World Federation of Occupational Therapy

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (WFOT) is the key international representative for occupational therapists and occupational therapy around the world and the official international organisation for the promotion of occupational therapy. Founded in 1952, WFOT currently has 109 member associations including Occupational Therapy Australia.

Australian WFOT Delegates:

• WFOT Delegate: Adam Lo
• 1st Alternative: Emma George
• 2nd Alternative: Lynnette MacKenzie

General members and new graduate members of of Occupational Therapy Australia automatically qualify as members of WFOT, and receive the Bulletin (professional journal) twice yearly, providing the latest news and updates about the International World of OT. The scope of professional practices, from country to country, is extensive and WFOT actively supports relationships between countries, individual practitioners, educators and students, and these relationships continually expand dramatically.

Members are eligible to apply for research awards, to register with OTION (Occupational Therapists International Network) through the website and seek support from or provide support to colleagues. This site also allows members to access information about non-government organisations which employ therapists in developing countries.

WFOT has strong and influential relationships with a large number of international organisations, working closely with WHO (World Health Organisation) at both a central and regional level. Regional networks are also available to members, with each region conducting conferences and working groups that challenge issues on a more local level.

The Federation has an individual membership of more than 29,000 therapists and a country membership that represents 633,000 occupational therapists internationally. Many of these people work actively in project teams that pursue over 50 separate initiatives.

The Executive and the Coordinators of the other four programme areas listed below actively recruit interested therapists to work within these projects. Visit the WFOT website to communicate directly with these Coordinators to discover more about the exciting activities.

1. Promotion and Development
2. Education and Research
3. International Cooperation
4. Standards and Quality

Qualified occupational therapists who are interested in becoming individual members of WFOT are able to do so ONLY through their national association; general members and new graduate members of Occupational Therapy Australia receive membership of WFOT as a Membership Benefit.

To receive member publications and other information intended for members only, it is necessary for each member to activate their individual account via the WFOT website with their Occupational Therapy Australia membership number as the username and creating a password.

For further information, visit the WFOT website for the Individual Membership Benefits.

OTA - WFOT Program Approval Process

By utilising the Accreditation Reports provided by the Occupational Therapy Council and supporting information provided by universities, Occupational Therapy Australia has established a streamlined process for assessing Australian education programs for adherence to WFOT standards by the OTA - WFOT Program Approval Committee.

For more information about this process and who is involved in the assessment, download the OTA - WFOT Program Approval Process Information Pack.

Visit the WFOT website for a full list of Australian tertiary occupational therapy programs approved by WFOT.