Queensland Premium Allied Health

14/03/2026

Mealtime Safety Matters.
For many people with disability, mealtimes are a daily activity where support workers play a key role. When someone has dysphagia (swallowing difficulties), even small changes in how food or fluids are offered can significantly increase the risk of harm. That’s why mealtime safety isn’t optional - it’s essential.

The NDIS National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguards Commission has highlighted dysphagia as a major safety concern across the sector. Their Practice Alert on Dysphagia, Safe Swallowing and Mealtime Management outlines the risks and reminds providers that workers must have the right knowledge and skills to support safe mealtimes.

People with dysphagia are at higher risk of:
• Choking
• Aspiration pneumonia
• Respiratory illness
• Reduced nutrition and hydration
• Avoidant or stressful mealtime behaviours.
These risks are preventable when staff understand how to recognise swallowing difficulties and follow safe mealtime practices.

Mealtime safety matters for support workers, as they often assist participants with:
• Preparing meals
• Offering food and drinks
• Supporting positioning
• Monitoring for signs of difficulty
• Following mealtime management plans.

Without dysphagia training, workers may not know what to look for - or how to respond when something doesn’t seem right. Building confidence in mealtime safety helps protect the people you support and strengthens quality and compliance for your organisation.

QPAH’s new online workshop, "Safe Mealtimes: Dysphagia Training for Support Workers" gives support workers, carers and organisations the practical skills to:
✔ Recognise signs of swallowing difficulties
✔ Support safe food and fluid intake
✔ Understand texture modifications
✔ Follow mealtime management plans
✔ Reduce choking risk
✔ Know when to escalate concerns.

Delivered by experienced Speech Pathologists, this training supports safer outcomes for participants and stronger capability across your team.
📅 Online workshop coming soon
👉 Register your interest: info@qpah.com.au 📩

Safe mealtimes save lives - and every worker deserves the right training.

📸Man with disability eating.

13/03/2026

🌟 Our New QPAH Signage Has Arrived! 🌟

Our re‑brand to QLD Premium Allied Health (QPAH) is officially taking shape - quite literally.
We’re excited to share that our brand‑new clinic signage has now been installed at both our Southport and Varsity Lakes locations.

Seeing our new identity up on both buildings is a huge milestone for our team, and we couldn’t be prouder of how it reflects the growth, professionalism and warmth of the services we provide.

If you’re visiting us soon, keep an eye out - our clinics are looking brighter, bolder and more “us” than ever.

✨ New look.
✨ Same trusted team.
✨ Same commitment to high‑quality, inclusive allied health care.

We can’t wait for you to see it!

📸 New front entrance at QPAH's Southport clinic.

12/03/2026

🌟 New website, who 'dis?🌟

We’ve launched our new look website!
As part of our re‑brand to QLD Premium Allied Health (QPAH), we’re excited to share that our brand‑new website is now live.

Our refreshed site reflects who we are today - a growing, multi-disciplinary allied health team committed to high‑quality, inclusive support for children, young people, adults and families across the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Tweed and Northern NSW regions - and beyond.

✨ What’s new?
- A clean, modern design
- Easier navigation
- Clearer service information
- Updated team profiles
- A fresh look that aligns with our new brand identity.

We’d love you to take a look around and explore what’s new.
👉 Visit us at www.qpah.com.au 🌐

Thank you for being part of our journey as we continue to grow, evolve and support our community with premium allied health care.

📸 Screenshot of new website.

11/03/2026

🍽What is Dysphagia? Why Swallowing Difficulties Matter

Dysphagia means difficulty swallowing - and it’s more common than many people realise. Children and adults with dysphagia may cough during meals, take a long time to eat, avoid certain foods or show subtle signs that something isn’t quite right.

What causes dysphagia?
Swallowing difficulties can occur for many reasons, including:
• Neurological conditions (e.g. cerebral palsy, stroke, Parkinson’s disease)
• Developmental delays
• Muscle weakness
• Structural differences in the mouth or throat
• Ageing‑related changes
• Cognitive impairment
• Fatigue, illness or reduced alertness

Dysphagia isn’t just uncomfortable. It can be dangerous. People with swallowing difficulties are at higher risk of:
- Choking
- Aspiration pneumonia
- Respiratory illness.

The NDIS National Disability Insurance Scheme's Quality and Safeguards Commission () has identified dysphagia and mealtime safety as a major risk area in disability and aged care services. Their Practice Alert on Dysphagia, Safe Swallowing and Mealtime Management highlights the importance of trained staff, consistent mealtime plans and safe food/fluid support.

Support workers often assist participants at mealtimes, yet many have never received formal dysphagia training. That’s where the risk increases...

At QPAH, we’re committed to building safer mealtime practices across the sector. Our new online workshop, "Safe Mealtimes: Dysphagia Training for Support Workers", helps support workers, carers and organisations learn how to:
✔ Recognise signs of swallowing difficulties
✔ Support safe food and fluid intake
✔ Follow mealtime management plans
✔ Understand texture modifications
✔ Reduce choking risk
✔ Know when to escalate concerns.

Delivered by our qualified and experienced Speech Pathologists, this training builds confidence and supports safer outcomes for the people you care for.
📅 Online workshop coming soon
👉 Register your interest: info@qpah.com.au 📩

Because safe mealtimes aren’t optional - they’re essential.

📸Therapist helping man to swallow safely.

10/03/2026

🌟 Welcome to the Team, Andi!

We’ve expanded again and are so excited to welcome Andria (Andi) to QPAH as our newest Occupational Therapist! Andi brings a rich blend of creativity, movement and therapeutic insight to her work - and we know our families are going to love her holistic, neuro‑affirming approach.

Andi completed her occupational therapy studies at Southern Cross University, Gold Coast, and comes to QPAH with a wonderfully diverse background as an Early Childhood Teacher, Yoga Instructor and Dancer. One of her biggest career highlights has been bringing all of these passions together within OT to support children and young people in meaningful, strengths‑based ways.

Her passion for OT grew from a deep curiosity about the human experience - especially the connection between emotions, movement and brain health. Andi has special interests in the therapeutic power of dance, yoga, nature, art and animals, and she values neuro‑affirming, trauma‑informed, strengths‑based practice. What she loves most about her work is connecting with people and learning from their experiences.

Fun fact: Andi once travelled to Brazil to learn from the world’s best Samba teachers - and even danced on a float in the Rio Carnaval!

Andi is now available for appointments:
• Southport – Mondays
• Community – Tuesdays
• Varsity Lakes – Thursdays.

We’re thrilled to have Andi join the QPAH team and can’t wait for our community to meet her. 💛

📸 QPAH team lunch to welcome Andi (bottom left).

09/03/2026

🌟 Welcome to the Team, Ava!

We’re excited to welcome Ava to QPAH as our newest Occupational Therapy Assistant. Ava will be supporting children and families at our Varsity Lakes clinic on Wednesdays, now with limited availability.

Ava is entering her 3rd year of a Bachelor of Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University and brings a strong foundation of skills to her role. She has recently completed a Key Word Sign Workshop, learning over 80+ signs to better support clients with communication needs and help create more inclusive therapy environments.

You might already recognise Ava from some of our previous school holiday Therapy Club groups, and she also works as a support worker. Ava chose occupational therapy because she is passionate about helping children build skills, confidence and independence in their everyday lives - and she loves celebrating the small wins that lead to big changes.

Fun fact: at just 17, Ava became the youngest person to complete the Coolangatta Gold, a 42 km surf life‑saving race!

We’re thrilled to have Ava on the QPAH team and can’t wait for our families to meet her. 💛

To book with Ava on Wednesdays at Varsity Lakes, contact us on 07 5647 6120 or info@qpah.com.au.

📸 Ava out front of QPAH Varsity Lakes.

08/03/2026

Following our recent trip to Emerald (our Clinical Lead Speech Pathologist, Anna and Speech Pathologist, Lauren S are pictured here returning from the successful trip), we’re excited to share more about the specialised dysphagia training QPAH now offers to organisations Australia‑wide.

Our team of experienced Speech Pathologists deliver evidence‑based, practical training designed to support staff who work with individuals experiencing swallowing difficulties. This includes understanding dysphagia, recognising risks and providing safe, appropriate food and drink options for clients with complex mealtime needs.

We offer face‑to‑face and online training, tailored to the needs of:
• Disability organisations
• Aged care services
• Community support teams
• Schools and early childhood settings
• Any service supporting clients with swallowing or mealtime challenges.

Our goal is to build confidence in your workforce so your team can deliver safe, consistent and person‑centred mealtime support every day. If your organisation is looking to strengthen its knowledge, upskill staff or ensure best‑practice mealtime management, we’d love to partner with you.

To enquire about training:
📩 info@qpah.com.au
📞 Phone: 07 5647 6120

Together, we can create safer mealtime experiences for people of all ages and abilities.

📸 Anna and Lauren S returning from a trip to Emerald to provide training.

07/03/2026

🎤 Singchronous Is Hitting the Stage!

We’re thrilled to share some very exciting news - our all‑ages, all‑abilities choir, Singchronous, has been invited to perform at the Miami Festival of Fun on the Thursday 9th of April!

Our choir will be performing between 12:00pm and 2:30pm, supported by a live band of professional musicians. We’ll be singing two crowd favourites: "Hey Baby" and "Mamma Mia" - and it’s going to be awesome!

We already have a fantastic group of participants, families and support workers joining us, but because this event is such a big celebration, we’d love to welcome even more voices. If you’ve been thinking about joining Singchronous, now is the perfect time to start coming along so you can be part of this special performance.

🎶 Singchronous Choir
• Tuesdays, 4:30–6:00pm
• QPAH Southport Clinic (120 Queen Street)
• All ages, all abilities welcome!
• $25/per participant/per session
• Carers attend free
• Please RSVP to attend.

The Miami Festival of Fun will feature over 40 stalls and exhibits from across the disability community - a huge, vibrant event and such an honour for our choir to be invited to perform. This event is open to the public and we invite all of you to come along to cheer our participants on.

🔗Miami Festival of Fun: https://www.festivaloffun.com.au/gold-coast

If you’d like to join the choir please contact:
📧 info@qpah.com.au
📞 07 5647 6120

We can’t wait to showcase our incredible choir of young people and adults of all abilities and make their first public performance one to remember. 💛🎶

📸Some of our Singchronous participants with the organiser of Miami Festival of Fun.

06/03/2026

📣 New Blog: What the NEW Medicare Expansion Means for Speech Therapy

We’ve just published a new blog article breaking down the major Medicare expansion for Speech Pathology services that came into effect on 1 March 2026, and what it means for children, young people and families.

The updated MBS M10 item group now provides rebates for up to 8 assessment sessions and 20 treatment sessions for eligible speech and sound disorders, including:
- Stuttering
- Articulation and phonological disorders
- Childhood apraxia of speech
- Dysarthria
- Cleft lip and/or palate.

These rebates are IN ADDITION to the existing Chronic Condition Management (CCM) Plan, giving families more support than ever before during crucial stages of communication development.

Our latest blog explains:
- Who is eligible
- How referrals work
- What families can access
- Why this change is such a big step forward
- How QPAH supports children and young people through this pathway.

🔗You can read the full article here: https://qpah.com.au/medicare-expansion-speech-therapy/
(Link in bio)

This is an exciting moment for families seeking early, evidence‑based speech therapy - and we’re here to help you navigate every step.

Medicare rebate expansion for early intervention for speech therapy sound disorders, stuttering and cleft-related communication needs.

05/03/2026

We’re excited to share a big milestone in our journey - Queensland Paediatric Allied Health has officially re‑branded to QLD Premium Allied Health… still proudly known as QPAH!

Our new name reflects the growth of our services, the expertise of our team and our commitment to delivering premium, family‑centred allied health care across the Gold Coast and beyond.

Clients visiting our Varsity Lakes or Southport clinics may notice a fresh new look, with updated signage currently being installed. It’s an exciting step forward, and we can’t wait for you to see it in person (enjoy this sneak peek)!

Thank you for being part of the QPAH story. We’re thrilled to begin this next chapter with you.

📸 Exterior of QPAH Varsity Lakes.