Osteopathy in 2024/25

The evolving needs of modern regulation 

With the increased focus on workforce, osteopaths were one of nine regulated health professions surveyed as part of Ahpra and the National Boards’ Workforce Retention and Attrition Project. A total of 25,752 practitioners, including 629 osteopaths, were surveyed. The osteopath-specific results of this project were submitted by the Board and accepted as conference papers for two international conferences in Auckland and Toronto in 2025. The combined research was published in the Australian Health Review.

Issues this year 

The Osteopathy Board of Australia set up a Low Risk Early Determination Committee to reduce the time to complete lower risk concerns and reduce the impact of the increase in notifications. The committee comprises two Board members and one Ahpra senior staff member, and aims to close the lowest risk matters (matters that could be closed without further information from the practitioner) faster. Most concerns, however, will still be considered by the Registration and Notifications Committee. 

Accreditation 

Following a scheduled review of accreditation arrangements, Ahpra and the Australian Osteopathic Accreditation Council (AOAC) co-signed the Agreement for Accreditation Functions 2024-2029. The Board looks forward to continuing the program of accreditation work with the AOAC. 

Retirement of record keeping guidelines 

During the year, the Board conducted preliminary and extensive public consultation on future options for the Guidelines on clinical records for osteopaths, which were published in 2012. Based on feedback from a broad range of stakeholders, and with more contemporary and shared regulatory documents in use, the Board decided that it would be appropriate to retire these guidelines. 

Stakeholder engagement 

Local 

In March, the Board held a forum in Hobart for osteopathy registrants. 

Regular, mainly virtual, meetings were held separately with the AOAC, the Osteopathy Council of New South Wales and Osteopathy Australia. 

Two newsletters were sent to registered osteopaths and students, and the Board published social media posts on various issues and events such as World Osteopathic Healthcare Week in April. Educational video resources were also published, featuring Board members speaking about key registration and practice topics. Regular messaging about private indemnity insurance (PII) resulted in fewer practitioners failing to maintain their PII in 2024/25. 

The Board Chair met with final-year students at each university program of study, providing an opportunity for them to ask questions of the regulator and consolidate their learning about registration requirements. 

International 

The Chair, Executive Officer and Registrars of the Board, the Osteopathic Council of New Zealand and the UK’s General Osteopathic Council met regularly during the year, either virtually or in association with the 2024 Osteopathic International Alliance (OIA) conference in Sydney. The OIA conference is the annual meeting for osteopathy regulators, educators and associations from across the world, and the local setting provided the Board with a chance to showcase how Australian osteopathy regulators lead by example. 

The Chair and Executive Officer attended Osteopathic Research Alliance meetings, which comprise academic and individual osteopathy researchers in Australia and New Zealand. 

Associate Professor Paul Orrock, Chair