The inaugural meeting of the past Presidents of Osteopathy Australia

by Michelle Funder

In late 2022, I arranged the inaugural meeting of the Past Presidents of Osteopathy Australia or, for those who were President pre-2014, before the association rebranded, the Australian Osteopathic Association.

The meeting was well-attended and showcased over 35 years of the rich history of Presidents. It was a great forum for old friends to catch up and new acquaintances to be made. Each former President shared a brief story of their time at Osteopathy Australia and also told us where they are now in their career.

What was evident from everyone’s stories from their time in their roles was their generosity of time, spirit and passion for osteopathy. This generosity is also reflective of all the Board members over the years too, as many of us are aware these positions are voluntary.

We walked through the history of the association over the last 35 years from two associations and state-based registration to a national scheme of registration and a unified nationwide association, and it was clear in our short history how far both the association and profession have come. From stories of the association being one filing cabinet, one person in a garage – to now, our office in Chatswood with a CEO and team of nine, comprising roles we need to support our members and make an impact for our profession – is a testament to the leadership and strategy of the association over the years.

It is important to remember that we have made huge progress as a profession and association over this short period of time.

At the beginning of the meeting, I posed the question ‘How do we inspire the future leaders of osteopathy?’ There was great discussion around what leadership is in osteopathy, why we were all leaders, and what connected us to osteopathy.

Many of us laughed that during our school teenage years, we were all school prefects and perhaps were always attracted to positions of leadership. What was common among the group was a passion for osteopathic practice, the history and principles of osteopathy, and the advancement of osteopathy within Australian healthcare. These were the underpinning reasons that people had put their hand up to lead the profession.

So how do we inspire future generations? It’s all about education. Through the right communication channels, we need to educate future osteopaths of the importance of advocacy for osteopathy within the Australian healthcare system.

This was our first meeting of past Presidents, and we are hoping that this becomes a regular occurrence each year. My greatest takeaway from our session was to offer thanks to all the hard work of Presidents and Board members before my time – they have done an incredible job of shaping the association and profession to where it is today. Thank you!