1.2 The Australian speech pathology landscape

Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) is the professional body representing speech pathologists in Australia.   Speech pathology is a self-regulating profession in Australia and a member of the National Alliance of Self-Regulating Health Professions (NASRHP).

In 2024, SPA had more than 13,000 members.  This number has grown considerably in recent years.  In 2015, there were 6044 Certified Practising Speech Pathologist (CPSP) members.  Despite the growth in graduates and membership, speech pathology services are not meeting the level of need and demand across Australia.  Speech pathologists are inequitably distributed across Australia with rural and remote areas having less access to speech pathology services, yet many of these locations have the highest need (SPA, 2023).

Speech pathologists work in diverse practice settings with the majority working in education settings or private practice.  Early intervention, disability service providers, hospitals and health services, and residential aged care are other commonly identified practice settings. The SPA member in this video outlines her practice contexts.

^{Tanya Ramadan – Member Profile by Speech Pathology Australia} 

Interestingly, a considerable number of Australian speech pathologists have lived experiences of diverse perspectives that reflect the scope of speech pathologists’ practice.  These include cultural and linguistic diversity, experiences of living in rural and remote areas, experience of a communication, swallowing and/or learning difficulties, experience caring for family members and friends with disabilities, including communication challenges (Nancarrow et al., 2023).

Approximately 96% of SPA members are female and the majority speak English only.  Approximately 0.2% of Australian speech pathologists identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander.

There are a range of demand drivers, or factors that influence demand for services, related to speech pathology.  These include (NSW Ministry of Health, 2018):

• Improvement in survival rates (e.g. birth, cancer, stroke)
• Population demographic changes and increased complexities (e.g. ageing population, migration, cultural and linguistic diversity, chronic disease, cancer, geographical distribution)
• Government funding, research and policy (e.g. NDIS, MBS, university training)
• Awareness of the profession (e.g. advocacy, multi-disciplinary teams, client expectations)
• Scope of practice (e.g. growing and changing scope due to demands, evidence-based etc)
• Service coverage and accessibility (e.g. greater demand for services has led to greater geographical access to services; telepractice)

• World Health Organization’s World Report on Disability (McAllister et al., 2013)
• Communication rights and the United Nations’ 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (McLeod, 2018)
• The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (McLeod & Marshall, 2023)
• Australian Stuttering Research Centre (ASRC)
• The Centre for Research Excellence in Aphasia Rehabilitation and Recovery (Aphasia CRE)