Federal Budget Submission 2010-11

The Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) acknowledges that the global financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 has changed the economic circumstances for the Australian Government and that this will have an impact on the 2010- 2011 Budget and beyond. However, these circumstances should not be used as an excuse to halt the vital process of health reform which commenced during the first term of the Rudd Government.

The past two years has seen an unprecedented forensic examination of the Australian health system with numerous inquiries and commissions providing advice to the government.

The APA has been supportive of the increased focus on preventative interventions and primary care service delivery within the Australian health system.

However to date the response from the government has failed to match the scale of the action required to achieve demonstrable improvements for health consumers.

The time for change is now.

The redesign of the health system is long overdue. The APA supports any amendments that better positions the government to provide consumer-centred, efficient and sustainable quality health services that meet the needs of all Australians.

However the reform agenda should not stop incremental and evidence based change from coming into force. The reviews have reached consensus on many issues, and developments in these areas should not be stymied because of the areas where there is disagreement with the states and territories.

The government can improve patient care immediately with the proposals contained within this submission, with limited fiscal impact, without wasting another year.

The APA makes the following recommendations as actions that the Federal Government should undertake to ensure that all Australians have access to a more efficient and effective health system:

• That funding barriers be removed to allow Fellows of the Australian College of Physiotherapists to directly refer to relevant medical specialists.
• That funding barriers to physiotherapists referring to diagnostic ultrasound as well as an expanded range of spinal and peripheral x-rays be removed.
• That funding barriers be removed to rehabilitation physicians being able to directly refer to physiotherapy services under the Medicare Primary Health Care item numbers.
• That the Federal Government develops a National Rehabilitation Strategy (NRS) to ensure that rehabilitation services across the country will be adequate into the future and will be able to make a contribution to the broader national health agenda.

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