A thank you to our Members: 2019 in Review

For our last message of 2019 we’d like to say a huge THANK YOU for supporting the PAA as a member this year.

2019 brought with it significant changes and challenges for the Pilates community. However, challenging situations can also create opportunities to grow and next year looks like being interesting and exciting as we strive to build a stronger, even more positive Pilates community in 2020.

To close 2019, we thought it would be nice to share some of the achievements of 2019.

2019 in review

PAA Advocacy and Health Rebate Journey in 2019:

• The campaign to lobby Parliament over changes to Public Health Insurance begins with a meeting with Sam Devlin, Snr Advisor to the Minister for Health
• PAA collaborate with the APMA, providing information and joint letters to Health Minister, Members of Parliament and Health funds
• A petition is started and quickly hits 5000 signatures
• President, Sharan Simmons, is interviewed by ABC News for their program ‘Rebate Cuts‘ about the changes and the impact on public
• 1^st April sees the new Health Rebate rulings come into effect. Only days later Greg Hunt announces a $2M review of Natural Therapies, in response to the outcry
• The Natural Therapies Review Expert Advisory Panel (NTREAP) is announced and two meetings are held (updates available here: Natural Therapies Review updates)
• PAA work in conjunction with the APMA to review and update the Pilates Scope of Practice, bringing it in line with other similar professions in Australia

Education:

• PAA introduce additional guidelines for PDP approved workshops covering content for higher risk populations, advanced repertoire and for teaching classical, advanced or archival repertoire
• PAA members vote overwhelmingly to support free membership for students of recognised Education Bodies, which went live in September
• The Education and Industry Forum this year is held completely online for the very first time. Professional development, employment and membership levels, education standards, advocacy and the future evolution of the PAA conference are discussed
• The 3-day 2019 PAA Conference is highly successful despite unexpected competition. Feedback from delegates and sponsors is very positive. Planning begins for the 2021 conference
• 89 workshop applications are approved for PDPs during 2019, and over 230 dates are listed on the PAA website for approved workshops across Australia

Membership enhancements:

• Personal and Studio membership remains at 2018 prices for another year
• A review of PAA membership levels is announced, aiming to reorganise levels to better reflect the scope of the profession, recognise employment areas and allow more membership accessibility
• BMS announce that PAA Member Insurance premiums will be frozen for the coming year. Over 50% of members are now using the PAA Member Insurance with no claims made to date
• BMS announce that Barre, Power Plate, Core Align and Franklin Method will be included in the standard PAA Member insurance at no extra charge
• The Committee launches the idea of a Pilates meet up group in each city or region, to begin in 2020
• A refresh of the Member Benefits program gets underway, looking to expand the offerings for members

Committee:

• Susan Cottrell, Committee member & Katrina Edwards, owner of Aligned for Life/National Pilates Training are interviewed for “Sporty” on ABC radio, promoting the benefits of Pilates to the general public
• PAA Committee attends 3-day Associations Forum National Conference, which later influences decision making on member retention, event planning, communications/technology and other areas
• At the PAA AGM, Mary McArthur (Secretary) reaches the end of her 9 yr term and 4 new committee members are elected: Karen Goh, Darren Vizer, Kirsti Viitala and Bruce Hildebrand.
• Susan Cottrell sadly also steps down from the Committee late in the year
• The PAA begin investigating the situation regarding music licensing and the playing of background music in studios.
• Member Survey is launched to gather engage member in future planning for the PAA (Reminder: survey closes at 5pm on Friday 10 January 2020).
• PAA Social media team begins to ramp up activity, boosting posts promoting Pilates and the PAA and engaging members

We wish all of our members a happy, healthy and safe holiday and look forward to seeing you in 2020.