Federation University opens Gippsland speech pathology clinic to ease regional shortages
Federation University Clinical Educator, Emily Sherry, and Federation Master of Speech Pathology students, Kirsten Brimblecombe and Hannah Bonnington.
A new student-led speech pathology clinic has been officially launched at Federation University’s Gippsland campus, bridging the gap in accessible services for the local community.
The Federation Speech Pathology Clinic was established in response to the growing need for speech pathology services in the community. The wait time for public health services can be months or more for interventions.
A 2023 Speech Pathology Workforce Analysis Report highlighted that speech pathology services in Australia are not meeting demand, resulting in delayed care for many patients, which can lead to problems snowballing.
This shortage is especially pronounced in regional areas like Gippsland, with limited access to allied health professionals.
Federation University is addressing this gap by training more students locally and embedding them in the community through supervised clinical placements.
This clinic will provide accessible, high-quality speech pathology services to the local community while offering students valuable hands-on experience. All sessions will be supervised by qualified speech pathologists and Federation staff, with both in-person and telehealth appointments available. The clinic will also serve as a placement site for Federation students, reinforcing the University’s commitment to practical, community-focused education.
The Federation Speech Pathology clinic will offer a range of low-cost essential services, including paediatric screenings at pre-schools and primary schools, assessment and treatment for young people aged 3 to 16 years, addressing issues such as pronunciation or articulation/phonology, early literacy skills, and language skills.
Federation University has partnered with public and private health services in Southeast Melbourne and the wider Gippsland area to form an advisory group to assess local speech pathology needs, ensuring the clinic provides necessary services and develops best practice referral pathways and relationships with interested clinicians to support their health service and caseloads.
Two Master of Speech Pathology cohorts from the Gippsland Campus have already graduated while the first cohort of Bachelor of Speech Pathology students will complete their studies at the end of 2025 and enter the local workforce in 2026, further bolstering community healthcare support across the greater Gippsland region.
Enrolments in speech pathology courses at Federation have seen significant growth, nearly doubling over two years. In 2025, 198 students to study speech pathology enrolled across undergraduate and postgraduate courses across Federation’s Berwick, Mt Helen and Gippsland campuses and online, up from 101 in 2023.
Federation University opened a Berwick Speech Pathology Clinic late last year and will officially open another student-led clinic at Federation’s Mt Helen Campus in the coming months. Master of Speech Pathology student Kirsten Brimblecombe will be one of two students leading the first round of clinical placements at the new Gippsland clinic.
After working in a hospital setting, Kirsten was drawn to the opportunity to make a meaningful impact in a more family-friendly profession.
She also experienced firsthand the challenges of accessing speech pathology services for her son in regional areas. “We were travelling to Melbourne because there were no speech pathologists that we could get to locally… that was a two-year wait.”
Now, as one of the first students placed at Federation University’s new Gippsland Speech Pathology Clinic, Kirsten is excited to contribute.
“I’m honoured and looking forward to being one of the first students to undertake placement at the new clinic. The increase in speech pathology services in the region can only be a good thing for the community,” she said.
Professor Chyrisse Heine OAM, Head of Discipline, Speech Pathology, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, said, “We are delighted to be launching the Federation Speech Pathology Clinic in Gippsland, a university student-led clinic dedicated to serving the community. This initiative represents a significant milestone in our commitment to providing hands-on learning experiences for our students while offering essential speech pathology services to those in need."
“Our students are eager to apply their knowledge and skills in the clinic, making a positive impact on the lives of our community members. We look forward to seeing the clinic thrive and grow, fostering a spirit of partnership and collaboration.”