PRESIDENT’S PIECE
On behalf of DRTA, Kayla Davies and Kim Bromley represent our association with National Aged Care
Alliance (NACA). Over the last couple of months there have been extraordinary meetings held for NACA to develop a response to the outcomes from the Aged Care Royal Commission, with the alliances perspective of addressing the priority areas. NACA received a response which I thought I would share with you. We were also wondering if there were any other members of the association that would like to be representing DRTA on NACA? If so, please let the office know and we will contact you with more information about the meetings and representing DRTA.
Internationally DRTA is part of three different international communities. Today I thought I would share with you what they are about. The first one meets twice a year and is association driven. There are four key bodies that attend this meeting. DTRA, CTRA, ATRA and NCTRC. We discussed laws and legislations within our countries and the ramifications to our professional associations as a consequence. We also discuss different initiatives and the different projects that each of our associations are working on.
The second is called the International TR Consortium which both Nicole Peel and myself are a part of. This consortium is directed around education and knowledge in the practice of therapeutic recreation. The membership is quite active and we are currently revising a merged history and future document and a comparison of different countries focusing around education levels has also been compiled. We're looking at extending the international TR consortium to have an education committee working alongside the consortium to develop international knowledge and education to support practitioners in the field. If there is anyone in particular that is interested in being part of the education committee please forward your name and email address to the office and we will be in contact.
The third international community that we are part of is the RT global leaders. This group meet monthly with representatives from England, Japan, USA, Canada, NZ. This group also extends to activity professionals and members present on different topics each month. This group only started in 2021 and the focus this year has been on how our profession and association has developed in our individual countries.
All of this is to promote our profession, both within Australia and globally. On another note, the end of June sees the end of another financial year. Please don't forget to renew your membership before the end of financial year and claim your membership as a tax deduction. The new membership levels that were voted on in December last year, also take effect from July 1st . The continuous professional development CPD points that you have accumulated also need to be submitted with your renewal. July 1st also sees changes in collecting continuous professional development points. As opposed to points, CPDs will be measured in hours. Each year all Certificate 4, Diploma and Degree members will be required to complete 20 hours of professional development each year. We will feature this in July’s newsletter.
All the best for June,
Charlise Bennett
DRTA President