Taking the pulse of the profession

The APA has recently released its 2025 Workforce Census, the second iteration of the initiative developed to monitor workforce trends of the physiotherapy profession. 

Building on the 2023 Workforce Census, the 2025 report provides a snapshot of the current state of the profession, giving valuable insights into the opportunities, challenges and emerging trends shaping it. 

By examining key workforce factors such as career intentions, job satisfaction and the impacts of government reforms on our members, the 2025 Workforce Census provides an important evidence base to inform APA advocacy and initiatives. 

Key findings include the following. 

Job satisfaction is generally high

The 2025 census paints a largely positive picture of the physiotherapy workforce, with overall job satisfaction remaining high. 

More than seven in 10 physiotherapists (71 per cent) reported high or very high levels of satisfaction with their careers, a result consistent with findings from 2023. 

Satisfaction levels, however, vary across career stages. 

Expert and highly developed physiotherapists reported the highest levels of satisfaction, reflecting the rewards that can come with professional growth, autonomy and recognition. 

In contrast, mid-career practitioners recorded the lowest levels of satisfaction, highlighting a potential pressure point within the workforce. 

Encouragingly, satisfaction among foundation-level physiotherapists increased substantially, rising from 62 per cent in 2023 to 74 per cent in 2025. 

The survey results show that satisfaction is driven by a combination of financial stability and personal fulfilment. 

Financial security and the ability to make a positive impact were rated as critical by 97 per cent of respondents, closely followed by salary or wages (96 per cent), work-life balance (95 per cent) and working hours (95 per cent). 

High levels of autonomy and recognition for skills and experience were also identified as key contributors to career satisfaction. 

Together, these findings suggest that physiotherapists are motivated not only by financial reward, but also by the opportunity to improve lives, make a meaningful difference and build a career that offers both purpose and professional fulfilment. 

The gender pay gap persists 

Despite growing awareness and ongoing efforts to improve equity, the gender pay gap remains a reality across the physiotherapy profession. 

The 2025 census found that the gap has widened since 2023, with men earning an average of $8444 more per year than women. 

The findings reveal a familiar pattern. 

While starting salaries for men and women are largely comparable, earnings begin to diverge as careers progress, creating a widening gap that grows with experience. 

This trend is particularly concerning in a profession where women make up the majority of the workforce. Importantly, the disparity is not driven by unequal pay for equal work at an employer level. 

Instead, it reflects broader structural and workforce factors. 

Men are more likely to occupy management and leadership positions, are concentrated in higher-paying practice areas and are more commonly represented in settings that attract greater remuneration. 

The data shows that men are disproportionately represented in higherpaid sports and exercise environments, while women are more likely to work in paediatrics, pelvic health and disability services, areas that typically attract lower rates of pay. 

Over time, these factors intersect and compound, creating greater earning opportunities for men across their careers. 

As a result, while pay parity may exist within individual workplaces, variations in remuneration between clinical sectors and the uneven gender distribution across practice areas continue to drive a profession-wide gender pay gap. 

Training experiences are declining 

While early-career physiotherapists remain confident that they made the right decision in choosing the profession, the 2025 census highlights growing concerns about the quality of their training experiences. 

Just 35 per cent of early-career physiotherapists felt their education and training adequately prepared them to enter the workforce, a significant decline from 61 per cent in 2023. 

The findings point to clinical placement experiences as a key contributor to this shift. 

Less than half of respondents (46 per cent) reported a positive placement experience, down sharply from 71 per cent two years earlier. 

These results reinforce longstanding concerns about barriers to learning during clinical placements, particularly within private practice settings. 

Access to high-quality, hands-on clinical experience is critical for building confidence, competence and workforce readiness, yet many students continue to face challenges in gaining meaningful practical exposure. 

The findings support ongoing advocacy efforts by the APA for reforms that strengthen clinical education pathways. 

One proposed solution is amending current legislation to allow practices to bill for physiotherapy services delivered by students under appropriate supervision. 

Such changes could increase placement opportunities, improve learning experiences and better prepare graduates for the realities of professional practice. 

As demand for physiotherapy services continues to grow, ensuring that students receive effective and supportive clinical training will be vital to the sustainability and future strength of the profession. 

Concerns of our business owners are changing 

The 2025 Workforce Census reveals a significant shift in the challenges facing physiotherapy business owners, reflecting broader changes across the health system and funding environment. 

In 2023, the primary concerns for practice owners centred on workforce supply, competition from emerging disciplines and the administrative burden associated with navigating multiple funding streams. 

While these issues remain relevant, the focus has shifted markedly. 

By 2025, health system reform and funding uncertainty had emerged as the most pressing threats to business viability, with concern about these issues more than doubling from 17 per cent to 37 per cent over the two-year period. 

At the same time, concerns about regulatory and funding complexity continued to grow. 

More than one-third of practice owners (34 per cent) identified these challenges as a key business risk, up from 22 per cent in 2023. 

Within this area, the NDIS has overtaken private health insurance as the most significant source of regulatory concern, highlighting the increasing influence of the scheme on physiotherapy service delivery. Interestingly, fewer business owners identified workforce supply (21 per cent) and staff retention (13 per cent) as major threats compared with 2023, suggesting some easing of workforce pressures. 

The census also highlights changing revenue patterns across private practice. 

While private health insurance and direct patient payments remain the foundation of practice income, revenue derived from the NDIS increased substantially, rising from 15 per cent in 2023 to 22 per cent in 2025. 

This growing reliance on the NDIS mirrors the sector’s increasing importance to physiotherapy businesses and underscores why funding and regulatory reform have become such prominent concerns for practice owners. 

Why the census matters 

The 2025 Workforce Census provides an important evidence base to better understand the opportunities and challenges facing the physiotherapy profession. 

From workforce satisfaction and gender equity to clinical training and business sustainability, these insights help identify where action is needed most. 

The APA will continue to use this evidence to inform advocacy and drive reforms that support physiotherapists, strengthen service delivery and ensure that the profession remains well placed to meet the future health needs of the Australian community.