Department of Health

Allied health professions

Key messages

  • In Victoria, allied health incorporates 27 professions and more than 42,500 practitioners.
  • In practice, allied health is highly complex and involves many different professions with specific expertise, training pathways, sectors of practice and professional governance.
  • As healthcare increasingly requires interdisciplinary teamwork, it is critical that the allied health professions are fully engaged to maximise health outcomes.
  • Allied health in Victoria has been classified into two broad categories: ‘Science’ and ’Therapy’. This categorisation will help in establishing common ground to support informed debate and effective collaboration.

Diversity in allied health

Allied health covers a wide range of professions, skills, backgrounds and practices including registered and unregistered (self-regulated) and unregulated professions. In Victoria, allied health incorporates 27 professions and more than 42,500 practitioners.

While there is strength in such diversity, it is difficult for the full breadth of disciplines to operate with a sense of uniformity or have practical discussions about policies, directions and projects when roles and areas of technical skill are very different. Allied health in Victoria has been classified into two broad categories: science and therapy. Classification is based on:

  • their primary role in health
  • technical skill
  • natural and practical alignment.

The categorisation will better manage the diversity by providing a greater set of commonalties among like-minded groups within allied health. This will allow for more practical and targeted discussion.

Allied health categories position paper

The department prepared a position paper to further explain the categorisation of allied health:

Allied health categories position paper
pdf 329.66 KB

Classification

The Department of Health & Human Services classifies allied health disciplines as ‘therapy’ or ‘science’. The table below is based on the model and research described in the Allied health categories position paper.

Therapy disciplinesScience disciplines
Art therapyAudiology
ChiropracticBiomedical science
DieteticsDiagnostic imaging medical physics
Exercise physiologyMedical laboratory science
Music therapyNuclear medicine
Occupational therapyOptometry
Oral health (not dentistry)Orthoptics
OsteopathyPharmacy
Orthotics and prostheticsRadiation oncology medical physics
PhysiotherapyRadiation therapy
PodiatryRadiography
PsychologySonography
Social work
Speech therapy
Allied health assistant*

* Work under the supervision of some allied health professions in single or multidisciplinary roles.

Reviewed 26 December 2023

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Contact details

Allied Health Workforce

alliedhealthworkforce@health.vic.gov.au
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