The workforce recommendations and resources were developed to support the Department of Health’s objectives for the allied health assistant (AHA) workforce of the future. It aims to provide allied health leaders, allied health assistants, individual workplaces and education providers realistic steps and measures to realise the full potential of AHAs in the workplace.
They aim to support:
- Supply of consistently-skilled AHAs who’s roles and competence are well understood by the sector
- workforce culture with embedded supervision and delegation processes for AHA workforce
- broad sector commitment to the ongoing planning, funding and development of AHA workforce.
These recommendations further build on existing supervision and delegation framework for allied health assistants and supervision and delegation framework for allied health assistants and the support workforce in disability.
Resources were designed to be used for implementing and evaluating the recommendations. Resources may be tailored to individual workplaces and their governance requirements.
Summary of the recommendations
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Recommendation 1
The national skills service organisation (SSO) and local registered training organisations (RTOs) regularly review the Allied Health Assistance training packages in consultation with the health, disability and aged care sectors.
Recommendation 2
The Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector should include an interview as a requirement of the pre-training review for allied health assistance courses. The interview should include an assessment of communication, literacy and numeracy capabilities.
Recommendation 3
The VET sector should work collaboratively with relevant organisations to ensure the Certificate in Allied Health Assistance course curriculum is consistent across providers.
Recommendation 4
The VET sector should increase clinical exposure and placement experience in pre-employment training for students of allied health assistance courses.
Recommendation 5
The VET sector should give prospective and enrolled students clear and accurate information about the role of allied health assistants.
Recommendation 6
Across all sectors, encourage people considering a career as an allied health assistant to complete the nationally accredited Certificates III and IV in Allied Health Assistance qualifications.
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Recommendation 7
Workplaces should undertake robust workforce planning and redesign processes to increase and make best use of the allied health assistant workforce.
Recommendation 8
Workplace governance structures should define allied health assistant roles and delegation practices to ensure safe, effective and evidence-based therapy and supports.
Recommendation 9
Training, supervision and delegation between allied health professionals and allied health assistants should be informed by existing frameworks[1] to work together effectively.
Recommendation 10
Workplaces should establish and maintain a culture of mutual respect, equal worth and collaboration to promote the value of the allied health assistant role.
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Recommendation 11
Consumers should be given information about the:
- role of the allied health assistant in the treating team
- benefits of having an allied health assistant involved with their therapy and supports.
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Recommendation 12
When recruiting allied health assistants, the interview process should include behavioural scenarios to evaluate the candidate’s aptitude and capability to provide safe and effective consumer care.
Recommendation 13
Workplace orientation should make clear the roles and responsibilities of allied health assistants and other professional staff to support a mutually respectful culture.
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Recommendation 14
All workplace competency-based training development should align with the Allied Health: credentialing, competency and capability framework.
Recommendation 15
Find opportunities for allied health assistants to work side-by-side with allied health professionals to:
- develop trusted working relationships
- create shared knowledge of roles
- complement workplace competency-based training.
Recommendation 16
Workplace competency-based training and assessment should be undertaken by supervisors who meet relevant requirements.
Recommendation 17
Keep competency attainment records for transferability between roles and settings.
Recommendation 18
Allied health assistants’ learning needs should be formally identified and addressed to:
- foster life-long learning
- maintain performance standards
- support career development.
Resources to support the recommendations
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Use this flow chart to determine grade level to target when you want to recruit an allied health assistant.
The questions can be adapted to suit your workplace.
The terminology used in the flow chart reflects the description of grades in current relevant enterprise agreements. You can adapt the words to suit your workplace needs.
The flow chart has been adapted with permission from SouthWest Healthcare (SWH).
Allied health assistant role grade flow chart -
Use these position description templates when hiring allied health assistants.
You can use this position description as part of your local recruitment. Cross-reference it with your existing position descriptions to ensure consistency.
Registered training organisations (RTOs) may choose to use this position description as a teaching tool to describe possible employment opportunities to students.
You can use this with the:
Allied health assistant interview guide
RTO pre-training review – has questions you can use in interviews for this role.
Grade 1 Allied Health Assistant (Allied Health Trainee)Grade 2 Allied Health Assistant or Level 1 Therapy AssistantGrade 3 Allied Health Assistant or Level 2 Therapy Assistant -
This interview guide can help you prepare and run interviews for allied health assistant (AHA) or therapy assistant (TA) roles. You can use this guide with the allied health assistant position description templates.
The guide includes:
- overview of the interview and interview preparation processes
- sample interview questions and scenarios, with guidance
- example rating scale
- interview templates for panel members to use to record scores and notes.
The steps, structure and assessment rating scale apply to all grading levels.
Select questions that are in line with the level of allied health assistant being sought.
The questions in this guide are largely targeted for:
- Grade 2 allied health assistant or Level 1 therapy assistant
- Grade 3 allied health assistant or Level 2 therapy assistant.
Useful information for Grade 1 allied health assistant or allied health trainee interview questions is in:
- the skills ready definition in the Victorian Allied Health Assistant Workforce Recommendations
- Registered training organisation (RTO) pre-training review.
Adapt the interview template to suit your workplace’s needs. You can edit or add questions and scenarios relevant to your sector and workplace.
To help you decide which behavioural questions are suitable:
- Refer to the Victorian allied health assistant workforce recommendations.
- Example behavioural interviewing questions are in resource kit 3 of the Allied health: credentialing, competency and capability framework. The kit is available on the department’s Credentialing, competency and capability page.
To ensure candidates are responding to new questions, update the questions regularly.
Allied health assistant interview guide -
A learning needs assessment is an opportunity to identify targeted learning needs for an allied health assistant (AHA). These may relate to skill development, career progression or areas of clinical interest.
You can use this learning needs assessment as part of:
- onboarding
- workplace, rotation or discipline orientation
- regular supervision
- performance improvement or appraisal activities to ensure a culture of ongoing learning and development.
A learning needs assessment does not replace the need to formally record regular clinical supervision and performance appraisals.
Identifying learning needs help people access relevant external professional development. It can also inform targeted professional development programs.
Organisations and health services should work with AHAs to complete learning needs assessments yearly (or sooner if needed).
Allied health assistants learning needs assessment tool -
Allied health assistants can use this continuing professional development (CPD) log to record their professional development activities over a 12-month period.
The CPD log can help promote a culture of ongoing learning in the allied health workforce.
CPD activities are those considered relevant to your role that help you maintain, improve and broaden knowledge, expertise and competence.
Professional development can help build professional networks and support career progression.
When unsure or unclear on learning goals, the learning needs assessment may help generate ideas.
Allied Health Assistant continuing professional development log -
Use this tool to help allied health professionals (AHPs) delegate tasks to allied health assistants (AHAs).
This tool can help delegate more effectively, while meeting legal obligations.
Before delegating tasks, make sure you are familiar with:
- Victorian allied health assistant workforce recommendations
- AHA supervision and delegation frameworks.
More information on the roles and responsibilities of AHAs and AHPs and how to delegate effectively is in the workforce recommendations.
Delegation is a 2 part process.
- verbal communication to determine if the task can be delegated and if the AHA is suited to the task.
- written delegation to confirm details of the delegated task that the AHA has agreed to complete.
Additionally, risk escalation and feedback mechanisms must be made clear as part of delegation practice.
Each delegation relates to an individual consumer's care, when a task is delegated. This could be for an individual or group-based task.
The delegation should be stored in line with your workplace's medicolegal documentation and record keeping processes.
Allied health assistant delegation tool -
Making best use of allied health assistants (AHAs) allows for greater capacity to meet consumer demand for allied health services. It means that:
- allied health professionals (AHPs) can complete more complex work, working to the full extent of their scope of practice
- AHAs can use all of their skills and scope of practice across allied health disciplines.
These clinicians’ checklists can help you identify if AHA roles are being used as effectively as possible.
The checklists are for both AHPs and AHAs working in the health, aged care or disability sectors. You may be an AHA working as an employee or contractor. Or you may be an AHP working with or supervising AHAs. The AHAs may be employed by you, employed by your workplace or contracted to work with you.
The first checklist is for AHAs to assess their own role. The second is for AHPs to consider how they work with AHAs.
Assess your practice against the indicators in the checklist. Use this to identify areas for development to ensure best use of AHAs. The checklists also include some examples and resources to help you.
Clinician’s checklist for allied health professionals and allied health assistants -
Workplaces in health, aged care and disability sectors can use this tool to measure their progress against the Victorian allied health assistant workforce recommendations. It can also help workplaces engage with, develop and make best use of allied health assistants (AHAs).
This tool can be completed by one person or many people, depending on their role and knowledge of the service.
It is recommended that there is leadership involvement in completing this tool due to the overall workplace knowledge needed to effectively score the indicators of progress.
Complete this tool every year to ensure you regularly track progress and identify ongoing gaps. You can use the ‘Review at’ column of each recommendation or the action plan to set a date for the next review. You can also schedule reviews more frequently if you want to review progress in specific areas more regularly.
Progress measurement tool for health, aged care and disability organisations -
Pre-training reviews offer a quality-assured approach to meeting elements of Standards 1 to 5 of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 (Cth) (RTO standards).
This template is designed to help intake officers complete pre-training reviews of course candidates. You can use this to talk about specific aspects of allied health assistance courses with candidates, along with the general application screening required by the RTO standards.
This tool may also help you assess aptitude for a role when employing trainees.
You should ensure accessibility and appropriate cultural supports for pre-training reviews, in line with relevant laws, local rules and processes.
Registered training organisation pre training review template -
Registered training organisations (RTOs) in the vocational education and training (VET) sector can use this tool to measure their progress against the Victorian allied health assistant workforce recommendations.
To help with auditing, the tool includes how each recommendation relates to the Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 (Cth) (RTO Standards).
This tool can be completed by one person or many people in an RTO, depending on their role, knowledge of the course and RTO details.
Complete this tool every year to ensure you regularly track progress and identify ongoing gaps. You can use the ‘Review date’ column of each recommendation or the action plan to set a date for the next review. You can also schedule reviews more frequently if you want to review progress in specific areas more regularly.
Progress measurement tool for registered training organisations -
This fact sheet provides information to individuals, their families, and caregivers about the involvement of allied health assistants in therapy programs.
Allied health assistnats and you - consumer fact sheet
Reviewed 07 December 2023