACDHS has welcomed the Australian Government’s announcement that the Commonwealth Prac Payment will be expanded to students in 10 additional allied health and frontline professions from July 2027.

Read the full ACDHS statement, including comments from ACDHS Chair Professor Terry Haines by clicking the link below.

Read the full ACDHS statement

2026 ACDHS Allied Health Awards

We are pleased to announce that nominations for the 2026 ACDHS Awards are open NOW.

Do you know an individual or team making an outstanding contribution to allied health education, research, leadership or community engagement?

The ACDHS Awards 2026 celebrate the innovation, impact and leadership that are shaping the future of allied health across Australia and New Zealand.

Award categories include:

  • Allied Health Education – Innovation Award
  • Allied Health First Nations – Leadership/Engagement Award
  • Allied Health Research – Impact Award
View the eligibility criteria and submit your nominations

Strategic Issues Groups

Allied Health Clinical Education Community of Practice

The ACDHS Allied Health Clinical Education Community of Practice (CoP) has attracted significant interest from across the sector, with 151 members joining the network and 49 applications received for leadership positions.

The CoP has been established to promote collaboration, innovation, knowledge sharing and leadership in allied health clinical education.

A leadership group is currently being finalised through a structured selection process to ensure broad representation and a diverse range of expertise, with all applicants to be notified in the coming week. Once established, the leadership group will begin setting priorities and planning activities to support the CoP’s objectives.

The inaugural CoP meeting is expected to be held in the coming months, and members will be kept informed as plans progress.

Strategic Projects Continue to Progress

Work is continuing with the Strategic Issues Group (SIG) project relating to Ahpra and accreditation. Following discussions with Ahpra and the Health Professions Accreditation Collaborative (HPAC) Forum, the SIG will now consider the feedback received and determine the next phase of this work.

Members may also recall that during the previous project funding round, the ACDHS Board indicated it would review the organisation’s financial position after the end-of-financial-year results were available, with a view to consider additional funding support for SIG initiatives. This matter is scheduled for discussion at the upcoming August Board meetings.

Additional members are always welcome to join any of the Strategic Issues Groups. For further information, please contact Anne Keohane at strategicsupport@acdhs.edu.au.

ACDHS Policy & Projects

Expert Advisory Panel

The new Panel has now been established, as an initiative to strengthen its proactive policy development, engagement and advocacy now and into the future.

Reminder of Data request to develop Impact Profile

A reminder that data to support the development of the Council’s impact profile is due by COB Friday 24 July. This initiative provides an opportunity to showcase credible, data-driven evidence of ACDHS’s scale, significance and contribution as the peak body for Allied Health education and research. It will also highlight key issues such as the future workforce pipeline and help strengthen ACDHS’s ability to demonstrate its impact and advocate, making this contribution more visible to governments, funders, partners and the broader community.

Any queries, please contact Esther Manning – policy@acdhs.edu.au.

Feature Story

Registered nurse PBS prescribing reform passes Parliament

The Australian Parliament has passed landmark legislation enabling appropriately endorsed registered nurses to prescribe Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines for the first time.

The reform is expected to improve timely access to medicines, particularly in rural, regional and remote communities, while supporting multidisciplinary models of care and helping reduce pressure on GP services. It applies only to designated registered nurse prescribers who have completed the required education and endorsement and who prescribe in partnership with an authorised health practitioner. PBS prescribing is expected to commence from 1 October 2026 following implementation of supporting administrative systems.

The Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery (CDNM) has welcomed the legislation as an important milestone in enabling nurses to work to their full scope of practice and strengthening access to high-quality healthcare across Australia.

Read the Australian Government announcement and the CDNM media release for more information.

Australian Government announcement
CDNM media release

Research Roundup

La Trobe opens landmark Health Clinic to strengthen allied health workforce

La Trobe University has officially opened its new $82 million La Trobe Health Clinic at the Bundoora campus, creating Victoria’s largest multidisciplinary university clinic and expanding opportunities for student-led clinical education across a broad range of allied health disciplines. The facility will provide affordable services to the community while helping train an additional 400 allied health professionals each year through hands-on, supervised clinical experience.

The clinic supports disciplines including audiology, dietetics, occupational therapy, orthoptics, physiotherapy, podiatry, psychology and speech pathology, while also providing additional capacity to assist patients referred from health service waiting lists.

Professor Russ Hoye, Dean of the School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, said the new facility demonstrates the value of integrating education with community care.

“The La Trobe Health Clinic represents a transformation in delivering real-world education for our students while meeting critical health needs in our community. The clinic supports a range of our health agency partners by seeing clients on their waiting lists referred to us, while increasing the pipeline of future health workforce professionals.”

The initiative reflects the important role university-led clinics can play in addressing workforce shortages while improving access to care and strengthening partnerships between universities and the health sector.

Photo Credit: La Trobe University

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Update

University of Melbourne builds strong momentum

The University of Melbourne continues to demonstrate strong engagement with the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) program, with more than 200 students now having completed the eLearning component across Dentistry, Oral Health, Physiotherapy and Clinical Audiology. The Doctor of Dental Surgery program has been particularly successful, recording 106 completions to date, while participation continues to grow across the University’s other allied health disciplines.

This ongoing uptake reflects the University’s commitment to equipping future health professionals with the skills and confidence to recognise and respond to mental health challenges in both their peers and the patients they will support throughout their careers.

Speech Pathology Week

Speech Pathology Week is an opportunity to recognise the vital contribution speech pathologists make to the lives of Australians of all ages.

From supporting communication and literacy to swallowing, voice and cognitive-communication, speech pathologists play an essential role in improving health, wellbeing and quality of life.

ACDHS celebrates the dedication and impact of speech pathologists across education, research and clinical practice. Learn more about Speech Pathology Week and how you can get involved:

More information

Upcoming Events, Conference and Opportunities

Events

Opportunities

Resources

Allied Health Digital Hub:

Designed to help allied health professionals understand, access and adopt digital health products, the Hub brings together the resources you need to navigate Australia’s evolving digital health landscape.

Visit the Allied Health Digital Hub

Jobs Board

VIC
QLD
WA
SA
NSW
NT
TAS

Senior Lecturer / Lecturer in Therapeutics and Pharmacy Practice – University of Tasmania

New Zealand
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.

Know someone who should receive the ACDHS Update?

Subscribe
Follow us on LinkedIn
Share

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.