Speechie Hub

Speech pathologists are Allied Health professionals with expertise in the assessment and treatment of speech, language, fluency, swallowing and voice disorders in life-span clients. 

To become a Speech Pathologist in Australia, you need to complete a Bachelor or Masters level qualification in Speech Pathology. The Undergraduate degree for Speech Pathologists is the equivalent of 4 years of full-time education (FTE). There are placements throughout the Undergraduate degree in a variety of work settings. 

Depending on the university, postgraduate qualifications to study a Master of Speech Pathology take 1.5 to 2.5 years of FTE equivalent.

The ATAR requirements to study Speech Pathology are in the 90+ range in Australia and depend on the university. This course does not have a Guaranteed ATAR as per the Universities Admissions Centre (www.uac.edu.au). 

“Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equaliser of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.” – Horace Mann

SPA: “Speech Pathology Australia (the Association) is the national peak body for the speech pathology profession in Australia. Speech pathologists are university trained allied health professionals with expertise in the assessment and treatment of communication and/or swallowing difficulties.” – www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

“Ain’t no party like a fricative party cause a fricative party don’t stop” – SLP musings

Speech pathologists typically work in health, education and disability (including the NDIS), but speech pathology practice and work contexts are continuing to evolve.

Speech Pathologists may work as:

• clinicians
• educators
• researchers
• policy advisors
• managers
• advocates
• consultants
• other aligned roles.

Speech pathologists provide services in a range of settings including:

• public services (e.g. government agencies, NFP organisations)
• private practices with other speech pathologists
• in a sole practice
• with other disciplines

More than 50% of association members provide private services for at least some of their income, however Speech Pathology Australia encourages practitioners to have at least 3 years’ of experience before starting their own private practice.

See Speech Pathology Australia for more info. 

“If you are working on something that you really care about, you don’t have to be pushed. The vision pulls you.” — Steve Jobs

As a Speech Pathologist, you can work:

• Full-time
• Part-time
• As a contractor.

Your role could be:

• Community-based
• Office-based
• FIFO
• Work from Home
• a combination of the above

Face-to-face and Telehealth options are available in most roles. This offers Speechies the flexibility to schedule work around their life, as opposed to the other way around.

As a Speech Pathologist, you can work anywhere in Australia, including:

• metro,
• rural,
• regional or
• remote locations Australia-wide.

Check out some of our jobs available for Speech Pathologists right now.

• Graduates: $75,000 base + super
• 1-2 years’ experience: $75,000 – $85,000 base + super
• 3-5 Years: $85,000 – $100,000 base + super
• 5+ years experience: $100,000 base + super and above. This is when Specialist, Team Leader or Management level roles start to appear as well.

These are general indicators which might be influenced by specialisations, location, industry, role depth, employer salary band-widths, work arrangement etc that also determine the wages offered to Speechies.

If you would like to discuss your salary, contact us. 

“I teach kids to talk back” – SLP Musings

Our Speech Pathologists are offered and/or we negotiate a range of benefits for them including:

Financial benefits:

• Regular Salary Reviews
• Performance Bonus
• Extra Superannuation Contributions
• Salary sacrifice or Salary Packaging arrangements
• Corporate Discounts – one of our NFP clients gives their team discounted Medical and Health Insurance

Tools of Trade:

• Mobile
• Laptop
• Tablet
• Speech to Text Software

Admin & Reception Support: Free up time by dictating your reports and let the admin team do the rest

Travel:

• Pool Car Access
• Novated Lease
• Per km reimbursement
• GoGet Car Access
• Set amount per timeframe
• Petrol Card (one of our clients gives their team members petrol card access for work and personal use – booya!)

Knowledge & Assessment Suitcase:

• Subscriptions, both hard- and soft-copy
• Professional Development 
• Comprehensive induction
• On-going mentoring
• In-services by subject matter experts

Extra Leave: One of our clients is a school and they give their staff 7 weeks’ leave. Other clients give their staff reservist leave, doona days, volunteer, pet and birthday leave. 

Parental Leave: One of our clients gives their staff the difference between their wage and the government mandated parental leave subsidy for the full 16 weeks – Now read that again.

Social and team building Do: Paid for by the company. One of our clients paid for their whole team to do axe-throwing and a cooking class – not on the same day….

Health, Wellness & EAP:

• Pool, yoga  or gym access or contribution
• Confidential EAP to assist you when you need a hand

Career Mapping: Our clients spend a lot of time and money training and supporting you. They would like to see you mutually thrive. Your success and growth = their success and growth. 

“BECAUSE speech language hearing resonance voice swallowing fluency pragmatics cognitive comm modalities pathologist WOULDN’T FIT ON MY BADGE” – Anon 

Chats with Speechies over the years have shown us there are some challenges to the job.

KPI: Some of our Speechies say they find the idea of billable targets challenging as it associates their work with a dollar amount. 

Burnout: The ongoing demands on Speechies can lead to burnout at work. Sometimes Speech Pathologists work in some very challenging environments or with challenging clients. Make sure you have a supportive employer who is empathetic to the demands of your jobs.

We’ve been told that access to EAP support services helps a lot. 

Fragmented work: A lot of Speechies for multiple practices, as not many employers can offer steady full-time work.

Travel: Some Speechies have to travel a lot for work

Many employers are recognising these challenges and working with their Speech Pathologists to address these concerns.       

“Teaches communication skills all day, heads home, puts on Netflix and ignores everyone.” – Anon

Mutual Recognition of Credentials (MRA): “The Mutual Recognition of Professional Association Credentials Agreement was formed on the 20 November 2008 and has been updated since this date. The signatories to the agreement include:

Speech Pathology Australia (SPA)

American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA)

Speech-Language and Audiology Canada (SAC)

The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT)

Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT)

New Zealand Speech-Language Therapists’ Association (NZSTA).

The Agreement:

• is NOT one of reciprocity or reciprocal recognition of qualifications;

• permits under some conditions for certified or full members of one association to become recognised by the other associations;

• does NOT ensure migration to any of the other countries; as all conditions for migration have to be met, and

• does NOT ensure employment in the country which the speech pathologist may wish to visit.

If you are a current certified practising or full member of ASHA (USA), IASLT (Ireland), NZSTA (New Zealand), RCSLT (UK), SAC (Canada) or Speech Pathology Australia, you should refer to additional information about the MRA between ASHA, NZSLT, IASLT, RCSLT, and SAC on their respective websites.” www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Join_Us/Overseas_Qualificationss/Mutual_Recognition.aspx

“If you are not eligible to submit an MRA application you may be eligible to submit an application for an Overseas Qualification Competency Assessment (OSQCA).” You will find all the information on this process here https://www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/SPAweb/Join_Us/Overseas_Qualificationss/Overseas_Qualification_Assessment.aspx

Medijobs Australia highly recommends commencing your Speech Pathology accreditation process early in your travel or migration journey so that you have plenty of time to get through your accreditation requirements.