Considering a Career in Allied Health But Don’t Know Where to Start?

If you want to make a difference in peoples’ lives, a career in allied health is an excellent option. This rewarding career path enables you to work in the healthcare community, meet people from all walks of life, and help them along their healing journey.

Apart from being personally rewarding, these professions come with great pay, job security, and respect within the community — all with less demanding and rigorous training than you’d need to enter the medical professions.

‘Allied health’ is an umbrella term covering the broad range of non-medical health professions that aren’t medical doctors, nurses, or dentists. Allied health professionals (AHPs) are healthcare practitioners, such as physiotherapists or audiologists, who provide health services. They often work as part of a multidisciplinary healthcare team. 

Allied health professionals are an integral part of our health system in Australia. Demand for skilled, dedicated professionals is booming across the health, aged care, mental health and disability sectors. They assist patients in recovering from illness or injury, managing chronic illnesses, and maintaining their overall health and well-being. 

Because of this holistic, long-term focus, they can help avoid the need for medical intervention altogether. In turn, this lifts some of the strain from the medical system.

Careers in allied health can be extremely rewarding in several ways. 

Imagine seeing a patient who has suffered a stroke get back on their feet, and knowing you helped them through that journey. Or helping a young child go through rehabilitation until they can finally move around and do what they want to do. If you’re drawn to helping people, the look on their parents’ face will give you a feeling that money can’t buy.

There are countless career opportunities in allied health. Depending on the field you choose, you could end up working in all kinds of care settings: a hospital or private clinic, in a rehabilitation centre, aged care facility, community health clinics, or even at a university or school.

So, what jobs are considered allied health in Australia?

1. Social workers
2. Physiotherapists
3. Counsellors
4. Psychologists
5. Occupational therapists
6. Speech pathologists
7. Optometrists
8. Sonographers (Ultrasound)
9. Podiatrists
10. Chiropractors
11. Dietitians
12. Exercise physiologists
13. Pathologists
14. Audiologists
15. Medical radiation therapists (X-rays)
16. Osteopaths
17. Indigenous/Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers
18. Music therapists
19. Nutritionists
20. Orthotists & prosthetists
21. Allied health assistants

Sources: Department of Health and the AHPA

Allied health is different from traditional medicine. To start with, roles in allied health do not require a medical degree (with the exception of pathologists).

Medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, dentists and pharmacists, draw on their knowledge of health science to diagnose and treat symptoms. Roles in the medical field usually require extensive training. For example, surgeons and psychiatrists have to train for 13-15 years.

Though they often work with doctors, allied health professionals are independent practitioners who can make their own decisions without supervision. They take an evidence-based approach, using an internationally recognised body of knowledge. Some have postgraduate degrees, while others may have Certificates, Diplomas or Bachelors.

The national voice for allied health professionals, Allied Health Professions Australia, defines allied health professions as:

The AHPA also defines allied health professionals as being university-trained. They don’t, however, include roles such as Indigneous health worker (who need to hold a Certificate IV) in their list of allied health professions, whereas other government departments do.

Nurses are part of the medical professions. By definition, they are not allied health professionals. The main differences are:

Salaries can vary significantly in Allied Health , particularly depending on what field you choose and where you are employed. Here are the average salary ranges for allied health jobs in Australia, in order of highest median salary to lowest:

Sonographers, medical radiation therapists, exercise physiologists, optometrists, dietitians and nutritionists earn the highest median salaries of the allied health jobs, all bringing in a healthy average of six figures.

Sonographers, exercise physiologists, and optometrists have the highest earning potential, with the high end of their salary range reaching past $150,000.

These allied health careers are growing very strongly, according to the Australian government’s employment projection data. They are ordered in size, starting from the largest occupational group.

While getting into allied health services can be an exciting career move, how can you decide which field is best for you — especially when you’ve got no experience?

This list of potential allied health positions will give you more of an idea of the areas open to you – and what each involves. Keep in mind that you can develop a career as any one of the below. On the other hand, you can be employed as a support worker or assistant to a qualified physician.

If you’re keen to get into Allied Health, it can be a good idea to begin with a Certificate III qualification in your chosen field. Throughout the certificate course, you’ll learn about the basics of the body (anatomy, physiology), become familiar with medical terminology and learn how to provide care for patients in your area.

Some courses will also teach you how to conduct health interventions, create programs and effectively communicate with the people you’ll be looking after, even if they can’t communicate fully with you. Many certificates will also involve a practical or work placement to help you build your skills.

If you graduate with a Certificate in Allied Health, you’ll be qualified to start working as an allied health assistant. This is a fantastic career in and of itself, or it can be the perfect starting point for entering one of the professions with a better understanding of the specialisations.

While there’s no specific diploma in allied health, some non-clinical nutritionists hold a Diploma of Nutrition. Find out more about studying nutrition and entering this career path.

Most of the allied professions require a bachelor’s degree. Some require a Master’s or a further postgraduate qualification. The following professions require a bachelor-level qualification (and usually an additional form of accreditation or membership) to enter:

• Speech pathologists: Bachelor of Speech Pathology / Master of Speech Pathology (if you’ve come from a health science degree)
• Podiatrists: Bachelor of Podiatry
• Physiotherapists: Bachelor of Physiotherapy / Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) / Master of Physiotherapy
• Occupational therapists: Bachelor of Occupational Therapy
• Counsellors: Bachelor of Counselling
• Exercise physiologists: Bachelor of Clinic Exercise Physiology / Master of Applied Sports Science / Graduate Certificate of Strength and Conditioning
• Orthotists & prosthetists: Bachelor of Applied Science or Health Science (majoring in prosthetics or orthotics)
• Medical radiation therapists: Bachelor of Applied Science (Medical Radiations)

The short answer is no, you can’t be a nurse with an allied health degree. An allied health degree will only qualify you to work in the field of your study; nursing is a distinct field, with its own qualifications. Discover the difference between Enrolled Nurses and Registered Nurses.

To become an Enrolled Nurse, you’ll need a Diploma of Nursing qualification.

To become a Registered Nurse, you will need a Bachelor of Nursing.

And in both, you’ll also need to register with the Australian Health Practitioner Agency (AHPRA).

You could, however, get two qualifications: one in allied health, and one in nursing. That way, you could be both a nurse and allied health professional.

People who work in Allied Health tend to be caring and compassionate people. After all, they’ve chosen to spend their working lives helping others. 

The personal qualities that will set you up for success in this career are:

The skills you’ll need to do your job well include:

A career in allied health can be enriching no matter what field you choose. All you need is a desire to care for others and a willingness to learn as much as you can!