A practical plan for a stronger, member-led union
VAHPA Pulse is standing for a union that is democratic, transparent, organised, and led by its members. Our plan is built on the belief that allied health professionals deserve a union that listens, communicates clearly, and is ready to act with purpose.
This platform is about renewal, not rhetoric. We want to strengthen member participation, improve transparency and accountability, rebuild active organising structures, and ensure VAHPA is equipped to represent all allied health professionals with confidence and credibility.
Rebuild a union for every profession
Our priorities are shaped by a clear set of values: member power and democracy, transparency and trust, distributed leadership, operational strength, and social justice and solidarity. These are not abstract ideas. They shape how we want the union to function day to day, how decisions are made, and how members are supported to participate.
We believe members are not an audience or passive receivers of union services — they are the union. A stronger VAHPA starts with stronger structures for listening, organising, representation, and accountability.
Pay: Our wages aren't good enough. We will fight for better.
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Last time, the public sector was told by the current VAHPA leadership that 2% was a good deal. We strongly disagree. What's worse, it has set a low bar for all AHPs, whether you work in the public, private, community, or disability sector.
We are not afraid to push for what the employers say we cannot have. This means building power in the workplace, planning ahead, and empowering workers to take collective action to win. We will fight for career progression for all AHPs, no matter how big or small your profession, or wherever you work. We will build an effective fighting union that will back members to win wages that recognise our expertise and highly specialist skills.
Workloads: We will develop a plan for workload controls.
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We will develop a plan for enforceable workload controls. The nurses have ratios - Allied Health has nothing. We will establish a member-led working group to define safe workloads for our respective professions and develop a plan to win them.
We will establish Professional Reference Groups to ensure that all professions have a voice within our union. We will establish a delegate caucus to improve representation and accountability.
We will expand the Branch Committee of Management (BCoM) from the current nine to nineteen members (the maximum the HSU rules will currently allow).
Representation: We want all members to have a say in our union.
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Over the last few years under the current “democratic” leadership, VAHPA has attempted to force a merger without consultation, it has failed to ensure proper consideration of the views of the membership, and cannot even publish the BCoM minutes.
We've had enough of deals with government and employers delivering low wage outcomes; staffing increases that are no more than promises on paper; high staff turnover; and not letting members know what is being decided for them.
We will not sell our union to another union. The members will always decide the future of our union. We will implement good governance practices by ensuring the Secretary and Assistant Secretary do not have a vote on BCoM, because as paid officials they have a conflict of interest.
Unlike what happened in the 2022 Public Sector EA, we will not agree to any "memorandums of understanding" or any other bargaining arrangements that are not legally enforceable.
Accountability: We want our union to be honest, open and transparent with members. No forced mergers.
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AHP Identity: We deserve greater recognition and respect.
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We want everyone to understand who Allied Health Professionals are, our vital role in caring for our communities, and the essential contribution we make to keeping our health services running. But that story should not be written for us, it should be led by us. We want members to define and shape the vision and identity? for our professions and our sector, because the people doing the work every day are the ones who best understand what our workforce and communities need. A member-led union keeps our advocacy grounded in members' experience and accountable to the people it exists to represent.
We will develop a strategy for Allied Health Professionals and our union
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We want members to define their vision for their profession and ensure the union has a plan to fight for it.
We want a long-term plan for bargaining, for industrial action, for workload controls, for the development and support of our workplace representatives, and for the advancement of all Allied Health professions. Our union currently has no strategic plan - not for our union overall, not for our individual sectors, and not for us as AHPs in our rapidly changing health sectors. We face challenges in funding; graduate and staff attraction and retention; student placements and support; resources and workloads; new technology; and more. We will meet these challenges head on.
We will have an All Union Delegates Conference
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If we are elected, we will hold a delegates conference in the first 12 months for all delegates across Public, Private, Community and Disability sectors to define VAHPA’s Strategic Plan for Allied Health and our union.
The values behind the plan
Our platform is grounded in values that shape not only what we want to achieve, but how we want to lead.
Member power & democracy
Members are not an audience. They are the union, and they should shape its direction.
Transparency & trust
Trust grows when processes are open, communication is clear, and leadership is accountable.
Distributed leadership
Leadership should not be concentrated in one role or one group. It exists across professions, workplaces, and communities.
Operational strength
A values-driven union must also be well-run, strategic, and responsive.
Social justice & solidarity
Care, equity, and fairness sit at the heart of allied health work. They should also sit at the heart of our union.
Focused on the future
VAHPA Pulse is committed to a positive and constructive campaign because we believe optimism, clarity, and member leadership are powerful. Our plan is about building a stronger, more participatory union culture, supporting members to grow their confidence and collective power, and ensuring VAHPA is ready for the challenges ahead.
We are standing for a union that is trusted, relevant, and effective — now and into the future.