What to look for in your next OT, speech pathology or physio role: the manager, the team and the culture

Written by Callum Trevorrow. Last checked 28 October 2026 against official sources.

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You can judge a role’s manager, team and culture before you sign by asking specific questions about supervision, caseload and professional development, and by getting the answers in writing. OTs and physios (under their Boards’ CPD standards) and Certified Practising speech pathologists (under Speech Pathology Australia’s rules) need at least 20 hours of continuing professional development (CPD) a year, so ask how much of that the employer supports, in time and in money.

I’ve been the one hiring, so I know what a good employer offers and what a weak one hides. This page is a practical checklist: what to ask, what a specific answer looks like, and what to follow up. It’s general information; every workplace is different, so weigh the answers against what matters to you. For the pay and conditions side, see how to compare job offers.

Three things to check: the manager, supervision and workload

1. The manager. Ask how one-to-ones, feedback and concerns are handled:

• “How often would I meet with you one-to-one, and what do those meetings cover?”
• “Tell me about the last time someone on the team raised a concern. What happened next?”
• “Who do I go to with a clinical question on a day you’re not in?”

2. Supervision and peer support. Ask who supervises you, how often, and whether that time is scheduled; if the answer is general, ask what it would look like in your first month. When supervision is a formal requirement, by profession, and the questions to ask, are in good clinical supervision.

3. Workload and how it’s measured. Ask for the numbers before you start, not after.

• “What’s the caseload or client-hours target, and is it the same for everyone at my level?”
• “How long until I’m expected to reach full caseload?”
• “How much non-client time is built into the week for notes, reports, phone calls and team meetings?”
• “What happens to my day, and my pay, when a client cancels?”
• “Is anyone expected to answer messages after hours?”

That last question matters because the right to disconnect now covers all employers: employees can refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact outside working hours unless the refusal is unreasonable. It started in August 2024 for businesses with 15 or more employees and on 26 August 2025 for small businesses (Fair Work Ombudsman). If after-hours contact comes up, ask how that works in practice.

How the team works: signs you can check

• Onboarding. Ask what your first two weeks look like. A good employer can describe orientation, shadowing, systems training and when you start seeing clients on your own.
• Who’s left and why. Ask how long the current clinicians have been there, and how many people have left your profession’s team recently.
• Talk to a clinician, not just the manager. Ask to speak with someone doing the job now, without the manager in the room.
• Professional development. Ask whether there’s a PD budget, PD leave, or both, and whether it’s written into the contract. For a benchmark, permanent Queensland Health health practitioners get three days’ professional development leave a year and a professional development allowance (A$2,034 a year for most staff, with higher Category A and B rates in some locations) under the HPDO4 agreement. That agreement expired on 16 October 2025 but its terms continue while the next one (HPDO5) is in arbitration. Private and NGO employers set their own PD terms, so get theirs in writing.
• Career steps. Ask what the next role up looks like. In the Health Professionals and Support Services Award 2020 (which covers many private and NGO employers; Queensland Health uses HP levels under its own agreement), Level 2 covers senior clinician, specialist, supervisor and educator roles (Fair Work Commission, 2026), so ask whether those roles exist in this team and how people reach them. If you trained overseas, see how senior grades map to Queensland Health HP levels.

What changes by profession

Sources: CPD, recency and insurance rules has the full standards side by side; speech pathologists can also see Certified Practising, not Ahpra.

Red flags worth slowing down for

None of these is automatically a reason to walk away, but each one deserves a direct question and a clear answer.

1. No one can tell you who your supervisor is, or supervision is “as needed” with no regular time.
2. The caseload target changes depending on who you ask, or you’re told the number only after you sign.
3. No time is set aside for notes and reports, and they’re expected to happen around full client days.
4. You’re offered a “contractor” arrangement for a role that looks like employment (set hours, their clients, their equipment). See contractor or employee.
5. PD support is promised verbally but isn’t in the contract.
6. A restraint clause or long notice period you weren’t told about. See notice periods and restraint clauses. On a fixed-term contract, such as parental leave cover, the notice rules differ: see parental leave cover roles.
7. You can’t speak to anyone currently in the role, or the manager is vague about why the last person left.
8. After-hours messages are expected as normal.

Queensland employers also have a legal duty to manage psychosocial hazards at work. The Code of Practice that commenced on 1 April 2023 names hazards including high job demands, low job control, poor support, low role clarity, poor organisational change management and bullying (WorkSafe Queensland). Several of the red flags above map directly onto that list, so it’s reasonable to ask how the employer manages workload and support.

A scorecard you can use in interviews

Score each line 0 (no answer or a worrying one), 1 (partly answered) or 2 (clear, specific, in writing). Compare two roles side by side. The point isn’t the total; it’s seeing which questions you still haven’t had answered.

To weigh the money side of two offers next to this scorecard, use how to compare job offers, and for typical pay, pay by setting in Queensland. If you’re coming from overseas, see choosing your first Australian employer. If you’re early in your career, new graduate jobs in Queensland has extra questions about grad programs.

Your next step

• OTs: check how the role supports your 20 hours of CPD (5 interactive) and how much time is set aside for reports.
• Speech pathologists: check that the employer’s PD records, supervision (for your 2 Code S hours) and insurance support your Certified Practising status, and if you’re provisional, that the role gives you the mentoring hours SPA requires.
• Physios: check the caseload and booking structure, and confirm your PII position, including run-off cover, before you move.

If you’d like a second opinion on a role, or want to know which employers have the structure you’re looking for, a confidential chat is the quickest way to find out. It’s free and confidential, and we stay in touch after you start.