Become a member

Allied Health Professions Australia is a collegiate body of allied health organisations that work together to collectively represent and advocate for the role of allied health professionals across health and related sectors such as aged care, disability, and mental health.

We believe that by working together, we can more effectively increase awareness of the important contribution of the allied health workforce and address some of the issues affecting the sector. We encourage applications from allied health organisations that meet the eligibility criteria who are seeking to add their voice to our work.

Become a Member
Become a Friend

Benefits of membership

AHPA members receive a number of benefits through their membership. AHPA works on behalf of its members by engaging directly with government and non-government stakeholders to advocate around shared issues. AHPA regularly develops submissions and participates in consultations on behalf of the sector. AHPA also acts as an information sharing house, providing a central access point for information of relevance to our members. AHPA members also have the right to:

Receive notices of, and to attend, AHPA management committee meetings and to vote either personally or by proxy or as a proxy for another member at meetings or in any referendum that may be held from time to time.
Appoint a representative from the member association as a Director of AHPA.

Applying for membership

The AHPA constitution sets out the eligibility criteria for membership. To be eligible to apply to become an AHPA Member, your organisation must:

Represent health professionals with at least 75% of members and all new members having a recognised tertiary allied health qualification in their discipline
Represent a single health profession which has a role in the private and public health sectors, including the public health system, involving direct client contact, or managing or educating such health professionals
Promote and practice within an evidence-based paradigm and be included in the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, or is a full or provisional member of National Alliance of Self Regulating Health Professionals, or is regulated by an incorporated body established for that purpose.

Groups of medically-qualified professionals, nurses and unions are not eligible to be members.

For more information regarding AHPA membership, please contact us.

AHPA friend organisations

AHPA recognises that there are organisations who may not meet the eligibility criteria for membership, but who may have close links to the allied health sector. For such organisations we offer the ability to become a formally affiliated friend. AHPA currently has organisation friend relationships with six national health representative organisations, each of which are legally incorporated organisations with similar objectives to AHPA.

Benefits of being a friend

Organisations that are accepted as friends are invited to participate in AHPA activities including strategic planning meetings, policy forums, and management committee meetings where there is a relevant issue on the agenda. AHPA Friends also receive information updates and have access to the Library section of AHPA’s web-based communication tool ahpaonline.

Applying to become a friend

To become a friend of AHPA, an AHPA Director or the AHPA Chief Executive Officer must make a proposal to the AHPA Board recommending your organisation.