Speech Pathology Australia (SPA) is the national peak body for the speech pathology profession in Australia.
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Established in 1949, SPA began as the Australian College of Speech Therapists, set up to regulate and maintain the qualifications and standards of the profession.[1] The Australian Branch of the British Medical Association "granted the Australian College of Speech Therapists full professional recognition as the examining, qualifying and representative body for speech therapy within the Commonwealth".[2]
The new organisation combined the Victorian Council of Speech Therapy, the Australian Association of Speech Therapists (New South Wales), the South Australian Council of Speech Science and Speech Therapy and the Council for Speech Therapy (Western Australia) and granted members the right to practice in the United Kingdom.[3]
In 1974-5, the organisation became the Australian Association of Speech & Hearing and the Association no longer conducted examinations nor granted Licentiates to graduates, a responsibility that was taken over by tertiary institutions.[4]
In 1996 the organisation became the Speech Pathology Association of Australia Ltd and adopted the public name of Speech Pathology Australia.[5]
Sydney-born Miss Elinor Wray undertook speech therapy training at the Central School of Speech and Drama and St Thomas’s Hospital in London, as well as observing speech therapy practice at St Bartholomew’s Hospital and King’s College Hospital.[6] She then spent three months observing at the London County Council Stammering Centres before returning to Sydney in 1929 to establish the first Australian speech therapy service.[7]
Appointed in an honorary capacity at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children at Camperdown, Sydney (now located at Westmead) on the recommendation of surgeon (later President of the hospital) Sir Robert Wade[8] in 1931, Miss Wray voluntarily conducted three clinics weekly for the next seven years, initially working with Sir Robert’s cleft palate patients.[9] The resulting positive outcomes led to the creation of the first hospital speech therapy clinic and the speech pathology profession in Australia.
Miss Wray continued to work as a speech therapist until she retired and Speech Pathology Australia’s outstanding contribution to the profession award is named in her honour.[10] Miss Wray died at the age of 98 in 1992.[11]
Association membership is available to all applicants with approved qualifications in speech pathology from an Australian accredited university course and students enrolled in a recognised Australian accredited course by the Association.
All members are bound by the Association’s Code of Ethics to ensure the responsible and ethical practice of speech pathologists. The Code of Ethics outlines in detail the values, principles and standards of practice all members must follow.
As the recognised national professional standards organisation for speech pathologists in Australia, the Association is recognised by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) as the assessing authority for speech pathologists intending to apply for skilled migration to Australia.[12] Most employers in Australia require prospective employees to be eligible for practising membership of Speech Pathology Australia.
A mutual recognition agreement has been in place since 2004 and now includes the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (United States), the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists (Canada), the Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (Ireland), the New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists’ Association (New Zealand) and the Royal College of Speech and Language (United Kingdom).[13]
The following Australian tertiary institutions offer undergraduate or entry level post graduate studies in speech pathology.
| New South Wales | Charles Sturt University |
| Macquarie University | |
| University of Newcastle | |
| University of Sydney | |
| Queensland | James Cook University |
| University of Queensland | |
| South Australia | Flinders University |
| Victoria | LaTrobe University |
| University of Melbourne | |
| Western Australia | Curtin University of Technology |
| Edith Cowan University |
The annual awareness week, Speech Pathology Week is held in late August to raise awareness of the work of speech pathologists and people living with communication and swallowing difficulties.
Since 2003, Speech Pathology Australia annually awards three Australian authors the “Best Book for Language and Literacy Development” in the categories of Young Children, Lower Primary and Upper Primary. Each award is based on the book’s appeal to children, interactive quality and ability to assist speech pathologists and parents in communication and literacy development.
| Young Children (ages 2–5) | Lower Primary (ages 5–8) | Upper Primary (ages 8–12) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Our Daft Dog Danny - Pamela Allen | Isabella's Garden - Glenda Millard & Rebecca Cool | Pearl Verses the World - Sally Murphy |
| 2009 | The Terrible Plop - Ursula Dubosarsky | The Gobbling Tree - Mark Carthew | Noodle Pie - Ruth Starke |
| 2008 | Is Your Grandmother a Goanna? - Pamela Allen | Going Bush - Nadia Wheatley & Ken Searle | Stride's Summer - Jennu Overend |
| 2007 | Clancy the Courageous Cow - Lachie Hume | Uno's Garden - Graeme Base | Doubting Thomas - Morris Gleitzman |
| 2006 | Annie's Chair - Deborah Miland | The Postman's Dog - Lisa Shanahan | Naked Bunyip Dancing - Steven Herrick |
| 2005 | Where is the Green Sheep? - Mem Fox | Jungle Drums - Graeme Base | By the River - Steven Herrick |
| Best Language Development Book | Best Speech and/or Sound Awareness Book | |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Milli, Jack and the Dancing Cat - Stephen Michael King | Do-wrong Ron - Steven Herrick |
| 2003 | A Bee in Ben's Bonnet - Ferg McKinnon & Kim Gamble | Muddled-Up Farm - Mike Dumbleton |