physiotherapy labour force -...

Physiotherapy Labour Force Victoria 2006 A report by Service and Workforce Planning

Published by the Victorian Government Department of Human Services Melbourne, Victoria © Copyright State of Victoria 2007 This publication is copyright, no part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. This document may also be downloaded from the Department of Human Services web site at: www.dhs.vic.gov.au or http://www.health.vic.gov.au/workforce Authorised by the State Government of Victoria, 50 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.

http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/workforce

Table of Contents

1 Introduction...........................................................................................................4

1.1 Labour force surveys .........................................................................................4 2 Methodology ..........................................................................................................4 3 Labour Force Survey 2006 .......................................................................................5

3.1 Gender of physiotherapists .................................................................................5 3.2 Age profile of physiotherapists ............................................................................5 3.3 Country of birth ................................................................................................7 3.4 Hours worked ...................................................................................................7 3.5 Location of employment .....................................................................................8 3.6 Length of practice .............................................................................................9 3.7 Qualifications.................................................................................................. 10 3.8 Work status.................................................................................................... 10 3.9 Work intentions .............................................................................................. 11 3.10 Field specialty .............................................................................................. 13 3.11 Professional role........................................................................................... 13 3.12 Practice setting ............................................................................................ 14 3.13 Working arrangements.................................................................................. 15

APPENDIX A – SURVEY INSTRUMENT ............................................................................ 16 APPENDIX B - Registration Board Data .......................................................................... 20

Physiotherapy Labour Force – Victoria 2006 - 4 -

1 Introduction

Physiotherapy is a therapeutic health profession concerned with enhancing mobility and quality of life by using clinical reasoning to deliver the most suitable treatment for an injury or condition. Physiotherapists help people gain as much movement and physical independence as possible so they can resume their normal job or lifestyle. Physiotherapists assess, diagnose and treat people with movement problems. They also deliver patient education and help people avoid injuries and maintain a fit, healthy body1.

In Victoria, suitably qualified physiotherapists are registered by the Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria. Physiotherapy degree courses are offered at three universities in Victoria – La Trobe University, The University of Melbourne and Monash University.

1.1 Labour force surveys

Labour Force Surveys are conducted by Service and Workforce Planning Branch within the Department of Human Services (DHS) for a number of health professions. A Victorian Physiotherapy Labour Force Survey was first conducted in 1998 and again in 2003. Each survey aimed to explore the composition of the physiotherapy labour force within Victoria, and provide an understanding about the changing composition and work practices of the profession.

“Physiotherapy Labour Force – Victoria 2003-04” was published by DHS in 2006 and presented the results of the 1998 and 2003 surveys.

A more recent survey of physiotherapists was conducted during the 2006 registration period.

2 Methodology

A paper-based survey was designed by Service and Workforce Planning Branch and distributed by the Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria along with their registration renewals. As physiotherapists are able to register online, an electronic survey was included with the online registration forms. A copy of the survey instrument is shown in Appendix A.

The Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria collected the hard copy and electronic survey returns and forwarded them to Service and Workforce Planning Branch in April 2007. 87% of survey responses were electronic, and 13% hard copy.

1 Australian Physiotherapy Association http://apa.advsol.com.au/physio_and_health/improve/what.cfm


3 Labour Force Survey 2006

At the time the surveys were sent out (late October 2006), the Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria indicated there were 4,453 physiotherapists registered. Of the surveys distributed by the Board, 3,784 responses were received, a response rate of 85%.

The following data is based on survey responses. Gender and residential postcode data for the total population of registered physiotherapists is shown in Appendix B.

3.1 Gender of physiotherapists

Physiotherapy is a female-dominated profession. 71% of respondents were female. There has been little change from past surveys (1998 – 72% female; 2003 – 72% female).

Table 1. Gender of physiotherapists, 2006 (Source: Physiotherapy labour force survey, 2006)

Gender Number Percentage

Males 1068 28.2%

Females 2682 70.9%

Not specified 34 0.9%

Total 3784 100%

3.2 Age profile of physiotherapists

The majority of physiotherapists fall into the 25-29 year age group (20.2% of total respondents). The age profile is very similar for males and females, both peaking in the 25-29 year age group, and declining up to the 40-44 year age group. The number of males and females increases slightly in the 45-49 year age group and then declines steadily.

Figure 1. Age profile of physiotherapists by 5-year age groups, 2006.

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

< 25 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+Age group

Num

ber o

f ph

ysio

ther

apis

ts MaleFemale


The average age of female physiotherapists is 38.7 years; for males the average age is 37.2 years. The 2003 labour force survey indicated the average age for female physiotherapists was 39.9 years, and for males, 37.4 years.

Table 2. Number of physiotherapists by 5-year age group and gender, 2006.

Age group Number Male Female No gender

specified Percentage of

total

< 25 277 69 207 1 7.3%

25-29 763 228 532 3 20.2%

30-34 679 223 454 2 17.9%

35-39 502 151 350 1 13.3%

40-44 422 119 303 0 11.2%

45-49 452 128 323 1 11.9%

50-54 274 81 193 0 7.2%

55-59 185 37 147 1 4.9%

60-64 119 14 105 0 3.1%

65+ 70 12 58 0 1.8%

No response 41 6 10 25 1.1%

Total 3784 1068 2682 34 100.0%


3.3 Country of birth

The majority of physiotherapists registered in Victoria were born in Australia. Of those who specified country of birth, 25% were born overseas, with 7.9% from Asia, 6.7% from UK/Ireland, 2.6% from other European countries and 2.5% from New Zealand.

Figure 2. Country of birth of physiotherapists, 2006.

AustraliaAsiaUK/IrelandOther EuropeNew ZealandOther Not specified

3.4 Hours worked

Females work less hours, on average, than males. The difference is particularly pronounced for 35-39 year olds, with males working 41 hours per week, on average, and females working 20 hours per week. The highest average weekly hours are worked by 50-54 year old males. For females, the highest average weekly hours are worked by physiotherapists less than 25 years old.

Figure 3. Average weekly hours by gender, 2006.

0

10

20

30

40

50

< 25 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64 65+Age group

Ave

rage

pai

d w

eekl

y ho

urs

MaleFemale


The average weekly hours worked by females in 2006 was 29.7 hours. This has decreased from 2003, where the labour force survey indicated females worked an average of 30.8 hours per week. Male physiotherapists worked an average 40.9 hours per week in 2006, compared with 41.5 hours per week in 2003.

3.5 Location of employment

3,197 respondents provided details of work location by postcode. The survey allowed details to be entered for the “main” job/location, second job/location and a third job/location. 142 respondents were working in three locations, and 570 in two locations.

The postcodes/localities have been converted to local government areas and results are shown for the main job/location only.

Most physiotherapists work in the City of Melbourne and surrounding local government areas (LGAs). Greater Geelong has the most physiotherapists of the rural LGAs, with 134 respondents listing Greater Geelong as the location of their main employment.

Figure 4. Map of main work location of physiotherapists, by local government area, 2006.


Table 3. Top 10 metropolitan and rural local government areas, by number of physiotherapists (main job location), 2006.

Metropolitan Local Government Area

Number of physiotherapists

Rural Local Government Area

Number of physiotherapists

Melbourne (C) 275 Greater Geelong (C) 134

Boroondara (C) 154 Ballarat (C) 62

Glen Eira (C) 148 Greater Bendigo (C) 59

Banyule (C) 146 Wodonga (RC) 36

Stonnington (C) 139 Greater Shepparton (C) 31

Monash (C) 130 Wangaratta (RC) 31

Whitehorse (C) 124 Latrobe (C) 29

Yarra (C) 120 East Gippsland (S) 18

Frankston (C) 95 Baw Baw (S) 17

Kingston (C) 91 Mildura (RC) 16

Of the physiotherapists that provided the location of their main employment, 80% work in metropolitan areas, and 20% in rural areas of Victoria.

3.6 Length of practice

1100 respondents have worked in physiotherapy for more than 20 years.

Table 4. Number of years working as a physiotherapist (in Australia and overseas), 2006.

Years of work Number of respondents

< 5 years 707

5-9 years 794

10-14 years 606

15-19 years 456

> 20 years 1100

Not specified 121

Total 3784


3.7 Qualifications

Physiotherapists registered from 1980 onwards are more likely to have degree qualifications. Earlier registrants are more likely to have diploma-level qualifications. Courses currently accredited by the Australian Physiotherapy Council are at Bachelor, Masters or Doctoral level2. However, in the past, approved courses would have included Diploma level qualifications.

Figure 5. Type of qualification by year first registered in Victoria, 2006.

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

pre-1960 1960-1969 1970-1979 1980-1989 1990-1999 2000-2006

Year first registered in Victoria

Not specifiedPost-gradBachelorDiploma

3.8 Work status

Of the total number of physiotherapists that responded to the survey, 2,913 or 77% are working mainly in Victoria. 276 respondents are working in physiotherapy overseas, and 83 in other states/territories within Australia. 225 or 5.9% of respondents are not currently working as physiotherapists.

2 Australian Physiotherapy Council http://www.physiocouncil.com.au/file_folder/Accreditationstatus


Table 5. Work status of registered physiotherapists, 2006.

Work status Number

Working only in Victoria 2913

Working mainly in Victoria but also in other States/Territories 117

Working mainly in other States/Territories but also in Victoria 51

Working only in other States/Territories 32

On leave for 3 months or longer 108

Working as a physiotherapist overseas 276

Not in paid work 129

Working but in an occupation or industry unrelated to physiotherapy 96

Not specified 62

Total 3784

There were 501 respondents not working as a physiotherapist in Australia. 11% stated they were absent from the workforce due to family responsibilities. 14% of those not working are travelling of taking a career break. 10% are intending to change careers.

3.9 Work intentions

The majority of respondents under 45 years of age expect to be practising physiotherapy for more than 20 years. However, a number of young physiotherapists have indicated an intention to practise for less than 5 years, citing reasons such as family responsibilities, career change, pursuit of alternative course of study and inability to practise due to illness/injury, as likely reasons for leaving physiotherapy.

152 respondents under the age of 35 years, have indicated they will leave physiotherapy within 5 years.


Table 6. Years expecting to work as a physiotherapist, by age, 2006.

Respondents by age

Years expecting to work

Total Respondents < 25 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 > 65

Age not specified

< 5 323 28 124 25 20 87 38 1

5-9 442 35 147 45 108 97 8 2

10-14 608 33 177 115 226 51 2 4

15-19 399 13 68 144 164 8 1 1

> 20 1282 143 619 410 97 4 1 8

Not specified 730 25 307 185 111 57 20 25

Total 3784 277 1442 924 726 304 70 41

Work intentions shown by length of service as a physiotherapist, indicates that the majority of practitioners in the groups with less than 20 years of practice, intend to keep practising for at least another 20 years.

Note the minorities, however, such as 79 physiotherapists who have been practising for less than 5 years, and do not intend to practise past another 5 years. 47% of these respondents cited a change in career or pursuit of alternative study as the reason for not remaining in the physiotherapy workforce. 18% cited travel/relocation, and another 18% cited family responsibilities as likely reasons for permanent departure from the physiotherapy workforce.

Table 7. Years expecting to work as a physiotherapist, by number of years already practising, 2006.

Respondents by length of practice

Years expecting to work

Total Respondents

< 5 years

5-9 years

10-14 years

15-20 years

> 20 years

Not specified

< 5 323 79 60 28 13 125 18

5-9 442 81 84 37 29 202 9

10-14 608 74 107 84 62 270 11

15-19 399 26 42 68 88 167 8

> 20 1282 346 314 272 178 147 25

Not specified 730 101 187 117 86 179 60

Total 3784 707 794 606 456 1090 131


3.10 Field specialty

Most respondents work in musculoskeletal physiotherapy in their main job, followed by mixed practice and aged care/rehabilitation. The field with the smallest number of practitioners (main job) is research.

The highest average number of hours is worked in mixed practice, followed by musculoskeletal and paediatric physiotherapy.

Figure 6. Number of physiotherapists by physiotherapy field specialty (main job), and average weekly hours, 2006.

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Age

dca

re/re

habi

litat

ion

Car

dior

espi

rato

ry

Man

agem

ent

Mix

ed p

ract

ice

Mus

culo

skel

etal

Neu

rolo

gica

l

Occ

upat

iona

lH

ealth

Pae

diat

ric

Res

earc

h

Spo

rts/fi

tnes

s

Teac

hing

/edu

catio

n

Oth

er

3.11 Professional role

The majority of physiotherapists work as practitioners/clinicians/consultants.

Table 8. Professional roles of physiotherapists in main, second and third jobs, 2006.

Professional role Number (main

job) Number (second

job) Number (third

job)

Practitioner/clinician/consultant 2620 701 157

Advisor/manager/administrator 187 29 9

Educator/teacher 74 25 14

Researcher 46 18 4

Other 25 9 1

Total 2952 782 185

Nur o

hys

her

sts

0.00

5.00

10.00

15.00

20.00

25.00

30.00

Aver

age

hour

s w

orke

dapi

iot

f pm

be

Number in fieldAverage hours


3.12 Practice setting

Physiotherapy practice/consultancy is the main employment setting for physiotherapists, with 34% reporting this as the setting for their main job. Acute hospitals employ 642 physiotherapists in their main job. 109 physiotherapists work in acute hospitals as a second job and 29 as a third job.

Table 9. Practice setting for physiotherapists in main, second and third job, 2006.

Practice Setting Number (main

job) Number (second

job) Number (third

job)

Physiotherapy practice/consultancy 1005 356 62

Acute hospital 642 109 29

Rehabilitation hospital 427 34 5

Community health centre 222 42 9

Residential aged care 105 87 29

Rehabilitation service provider 77 16 6

Sports clinic/fitness centre 63 40 8

Domiciliary care service 60 12 3

Disability service 59 16 0

Government 56 12 5

Tertiary education institution 54 25 11

Industry/business 28 18 11

Defence 14 1 0

Other 135 41 7

Total respondents 2947 809 185


3.13 Working arrangements

The majority of respondents are salaried public sector employees. 20% have their own practice or partnership, and 15% are salaried private sector employees.

Figure 7. Working arrangements of physiotherapists (main job), 2006.

43%

15%

10%

5%4%

20%

1%2% Salaried public sector

Own practice/partnership

Salaried private sector

Contract/tenured

Salaried non-government/non-profitSessional

Locum

Other

APPENDIX A – SURVEY INSTRUMENT

Registration Number (Optional)

2006 PHYSIOTHERAPISTS LABOUR FORCE DATA COLLECTION

The Department of Human Services Victoria (DHS) undertakes regular workforce data collections to support state-level workforce planning. Data collected by DHS may also be shared with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) to assist monitoring of national workforce trends.

The survey is conducted by DHS in cooperation with the Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria, and is supported by the Australian Physiotherapy Association. You are strongly encouraged to complete the survey, to help improve the accuracy and reliability of physiotherapy workforce statistics. Even if you are not currently working as a physiotherapist in Victoria, questions 1-13 of the survey are still applicable.

Questions or comments about the survey can be directed to the Service & Workforce Planning Branch of DHS on (03) 9096 6111, or to [email protected]

Please return your paper questionnaire in the postage-paid envelope provided by 23 February 2007.

CONFIDENTIALITY of your responses is preserved by the Information Privacy Principles, which imposes strict conditions on the form and circumstances of data release, particularly protecting the release of information that could identify an individual.

NB: Provision of your registration number is optional, and will only be used in longitudinal analysis of workforce change.

Please tick the boxes and write responses, where appropriate, in the spaces provided.

1 Gender Male 1 Female 2

2 Year of birth

1 9

3 Place of birth

Australia 1 New Zealand 21 UK/Ireland 311 Other Europe 4

Asia 5 1 Other 61 Please Specify………………………………

4 Do you identify as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin?

Yes 1 No 2

5 What is the postcode of your usual residence?

6 In which year did you first obtain general registration as a physiotherapist

in Victoria?

7 In which Australian States and/or Territories does your name appear on the latest physiotherapist register?

NSW 11 Vic 21 Qld 3 1 WA 43 Please specify the States/Territories of registration

by ticking each appropriate box: SA 51 Tas 51 NT 71 ACT 8 3

8 a Year obtained

b Title/level of qualification Diploma 1 Bachelor degree 21 Postgraduate diploma/degree 3

NSW 11 Vic 21 Qld 3 1 WA 43 c Place obtained -

Australia SA 51 Tas 51 NT 71 ACT 8 3

New Zealand 11 UK/Ireland 21 Other Europe 3 1 Asia 43

Details of your first physiotherapy qualification

d Place obtained - overseas 1

Other 51 (Please Specify)…………………………

9 How many years of paid work as a physiotherapist have you had, in both Australia and overseas, since obtaining your first physiotherapy qualification?

10 Which of the following best describes your work status in the last week?

Paid work as a physiotherapist in Australia (see definition in shaded area)

Only in Victoria 1

Mainly in Victoria but also in other States/Territories 2

Mainly in other States/Territories but also in Victoria 3

Only in other States/Territories 4

On leave for 3 months or longer (e.g. maternity, long service leave) 5

Working as a physiotherapist includes the practice of physiotherapy, or work that is principally concerned with the discipline of physiotherapy (including research, teaching, professional advisory, management and administrative services).

(Please go to Question 13)

Not working as a physiotherapist in Australia

Working as a physiotherapist overseas 6

Not in paid work 7

Working, but in an occupation or industry unrelated to physiotherapy 8

(Please continue to Question 11)

11 Which of the following best describes your current situation?

Absent from the workforce with family responsibilities 1 Retired from the workforce 21

Not yet commenced work 31 Further study - physiotherapy 4 Withdrawal from the workforce through illness/injury 5 Travel/career break 6

Career change 7 (Please provide reason/s)………… ……………………………………….

Unsuitability of available work 8 (Please provide reason/s)………… ……………………………………….

Studying – other discipline 91 (Please provide details)…………… ……………………………………….

Other 10 (Please Specify)…………………… ……………………………………….

12 Not intending to practice 1 Within 12 months 21

Likely time frame for commencing or resuming practice as a physiotherapist

Between 1& 5 years 31 More than 5 years 41

13 Nil 1 Less than 2 years 21

Duration of any overseas experience/practice as a physiotherapist Between 2 & 5 years 3 More than 5 years 41

If not currently working as a physiotherapist in Victoria - no further questions, thank you! If currently working as a physiotherapist in Victoria - please continue from Q 14 to the end of the questionnaire.

14 Excluding temporary workforce absences, approximately how many more years do you expect to work as a physiotherapist in Victoria?

15 Retirement 1 Family responsibilities 21

Career change 3 Pursuit of alternative study 41

Inability to practice due to illness/injury 5 Other reason 61

At this time, what do you think would be the most likely reason for your permanent or long term departure from the physiotherapy workforce?

(Please Specify) ……………………………………………….

16

In Question 16a, please record your total paid weekly hours for the past week in all of the physiotherapy jobs/practice locations in which you worked in Victoria only. If you were on leave last week, provide details of paid weekly hours usually worked. (Exclude travel time between work locations, and unpaid voluntary activities.) For Questions 16b and 16c, record the Victorian postcode (or location) for each physiotherapy job held. Continue down the column underneath each job heading to record the number of hours worked, according to your field of practice or specialty. For Questions 16d to 16f, tick the box that best indicates your professional role, practice setting and work arrangements in each of your physiotherapy jobs.

a Total paid weekly hours worked (all Victorian physiotherapy jobs/locations)

b Geographic location Main Job/Location 2nd Job/Location 3rd Job/Location

Postcode

or location (if postcode not known) …………………………. …………………………. ………………………….

c Field/specialty HOURS HOURS HOURS

Mixed Practice

Neurological

Cardiorespiratory

Occupational Health

Musculoskeletal

Aged care/rehabilitation

Paediatric

Sports/fitness

Teaching/education

Research

Management

Other

(Please specify) …………………………… …………………………… ……………………………

TOTAL HOURS PER JOB/LOCATION

d Professional role (Please tick one box only for each job/location) Practitioner/clinician/consultant 1 1 1

Advisor/manager/administrator 2 2 2

Educator/teacher 3 3 3

Researcher 4 4 4

Other 5 5 5

(Please specify) …………………………. …………………………. ………………………….

Main Job/Location 2nd Job/Location 3rd Job/Location e Practice setting (Please tick one box only for each job/location)

Physiotherapy practice/consultancy 1 1 1

Acute hospital 2 2 2

Rehabilitation hospital 3 3 3

Community health centre 4 4 4

Residential aged care 5 5 5

Disability Service 6 6 6

Domiciliary care service 7 7 7

Government 8 8 8

Defence 9 9 9

Industry/business 10 10 10

Rehabilitation service provider 11 11 11

Sports clinic/fitness centre 12 12 12

Tertiary education institution 13 13 13

Other 14 14 14

(Please specify) …………………………. …………………………. ………………………….

f Working arrangements (Please tick one box only for each job/location)

Own practice or partnership 1 1 1

Salaried private sector 2 2 2

Salaried public sector 3 3 3

Salaried non-government/non-profit 4 4 4

Sessional 5 5 5

Contract/tenured 6 6 6

Locum 7 7 7

Other 8 8 8

(Please specify) …………………………. …………………………. ……………………………

Thank you for your assistance in completing the survey!

Return the completed paper questionnaire in the postage-paid envelope provided, or

send to:

Allied Health Survey Workforce Planning

Reply Paid 4057 MELBOURNE 8060 (no stamp required)

APPENDIX B - Registration Board Data

The Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria collects date of birth, gender and residential postcode for all registered physiotherapists. Registration data provided at 30th August 2007 indicated there were 1277 male and 2955 female physiotherapists registered to practise.

Table B1. Gender of physiotherapists, 2007 (Source: Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria, Register as at 30th August 2007)

Gender Number Percentage

Males 1277 30.1%

Females 2955 69.8%

Not specified 4 0.1%

Total 4236 100%

From the residential postcode data, where provided to the Registration Board, 73% of registrants reside in metropolitan Melbourne, 17.5% in rural Victoria (includes Geelong), and 3% have interstate addresses. Registration data from 2004 showed 73% of physiotherapists resided in Melbourne/Geelong, 16% in rural Victoria and 11% interstate/overseas.

Table B2. Residential location of physiotherapists, 2007 (Source: Physiotherapists Registration Board of Victoria, Register as at 30th August 2007)

Residence Number Percentage

Metropolitan Melbourne 3109 73.4%

Rural Victoria 740 17.5%

Interstate 121 2.9%

Unknown 266 6.3%

Total 4236 100%

physiotherapy labour force -...

Documents