ACDHS Update – March 2026

Mar 24, 2026 | 0 comments

Welcome to the March edition of the ACDHS Update.

In this issue, we share a Governance Update and introduce plans for the ACDHS Expert Advisory Panel, an initiative designed to strengthen the Council’s ability to provide informed sector advice. Our Sector and Policy Update highlights the Commonwealth Prac Payments petition and its relevance for the allied health education sector.

This month’s Feature Story explores the rise of AI health chatbots and what allied health educators should consider as these tools become more widely used. We also include our Research Roundup, the latest Mental Health First Aid Update, and a selection of events, conferences, opportunities, resources, and listings from the ACDHS Jobs Board.

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

 

IN THIS ISSUE

  • Governance Update
  • ACDHS Expert Advisory Panel
  • Strategic Issues and Policy Focus
  • Sector/Policy Updates
  • Feature Story: AI Health Chatbots: What Allied Health Educators Should Consider
  • Research Roundup
  • Mental Health First Aid Update
  • Events, Conferences & Opportunities
  • Jobs Board

Governance Update

Call for Nominations: ACDHS Board Director

Nominations are now open for an elected Director position on the ACDHS Board. Members are encouraged to consider nominating a suitable candidate to contribute to the strategic leadership of the Council. Nominations close 5:00pm AEST, Monday 6 April 2026.

Eligible candidates must hold a senior leadership role in health sciences within an ACDHS Institutional Member and have strategic responsibility for allied health professional education.

Further details and the nomination template are available below.

Nomination Brief
Nomination Template

ACDHS Expert Advisory Panel

ACDHS is undertaking work to establish an Expert Advisory Panel to strengthen Allied Health proactive and responsive policy development, research, advocacy and sector leadership.

In April, ACDHS will be calling for EOIs from a diverse range of subject matter experts across member universities to nominate to join the standing panel. Members will be encouraged to share the opportunity to apply in their networks.

This is an exciting opportunity for panel members to contribute their expertise to key Allied Health strategic priorities. This may include shaping policy development and submissions, contributing to research initiatives, and advancing advocacy efforts to drive systemic change and improve outcomes for all Australians.

How the panel will work:

  • Panel members will be invited to contribute expertise to priority work, which could include advice, submissions or research projects.
  • The engagement model will support appropriate attribution to participating panel members via their home institutions, ensuring any contributions are recognised.
  • Panel members will contribute in a voluntary capacity, with potential opportunities to participate in larger-scale projects on a case-by-case basis, including remuneration where appropriate.
  • The ACDHS team will provide support to any panel members and the ACDHS Board will have strategic oversight and approval of products to ensure strategic alignment.

ACDHS will be seeking a range of expertise across 4 key domains relevant to ACDHS’s strategic priorities:

  • Allied Health system, including Allied health services and service models, digital health and AI, and priority issues including culturally safe service delivery and First Nations health.
  • Allied health workforce, including early career academic workforce support and critical issues facing the workforce.
  • Allied health clinical education, including work integrated learning and innovation in education.
  • Allied health research, including research relevant to ACDHS’s strategic priorities and research translation.

ACDHS will coordinate a selection process to appoint panel members, guided by ACDHS strategic needs and priorities.

For more information, contact Esther Manning – e.manning@acdhs.edu.au 

Strategic Issues and Policy Focus

Strategic Issues Group Projects – 2026

The ACDHS Board has endorsed two priority projects for commissioning in 2026: the Allied Health Clinical Education Community of Practice and enhanced engagement with Ahpra on accreditation matters.

Allied Health Clinical Education Community of Practice

The Board has approved funding for an Allied Health Clinical Education Community of Practice (CoP), reflecting a strong commitment to improving collaboration, knowledge sharing, and consistency in clinical education across the allied health sector.

The CoP proposal was developed by the Allied Health Teaching Strategic Issues Group, co-chaired by A/Prof Kelli Nicola Richmond and Prof Esther May, who will provide strategic oversight for its establishment.

Feedback from the project assessment panel was considered at the SIG meeting on 25 February. Following this, the Strategic Support Officer (Anne Keohane) and Manager, Policy and Projects (Esther Manning) have been working in close partnership with the SIG Chairs to progress project initiation activities and develop implementation documentation. These materials will be provided to the SIG this week for final review before submission to the ACDHS Board in April.

Further information on how staff from ACDHS member organisations can participate in the Community of Practice will be shared shortly.

The next stage will focus on broad member engagement and implementation:

  • 1 May – Member input at the ACDHS Member Workshop to inform the priorities and focus of the Community of Practice
  • May–June – Implementation planning
  • June – Inaugural meeting of the Community of Practice
Ahpra – Accreditation Engagement

Ahpra remains one of ACDHS’s most significant stakeholders. In 2026, a key strategic focus is strengthening relationships with Ahpra through more direct, senior-level engagement and ongoing dialogue that supports collaboration rather than purely administrative interactions.

ACDHS is progressing targeted engagement with Ahpra as a foundation for commissioning a future project aimed at reducing duplication and burden associated with accreditation processes. This work is intended to support more streamlined, collaborative approaches to accreditation across the allied health sector.

The other Strategic Issues Groups are meeting to shape and confirm their focus for 2026. If you would like to join one of the groups, please contact Anne Keohane strategicsupport@acdhs.edu.au.

Sector/Policy Updates

Commonwealth Prac Payments – Sector Advocacy

Advocacy continues across the health and education sectors regarding financial support for students undertaking mandatory placements. A national petition is currently calling for expanded Commonwealth Prac Payments to help address the financial pressures experienced by many students during extended periods of unpaid clinical placement.

In recent months, paid placements have received some government support, and further advocacy is continuing. The role that placements play in growing the allied health workforce warrants ongoing attention.

Since our last update, the petition has reached over 23,000 signatures. However, further support is needed to reach the goal of 50,000 signatures.

Members are encouraged to continue sharing the petition across their networks to amplify its impact, build momentum, and support efforts to reduce placement poverty and strengthen Australia’s future allied health workforce.

Sign the petition
Placements: “Barriers and Enablers – Joint UK, Australia and NZ 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

Feature Story

AI Health Chatbots: What Allied Health Educators Should Consider

Recent reporting in The Guardian highlighted the launch of ChatGPT Health, a health-focused chatbot developed by OpenAI. The tool is designed to respond to medical queries and help users interpret health information.

Additional reporting by AP News highlights that many people are now turning to AI chatbots for health information. Experts caution that while these tools can help explain test results or summarise medical information, they should not be relied upon for diagnosis or emergency decisions.

AI is moving rapidly into everyday health decision-making. For allied health education, this presents both opportunity and risk.

The Promise

AI chatbots can:

  • Improve access to general health information
  • Support health literacy
  • Assist patient engagement between appointments

In workforce-constrained environments, such tools may complement – though not replace – professional care.

The Concerns

AI health chatbots are not regulated medical devices and are not substitutes for clinical advice. Key concerns raised internationally include:

  • Inaccurate or overly confident responses
  • Failure to consistently recognise medical emergencies
  • Limited contextual understanding of individual circumstances
  • Uncertainty around data privacy and governance, particularly outside formal systems such as My Health Record

Regulators, including the Food and Drug Administration, are exploring oversight pathways, while patient safety organisations such as ECRI have identified misuse of AI chatbots as an emerging hazard.

Implications for Allied Health Education

For ACDHS member institutions, the key considerations include:

  • Strengthening AI literacy within health curricula
  • Reinforcing clinical judgement and professional accountability
  • Preparing graduates to critically interpret AI-generated information
  • Supporting clear public messaging about appropriate use

AI is likely to remain part of the health information ecosystem. The challenge for allied health education is to ensure innovation enhances – rather than compromises – safety, quality and trust in care.

Source: The Guardian, Oxford Internet Institute

Research Roundup

Supporting New Health Professional Academics

A new national research project is underway to better understand the role of multidisciplinary teams in Australian primary care. The Occasions of Care Explained and ANalysed (OCEAN) study is collecting workforce and practice data across general practice settings, with a focus on the contributions of nurses, nurse practitioners, physiotherapists, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners.

Building on the earlier BEACH program, which examined GP clinical activity from 1998 – 2016, the OCEAN study will gather new data through a three-stage process including practice profiles, professional workforce surveys, and detailed recording of clinical encounters.

The study aims to generate evidence about how multidisciplinary teams operate in primary care and how different professional roles are evolving to meet increasingly complex community health needs. Findings are expected to inform future workforce planning, education and training priorities, and national health policy development.

ACDHS members may wish to follow developments from this work as it progresses.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) Update

Strong Uptake at UNSW

The University of New South Wales School of Health Sciences has demonstrated strong engagement with the Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) for Health Professional Students program, having already utilised 318 of the 370 MHFA vouchers allocated to the school.

This early uptake reflects the strong commitment within the School to embedding mental health literacy and support skills within allied health education. It also highlights the value placed on equipping future health professionals with the confidence and capability to recognise and respond to mental health concerns in their peers, patients and communities.

Upcoming Events, Conference and Opportunities

Events

OPPORTUNITIES

Jobs Board

VIC
QLD
TAS
SA
WA
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.