In the lead up to this Federal election, all sides of politics have recognised the need to invest in Australia’s healthcare system.
Successive reviews, including the Scope of Practice and Kruk reviews, highlight the pressures across the sector and make it increasingly important to support and harness the potential of services that are both effective and sustainable.
Chiropractic care is one such service — helping Australians manage pain, improve mobility, and maintain their health without reliance on expensive surgery or pharmaceuticals.
Signalling the importance of reform in the healthcare sector, as the representatives of chiropractors and their patients in Australia, the ACA and Chiropractic Australia have come together to urge government to prioritise expanding access to allied health, including chiropractic care, as part of ongoing healthcare policy and system reform.
A joint letter has been sent to the current Health Minister, Mark Butler and Shadow Health Minister Anne Ruston. The correspondence highlights the role of chiropractic in the healthcare team of millions of Australians and the critical role of the profession in managing musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions — one of the leading causes of disability and lost productivity in Australia.
In the lead up to the election, joint social media messaging will be posted, highlighting priorities in the Primary Care and Digital Health spaces. Members are encouraged to share these messages on their own social media.
Post election will see our engagement increase as we engage with the newly elected government and representatives.
Chiropractic Reform Priorities:
- Expand access to chiropractic
- Increase the number of funded visits available to patients through the Chronic Disease Management (CDM) program.
- Recognise chiropractic care as a primary care provider and frontline service for musculoskeletal conditions within the Medicare Benefits Schedule.
- Ensure consistent inclusion of chiropractic services within NDIS participant plans, where clinically appropriate, so that participants can choose the services that best support their individual needs and goals.
- Recognise chiropractors as legitimate allied health providers for supporting mobility, function, and independence in people with disability.
- Remove unnecessary barriers
- Allow chiropractors to refer patients directly to medical specialists and for diagnostic imaging (where evidence-based and within scope), to reduce delays and administrative burden on the system.
- Support integrated, multidisciplinary models of MSK care that include chiropractic professionals.
- Enable the workforce
- Invest in scalable, community-based MSK care models that include chiropractic, reducing avoidable presentations to GPs and emergency departments.
- Implement a proactive and preventative MSK care pathway and funding that prioritise early intervention prior to conditions becoming chronic.
- Digitally enable allied health — including chiropractors — to enhance care coordination and patient experience.
- Ensure chiropractic is represented in national policy discussions on chronic disease, disability, and preventative health.
We believe these changes will improve outcomes for patients, reduce pressure on the broader health system, and ensure more Australians have choice and access to the care they need — when and where they need it.
Improving access to chiropractic care is not only a matter of equity — it is a smart, evidence-supported decision for a more sustainable health future. By empowering chiropractors to operate at the top of their scope, and by giving Australians more affordable and timely access to this care, we can reduce the burden on over-stretched parts of the system and improve long-term health outcomes.