Updating music therapy activities across Australia and New Zealand in 2025

Across the two regional music therapy organizations, the Australian Music Therapy Association (AMTA) and New Zealand Music Therapy Te Rōpū Puoro Whakaora O Aotearoa, strong membership growth has occurred, with a current total of 1042 Registered Music Therapists across the region. Both the MTNZ and AMTA are currently celebrating 50 years of their associations, with MTNZ holding their 50^th Anniversary conference “Looking Back Moving Forward” in September, 2024, and AMTA launching a national celebration and publicity campaign alongside its upcoming 50^th Anniversary Conference theme of “Orchestrating Impact and Innovation”, which followed the 2024 conference, “Creative journeys: Celebrating diversity on music therapy practice and research”. Invited national and international speakers for these regional conferences have included: Professor Denise Grocke, Dr Indra Selvarajah, Associate Professor Alison Short, and Dr Carolyn Shaw.

Reviewing of professional linkage, branding and communication by AMTA has led to many positive achievements including progress towards full membership of National Alliance of Self-Regulating Health Professions (NASRHP), with associated changes to multiple governance documents, and full membership of Mental Health Australia. Likewise, MTNZ has engaged with regulatory bodies with current and planned consultations submissions including the Ministry of Social Development, the Ministry for Culture & Heritage, and the Ministry of Health, and continues with active membership of Allied Health Aotearoa New Zealand (AHANZ).

Aligning with the worldwide music therapy week, a range of activities including online initiatives have taken place across both countries during 2024 and 2025. Some additional activities have included: , including:

• Celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Master of Music Therapy Course at Te Kōkī - New Zealand School of Music, Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington.
• Book launch: A History of Music Therapy New Zealand (1974-2023): Passionate People / Te Hitori o Te Rōpū Puoro Whakaora o Aotearoa, by Dr Daphne Rickson ONZM and Music Therapy New Zealand
• Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Master of Creative Music Therapy course at Western Sydney University, Australia, in conjunction with the AMTA conference.

A significant emergent regional challenge to the practice and growth of music therapy in Australia has been a high-level government change to disability funding models announced in November 2024, which immediately excluded professional music therapy from proper professional payments within the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). The recently-elected AMTA President, AMTA governance staff/members and the two MT training Universities immediately mobilised with coordinated efforts including physical visits to Parliament House in Canberra to successfully delay the implementation of this new policy and allow time for further discussions and submissions; resolution is still in process due to delays caused by the subsequent national election. Within these substantial advocacy efforts, we were grateful to receive the support of the many colleagues around the world who raised awareness, including a strong letter of support from MTNZ, a WFMT Blog, notifications through the American Music Therapy Association and the Association for Music and Imagery, USA, and various others around the world.

Ongoing activities across the Australian and New Zealand regions include serving the current membership of Registered Music Therapists through both routine and innovative activities, in line with concepts of quality improvement. Government and regulatory activities occur across both countries in relation to constitutional, legal and membership model reviews, preparing submissions for NASRHP, discussions around Digital Health and AI, and a range of membership communication activities,

Evidence based practice and research has been supported by ongoing publication of the New Zealand Journal of Music Therapy (Volume 22) and the Australian Journal of Music Therapy (Volume 35). In addition, regular conferences, meetings and seminars occur, both in person and online, linked to continued and ongoing rollout of publicity and advocacy activities, including the development of population-specific toolkits for disability, aged care, and mental health being drafted and disseminated. Both countries are using their 50th Anniversary celebrations to support and promote awareness and integration of the profession of music therapy in their regions.

Beyond government implications of NDIS funding for music therapy, currently requiring ongoing advocacy and concern for the music therapy profession in Australia, future projects for AMTA include brand and content refreshes (website, AJMT) and strategic planning amidst executive leadership changes. Both MTNZ and AMTA continue to celebrate and maximise the impact of their 50 years of accredited music therapists in their region, reflecting on change, lesson learned and progress in serving the local, regional and international community with excellence in music therapy practice, training and research.