A message from the President of Pilates Association Australia
On Tuesday 11 August 2026, Australians will complete the national Census. For most people, it is simply another government form.
For our profession, it is much more than that.
Every five years, the Census provides one of the most important snapshots of Australia’s workforce. Governments, researchers, businesses and industry bodies use this information to understand who is working, what they do and how professions are changing.
For Pilates, this is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss.
Over the past two years, PAA Committee Members Robyn Rix and Susie Bond, together with Special Interest Group members Natalie Murray and Penny Latey, have worked with the Australian Bureau of Statistics to improve recognition of the different areas of Pilates practice within Australia’s occupational classification system.
Their work has laid the foundations for an important opportunity. The 2026 Census gives every Pilates professional the chance to contribute by accurately describing the work they do.
Every response helps build the picture
The Pilates profession has grown significantly over the past two decades. We now work in dedicated Pilates studios, multidisciplinary allied health clinics, rehabilitation settings, fitness centres and private practices.
Despite this growth, the data describing our profession has often been incomplete or has grouped Pilates with the broader fitness industry.
One reason is that practitioners doing similar work may describe their occupations in many different ways.
Some write Clinical Pilates. Others write Rehabilitation Pilates, Reformer Instructor, Exercise Rehabilitation or Therapeutic Pilates.
When similar roles are described using many different titles, the profession can appear fragmented. Instead of showing a large and established workforce, the data may show several smaller and seemingly unrelated groups.
Consistent terminology, where it accurately reflects the work being performed, helps create a clearer picture of the size and diversity of the Pilates profession.
Why this matters
PAA has proposed clearer recognition of three distinct areas of Pilates practice:
- Therapeutic Pilates Practitioner
- Comprehensive Pilates Instructor
- Fitness Pilates Instructor
Through its work with the ABS, PAA understands that there is conceptual support for recognising Therapeutic Pilates as a distinct occupation. However, evidence is also needed to demonstrate that there are sufficient practitioners working in this field.
That evidence comes from people like you.
Accurate workforce data can strengthen discussions about professional recognition, education, workforce planning and the contribution Pilates professionals make to health and wellbeing.
It can also provide PAA with stronger evidence when representing the profession to governments, insurers and other stakeholders.
Accuracy matters
PAA is not asking anyone to misrepresent their work. Every Census response should be completed truthfully. We are simply encouraging Pilates professionals to use the occupation title that most accurately reflects their main job and to describe their duties clearly and consistently.
If you have more than one job, answer the employment questions for the job in which you usually work the most hours.
for the job where you spend most of your working time, earn most of your income or best reflects your primary professional practice
How to complete the employment questions
Question 42: Occupation
Enter the occupation title that most accurately describes your main job.
Therapeutic Pilates Practitioner
Use this description where your work primarily involves clients with injuries, pain, chronic conditions, disability or other health-related presentations, and assessment, clinical reasoning and individualised programme design are central to your role. You have training in the full range of Pilates studio equipment.
Comprehensive Pilates Instructor
Use this description where you primarily provide individualised Pilates instruction for clients with a wide range of goals. You have training in the full range of Pilates studio equipment. Assessment and programme design form a regular part of your work, but your practice is not predominantly therapeutic.
Fitness Pilates Instructor
Use this description where your work primarily involves delivering general fitness classes, typically in a group setting.
Question 43: Main tasks or duties
Providing clear information about your duties helps the ABS classify your occupation accurately.
Examples include:
Therapeutic Pilates Practitioner
Assess clients with injuries, chronic conditions and more complex functional limitations; develop assessment-informed Pilates programmes with treatment plans; Maintain clinical records; adapt exercises for complex presentations; monitor progress and modify programmes according to individual needs.
Comprehensive Pilates Instructor
Assess clients; design individualised Pilates programmes; supervise clients undertaking individual programmes for clients with stable or less complex Conditions and functional limitations; progress exercises according to client goals and movement quality.
Fitness Pilates Instructor
Plan and deliver fitness classes using reformer equipment; supervise participants; modify exercises where appropriate; educate participants in correct exercise technique.
Questions 44 to 46: Your employer or business
These questions relate to the business or organisation in which you work.
Your occupation describes what you do.
Your industry describes the type of business or organisation you work for.
For example, a Therapeutic Pilates Practitioner may work in a Pilates studio, allied health clinic, rehabilitation service, hospital or their own business. Their occupation remains the same, while the industry reflects the organisation in which they work.
If you operate your own business, enter your business or trading name and describe the main services the business provides.
Examples may include:
- Therapeutic Pilates services
- Pilates instruction
- Individual Pilates programmes
- Pilates studio services
- Group fitness classes
- Pilates fitness classes
What if I am also another health professional?
If your main occupation is another profession, such as Physiotherapist, Exercise Physiologist, Osteopath or Chiropractor, and Pilates is one of the methods you use within that role, you should generally record your principal health profession.
One minute that could help shape our profession
Completing these questions takes only a short time, yet those few words become part of Australia’s official workforce data for years to come.
As President of Pilates Association Australia, I am proud to support the work our Association has undertaken to improve recognition of the Pilates profession.
Progress depends on good evidence, and good evidence begins with accurate data.
On Census night, each of us has an opportunity to contribute.
By taking a few moments to accurately describe the work we do, we can help build a clearer picture of the Pilates profession, both as it exists today and as it may be recognised in the future.
Thank you for helping ensure Pilates is counted.
Kimberley Garlick
PAA President
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