1. Healthcare

Skilled Occupation
List (SOL) 2015-16
Tracking Code:
QZ2MC9
Name
Individual *
Dr Louise Collingridge
Organisation
Independent Audiologists Australia Inc (formerly the Australian Association of Audiologists in Priva
What are the industry/industries and ANZSCO occupation/s that you or your
organisation represents for the purposes of this submission?
Industry
Health Care and Social Assistance
Occupation
The three dropdowns below accord with the ABS ANZSCO classification of occupations.
Selections are required at the ‘Occupation Group’ 2-digit level and at the ‘Occupation Unit (4-digit)’
level, but can also be made down to the Occupation (6-digit) level depending on the occupation/s
to which your submission relates.
Additional occupations can be selected by way of the ‘Add item’ button.
For each occupation selected, please indicate whether your advice is to Include, Exclude, or is
Neutral (other) with respect to the 2015-16 SOL. The rest of the form can be used to provide
evidence/reasons to support your recommendations. Attachments can also be added after clicking
the 'Submit' button.
Item 1
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Occupation Group *
Health Professionals
Occupation Unit *
Speech Professionals and Audiologists
Occupation
Audiologist 252711
Summary advice for 2015-16 SOL *
Include
Exclude
Neutral
Are there any occupations that you represent where there is evidence of imbalances
in the demand for and supply of skills in the medium-to-long term? *
Universities in Australia offer postgraduate training in Audiology. Over the past five years, many
of the universities have increased the number of students that each accepts onto their audiology
programme. The number of graduates from Australian universities has noticeably increased.
However, the profession does experience a high rate of attrition, and so the increased number of
graduates may not be sufficient to meet the demand. Further, within the profession, a need for
experienced audiologists with specialist skills in rehabilitation, advanced diagnostic services,
balance disorders, and specialist applications is well recognised. Audiology is currently under
represented in specialist healthcare areas of gerontology, psychiatry and neurology, in both
research and clinical services. The training structure within Australian universities is designed to
produce high numbers of graduates who have generalist skills. With little opportunity to
specialise within the field, an imbalance exists in that audiologists with little experience are
available, but there continues to be a demand for experienced, specialist audiology services.
Is there evidence of imbalances in the demand for and supply of skills in the
medium-to-long term in non-metropolitan areas?
If so, can you indicate in what part of Australia and the number in the occupation in over or undersupply.
Many clinics offer services on a visiting basis only - visiting a community monthly, or even less
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frequently. Whilst superficially, this may appear to indicate that services are available in regional
areas, visiting professionals who are not part of a local community are not able to offer day to
day support. There is very clearly a need for audiology to integrate with other members of the
healthcare team to offer comprehensive and effective services and permanent (as opposed to
visiting) clinical services are best placed to achieve this. As an example, audiologists, whose
scope of practice includes hearing and balance disorders could work well in a multidisciplinary
team to reduce the risk of falls in the elderly through assessment and referral, thus preventing
one of the most life changing events (falls) that many elderly people experience. Yet, visiting
sites typically only address the hearing device needs of patients due to limited time in each site.
A very clear need is for regional areas to develop permanent audiology services.
Are there any occupations which require formal licensing or registration
arrangements in order to practice/perform in this occupation?
For example:
• Midwives are required to register with the nurses board in their state or territory
• Panelbeaters are required to be registered or certified with the state Motor Vehicle Repair
Industry Authority
Audiology in Australia, although a health care profession, is an unregistered profession that
currently, does not fall under the Australian Health Professions Regulatory Authority (AHPRA).
Any person, no matter how qualified, can establish an Audiology practice in Australia and offer
services to the public if they do not seek any public funding, leading to the current situation of
some audiology businesses in Australia being owned and managed by those without any clinical
training or background who are not eligible to join a professional association of audiologists.
Presently, only audiologists who are funded through the Hearing Services Programme,
Department of Veterans Affairs, Medicare and/or Better Start are required to belong to a
recognised professional association if they deliver clinical services. Providers are those who
hold contracts to deliver services under the Hearing Services Programme. Providers are not
required to belong to a professional association or have any audiology qualifications.
We believe that all those working in the field of audiology (regardless of country of origin or
where they were educated) ought to be registered professionals with tertiary qualifications in
audiology.
Is it expected that your employment sector will be impacted by any medium-to-long
term trends which will impact upon demand and/or supply (excluding costs
associated with training, labour hire, and international sponsorship)?
Please provide evidence (e.g. data source, policy document) which substantiates
these claims.
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For example:
• New benchmarks for childcare centres mandate increased staff-to-child ratios and higher
qualification standards for childcare workers.
Australian Hearing is a government agency that is currently being scoped for sale. Australian
Hearing has, to date, been the only provider to receive public funding to deliver hearing services
to the population less than 26 years of age, and to pensioners and veterans deemed to have
complex communication needs. They also compete with the private sector for pensioners
funded via a voucher scheme. The impact of any potential sale of Australian Hearing on the
need for audiologists in Australia is very uncertain. If Australian Hearing was to be sold, the need
for specialist audiology services within the privately funded sector (both independent and
multinational chains of clinics) could increase significantly. Some businesses that rely on
audiometrists trained at TAFE with a limited scope may find that in order to meet clinical needs,
that more audiologists with the skills to work across all ages and types of communication
disorders are required. Should this occur, it is predictable that the demand for audiologists could
increase beyond the supply of new graduates from Australian universities.
Please provide any other information you consider relevant evidence to support your
submission
For example, you may know of some independent studies about your occupation that supports
your advice to us.
An in-depth investigation of communication needs of those with hearing loss in Australia (across
all sectors) is not available. The need for services is often masked by the incorrect assumption
that hearing devices are available and can solve communication difficulties provided they are
supplied to individuals. In reality, the complexity of communication difficulties requires both
hearing device supply and audiological services. To date the device focus has masked the need
for audiologists who are the professionals who are able to assist those with communication
difficulties that are not remedied with hearing device fitting alone.
We believe that Audiology should be placed on the SOL to ensure sufficient services available in
the medium to long term.
Would you like to make any additional comments on the SOL?
Population trends towards and ageing population and the complexity of needs in vulnerable
populations such as the elderly or those with learning difficulties are placing increasing demands
on the field of audiology to address complex communication difficulties that are associated with
hearing loss. Those populations are not best catered for with the fitting of a hearing device, such
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as is currently accessible to most Australians. Addressing the complexity of communication
difficulties associated with hearing loss requires knowledge of language, communication,
memory, executive functioning, psychosocial functioning – and the audiology field is the
healthcare profession that addresses these issues. Although universities are producing more
graduates in the field, the demand for specialist services has not diminished and we do not
forsee any reduction in the need for experienced audiologists with specialist skills in the medium
to long term.
Please provide the name, position and contact details of a person within your
organisation who is willing to be contacted if any further information or follow-up is
required.
Name *
Dr Louise Collingridge / Ms Elaine Melville
Position *
Executive Officer, Independent Audiologists Australia / Chair of Advocacy, Independent Audiologis
Contact details *
[email protected]
P.O. Box 164
Turramurra NSW 2074
All information, including name and address details, contained in submissions will be made
available to the public on the Department of Industry website unless you indicate that you would like
all or part of your submission to remain in confidence. Automatically generated confidentiality
statements in emails do not suffice for this purpose. Respondents who would like all or part of their
submission to remain in confidence should provide this information in an email to SOL@industry.
gov.au . Legal requirements, such as those imposed by the Freedom of Information Act 1982, may
affect the confidentiality of your submission.
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