CEO’s Report

It has been another year of challenge, change and growth for Occupational Therapy Australia, and it is timely to stop and look back on all we have achieved. After two years of pandemic living, of adapting to a new way of working and being, we emerged both locally and nationally from our much smaller, sometimes more intense localised lives.

Many of us emerged exuberantly, picking up where we were previously cut off – back to the workplace, back to sport, back to friends and family gatherings – making up for what we might have considered lost time. Others were more tentative in their approach – a gradual opening and a reluctance to let go of the smaller space and sometimes slower pace that we had become accustomed to. No matter where you sit on the spectrum of re-immersion, we all emerged somewhat changed.

We do things differently now. We had rapid change and uncertainty thrust upon us, and we had to adapt. All of us. At OTA, that has meant that we have changed – we hope for the better – and we hope that our members and the profession will see and benefit from the difference.

During these times of crisis, we heard the uncertainty of occupational therapists and their clients, and we mobilised our professional standards and government relations staff to seek out necessary information, keep members informed and advocate for better access and outcomes for the profession. We answered thousands of questions posed by our membership. How did this change us? We listened more deeply, we learned to better reach out and into government and to build deeper relationships with our allied health partners, and we displayed the power of a unified voice – both as a profession and as a sector. These alliances and strong bonds will continue to hold the association in good stead as we continue to navigate the complex operating environment of the health landscape.

Our staff have adapted remarkably well and as we continued to grow, we fully realised the ability to draw talent from right across the nation. Occupational Therapy Australia is now able to attract the best of the best with our hybrid or fully remote work options, as well as our ability to flex our work to meet the needs of families, members and our wider community of stakeholders and connections.

During 2022, the structure of our Senior Leadership team changed – take a look at pages 8 and 9 for an introduction to the team. The composition and skillset of our new team positions OTA to continue meeting our strategic objectives and supporting our members. Don’t hesitate to reach out to any members of the team if they can provide support or if you have any feedback.

While we have grown significantly to continue meeting the demands of our growing membership and the increased need for representation, we have also championed inclusion and diversity in our own OTA workforce allowing us to draw from a large range of experiences, ideas and perspectives. I am incredibly proud of our people and the commitment they show to each other and our membership, and I am incredibly proud that our people are increasingly more representative of our broader community. Our diversity is our strength, and our shared values are our glue. We share a vision, a purpose and a passion for our mission at OTA.

Another COVID-induced change was to have a razor-sharp focus on what really matters. For many of us, that meant deep reflection on our own personal “why”. For many businesses, OTA included, the time demanded a focus on what was mission critical – a time to perhaps to let go of legacy, to refine our scope, to prepare for a new future. Our future requires us to be more nimble than ever before and to be prepared to act quickly in the face of change. We have learned, and are still learning, when to be iterative and when to be exact.

As an association, we are listening more deeply, looking for the opportunities amongst the issues and determining with clarity the things that matter most to our members and our profession. A critical step in ensuring our continued growth and responsiveness to the challenges ahead is to revisit and revise our strategic direction. The association has commenced this important piece of work that will guide our future while acknowledging the uncertainty of our environment. Of course, we will be seeking the views and insights of our members, our key stakeholders and our wider sector. I encourage all of you to be part of the conversation that carves out our place in the future, enhancing the outcomes for our community and our pride in the profession.

Samantha Hunter