Speech Pathology Australia Annual Report 2023

Ensuring quality and maintaining standards

Regulation, certification and accreditation

Ethics In 2023 the Association created new and updated resources to assist members in their ethical decision making. A social media guide was published to assist members to engage with social media in a manner that is consistent with the SPA Code of Ethics . Professional communication and in particular social media use, continues to be a space that requires deep reflection to ensure that it is being used in an ethical manner. A special ethics edition of JCPSLP , featured the inaugural winner of the student essay competition titled, Ethical considerations for allied health assistants in speech pathology . The student ethics essay competition is planned to return in 2024 to help students connect with the concept of everyday ethics. All ethics resources were reviewed and updated to confirm they are current and fit for purpose and a new resource on having challenging conversations , was also launched in 2023. The 2023 NDIS summit included ethical documents including; having challenging conversations with families , how ethical practice can support good business practices , business decisions: an ethical lens , and advertising and testimonials . The Ethics Board Andrea Abel joined the elected members on the Ethics Board, and Belinda Hill and Dr Suze Leitão became senior members. Two new community representatives also joined the Ethics Board, Jen Morris and Kim Beesley. The whole Ethics Board undertook training in August 2023, in person to ensure the fidelity and fairness of the formal complaints process.

Speech Pathology Australia is recognised as the national scientific and professional standards organisation for speech pathologists in Australia. The Association has established and monitors the professional standards required for certified practising membership ensuring that speech pathologists are suitably trained, qualified and safe to practise through its certification program. It also holds functions of assessing those with overseas qualifications and accrediting university programs. Accreditors and accreditations Notably, in 2023 SPA accredited seven new programs/ campuses and re-accredited four existing programs. Across five states, seven site visits were conducted, and 41 programs were monitored. Collaboration with three universities further strengthened the accreditation landscape. International engagement The Association extended its reach internationally by supporting one accreditation process at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and aiding academics from four international institutions in establishing or fortifying speech pathology programs. Accreditation standards and projects SPA initiated the implementation of new accreditation standards in 2022–2023 and led significant projects including COMPASS® now and future planning. Collaboration with the National Alliance of Self-Regulating Health Professions (NASRHP) consultants and Health Professions Accreditation Collaborative Forum (HPACF) streamlined accreditation processes. Additionally, SPA developed a new resource, 'Practice Education in Private Practice.' Approximately 2029 students enrolled in speech pathology programs in 2023, while 1437 students graduated by the end of 2022.

16 Speech Pathology Australia | 2023 Annual Report