Speak Out April 2021

Association NEWS

Board of Directors Report March 2021

The first Board meeting for 2021 was held via virtual means on Friday 19 and Saturday 20 March 2021. Below are certain highlights. 2020 Financial Year Accounts and Audit outcomes The meeting featured a presentation of the 2020 Financial Year Accounts and Audit outcomes, by the Association’s appointed auditors HLB Mann Judd. Once finalised, the financial statements will be provided to all members within the 2020 Annual Report. Due to ongoing uncertainty associated with COVID-19, plans are again being put in place to allow members to attend the 2021 Annual General Meeting and Awards Ceremony, via electronic means. We look forward to bringing you further information regarding this shortly. 2021 National Conference Pamela Richards, National Conference Manager, updated the Board on the work that has been done with the Conference Planning Committee. The Virtual Conference will keep its Darwin flavour, and there will be many opportunities for delegates to interact with one another through the platform. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group The Board of Directors appointed Lara Pullin to the position of Consumer Representative on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group. Lara Pullin is a proud Gundungurra woman with a professional background in public health. She joins a dedicated Advisory Group, ensuring the voice and values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, in relation to culture, language, land, sea, water and history are embedded in the values and business of Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) now and into the future. With the Association’s Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan now complete, the Association is awaiting Reconciliation Australia’s approval of the Association’s second RAP- the Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan. 2020 – 2022 Strategic Plan Progress A significant amount of progress within the 2020 – 2022 Strategic Plan progress report was noted by the Board of Directors, with several identified priority projects having commenced anew. In December 2020, a comprehensive workshop was held with Directors and key National Office staff, exploring Strategic Priority 2.1.3, “Build a range of promotional campaigns that have consistent messaging to increase general public awareness, and that of other professions, regarding communication and disability and swallowing difficulties as well as the breadth of role of speech pathologists”, Pesel and Carr presented the report for consideration by the Board of Directors at the March

meeting. It was agreed that a formal proposal, including a detailed project plan and costings for a scoping and research phase of this project will be sought to enable the Association to progress this priority. The Association recently advertised for a consultant/s to conduct a speech pathology profession workforce analysis, aimed at identifying a comprehensive profile of the speech pathology profession as well as workforce trends and gaps in meeting demand. Potential revisions to the Association’s Clinician-Researcher Partnership Grant program to improve accessibility were discussed, with promotion of the program to occur at the upcoming National Conference. Speech Pathology Week Preferred options for the theme of Speech Pathology Week 2021 were presented, with the unanimous decision to approve the theme: 'Communication is everyone’s right'. Governance External Directors Following careful consideration, the Board of Directors agreed to seek nominations for two External Director positions. While a high number of nominations were received, no nominations were received from individuals of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander decent. Applications received thus far will initially be reviewed by the Governance Subcommittee, against the current Board of Directors’ skills matrix. The Board is keen to include the voices of First Nations peoples, and as a result, the position will be reposted in the Koori Mail and across other Indigenous media. Potential Changes to the Association’s Constitution and By-Laws Minter Ellison was recently engaged to draft changes to the Association’s Constitution and By-Laws following the Board of Director’s decision regarding the introduction of a General Director position, to be filled by an individual from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander background. Proposed amendments were presented to the Board of Directors for consideration, with these to be further refined. Feedback on a number of items will be sought from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Group. Once finalised, these amendments to the Constitution will be presented to members at the Annual General Meeting, with voting required on the resolution in order to adopt the revised Constitution. The Board of Directors will next meet on Friday 21 and Saturday 22 May 2021. It is hoped that this will be the first meeting, in over twelve months, where the Board of Directors will meet in person. Fingers crossed!

Gail Mulcair Chief Executive Officer

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April 2021 | Speak Out