PAA Benchmarks for Education and Training

 Following recent discussions on social media forums, we wish to reaffirm

• We set standards for all of our member levels
• We see a PAA approved, government accredited diploma as the gold standard for Pilates
• Just because a training provider is accredited by the government, this does not mean that we accept their training as meeting our standards. For example, some RTOs do not meet our criteria for repertoire or on-the-job experience
• We have expanded our membership levels in order to draw in Pilates instructors who do not yet meet our gold standard so they can see a pathway, via our approved training providers, to reach our gold standard.

More details are included below.

The expanded PAA membership levels aim to build and promote professional standards within the broader Pilates industry and landscape.

In November 2020, the PAA introduced expanded membership levels to bridge the growing gap between education and career paths for Pilates instructors in Australia. The levels expand opportunities for working Pilates instructors to join the PAA and benefit from the professional development opportunities and access to industry and research information.

The PAA education committee would like to reaffirm that the expanded membership levels in no way detract from the recognition of professional-level accredited training. Instead, they aim to promote these high standards of training to a broader population of prospective instructors.

PAA Course Competency Criteria ensure that both accredited and non-accredited programs provide adequate Pilates content and the support and opportunity for hands-on work experience and observation.

Although government accreditation guarantees specific standards and national quality assurance requirements, it does not ensure a training program provides the rigorous work experience and observation components vital for developing proficient and professional instructors. PAA Pilates Practitioner membership is ONLY open to graduates who hold a PAA-approved government Diploma.

The Group and Studio membership levels accept instructors from programs that meet PAA standards including accredited courses as well as some programs that do not provide an accredited qualification. This allows the PAA to influence and promote industry training standards and encourage instructors at the group and studio levels to continue their training towards professional membership.

The expanded  membership levels and Course Competency Criteria (CCC) are part of the PAA’s vision to unite and promote the Pilates industry to both government and the broader community.

The past 18 months have taught us that to thrive and grow professionally, the Pilates industry needs a cohesive voice to represent and advocate for recognition as an essential health service in the community. Long term, the PAA must embrace and influence the broader Pilates community in order to impact education and training standards and improve the quality and outcomes of Australian Pilates. The membership levels, guided by our rigorous CCC, bring us a step closer to this vision.

PAA Course Competency Criteria ensure adequate content, hours, and learning opportunities.

The expanded membership levels are guided by the PAA Course Competency Criteria, which set minimum standards for training at each level. The benchmark for Professional membership is still a PAA-approved Government accredited Diploma.

Below is a brief summary of the PAA benchmarks for membership at each level.

Group membership: open to the qualified mat and reformer instructors from courses that meet PAA course competency criteria. PAA CCC for Group level includes a pre-requisite of 25 hours of Pilates experience and a minimum of 175 course hours allocated as follows:

• minimum of 50 hours of theory/content (content guidelines on PAA website)
• minimum of 75 hours work experience (observation and assistant teaching combined). 50% of work experience must be assistant teaching at an approved studio.
• minimum of 50 hours of self-mastery. 50% of these hours need to be classes with a PAA Professional member.

Studio membership: open to comprehensively trained instructors from courses that meet PAA Course competency criteria. PAA CCC for Studio instructor level includes a pre-requisite of 25 hours of Pilates experience and a minimum of 460 course hours allocated as follows:

• minimum of 80 hours of theory and content (content guidelines on PAA website)
• minimum of 300 hours of work experience (observation and assistant teaching combined). 50% of work experience must be assistant teaching at an approved studio.
• minimum of 80 hours of self-mastery. 50% of this needs to be classes with a comprehensively trained and qualified instructor with a minimum of 3000 teaching hours.

Professional membership: open to instructors graduating from VET accredited training courses (minimum AQF Diploma) that meet PAA Professional course competency criteria. PAA CCC for Pilates Practitioner level includes a pre-requisite of 25 hours of Pilates experience and a minimum of 500 course hours allocated as follows:

• minimum of 120 hours of theory and content (content guidelines on PAA website)
• minimum of 300 hours of work experience (observation and assistant teaching combined). 50% of work experience must be assistant teaching at an approved studio.
• minimum of 80 hours of self-mastery. 50% of this needs to be classes with a PAA professional member, level 2 or above.

Find out More

If you are interested in learning more about becoming a member of Pilates Alliance Australasia or have any questions regarding PAA benchmarks and standards please email us: info@pilates.org.au