FAQs
Information about Fitness Australia registration, services and support
Top Frequently Asked Questions
81. How do we manage clients with a disability when conducting pre-exercise screening?
Clients with a disability should be treated in the same way as able-bodied clients and in both cases, pre-exercise screening is imperative to identify any health risks that require further direction and to guide exercise prescription. In any case, referral to a health professional is not about denying access but rather about seeking guidance prior to developing an appropriate exercise program.
ABS statistics demonstrate that approximately one in five Australians or 4 million people have a disability (such as mobility, vision, hearing and learning disabilities) and disability rates increase with age. Therefore, failing to incorporate disability and seniors facilities and services into your business strategy will place your business at a disadvantage. In addition, businesses have a legal obligation to provide equality of experience for all. Remember that staff training (not just of fitness staff but front desk and customer service staff as well) is an essential component of delivering an inclusive service and ensuring that appropriate practices are delivered when dealing with disabled clients.
82. How do we manage a situation where a client becomes distressed at being asked to seek further guidance from a medical or allied health professional as part of a pre-exercise screening process?
It is true that clients have often overcome quite a few hurdles to even make an inquiry with a fitness service, and that the last thing we want to do is turn them away (potentially to competition down the road). It is also true that the fitness industry has to date employed relatively inconsistent pre-exercise screening practices and for some sectors there has been little or no screening at all. Aim to:
- Re-frame the situation, so that rather than denying access you are seeking guidance prior to developing an appropriate exercise program. Focus on the good that will come out of the process.
- Re-educate your clients about why screening is important, why we do it and what to expect from our industry. A client would be unlikely to be dissatisfied with a Physiotherapist or GP who wanted to ask health screening questions prior to prescribing treatment. This is because they expect it, based on the existing reputation of such professions.
- Be flexible. Does the client need to book an appointment with a medical or allied health professional, or if they are an existing patient, can you contact their treating professional by phone or email to gain further advice to assist in exercise prescription?
83. What are the qualification requirements for delivering Stage 2 of the APSS tool?
The APSS user guide stipulates that Stage 2 be “administered by a qualified exercise professional (Minimum Certificate III in fitness with completion of screening and assessment units SISFFIT301A and SISFFIT307A)”. SISFITT301A - Provide fitness orientation and health screening; SISFITT307A - Undertake client health assessment.
Equivalent units from the fitness training packages (after 2001) are also acknowledged as appropriate for undertaking Stage 2 of the APSS. Such units include:
SISFFIT001 - Provide health screening and fitness orientation;
SRFFIT001B - Provide orientation to clients prior to undertaking a fitness program;
SRFFIT003B - Undertake client induction and screening.
If you are not sure whether you have the necessary units within your qualification, please email your query to [email protected] and we can look into it for you.
84. Why do we ask about blood pressure in Stage 2 of the APSS rather than measuring it?
Many people who have high blood pressure don’t know it, so just because they have not been told they have high blood pressure (BP) does not mean they don’t - they may just not know it. In fact they may go on to have it measured in stage 3 and find they do have high BP. This may feel like an inefficient method, rather than simply going ahead to measure it (as per common industry practice).
The reason for the Stage 2 question is to enable identification of elevated BP as a risk factor via a questionnaire, in the absence of it being measured, for example an exercise professional may not have the tools to measure BP (i.e. if outdoors). If an Exercise Professional chooses to take a measure at this point to confirm the actual BP status, this would be appropriate, and in fact is likely given accepted industry practice.
85. Why is the BMI measure used in the APSS tool as a risk indicator?
The fitness industry tends to stay away from using BMI as a health indicator as we are aware that lean people with a high muscle mass can present as “Obese” even though they have low body fat. However, Body mass index [BMI] is internationally the most commonly used metric to describe the level of fatness among populations and is useful for determining population trends. It is also easy for self-report data to be collected on this measure, hence its widespread use, despite the obvious limitations.
Many studies have found that overweight or obesity is associated with a wide range of elevated risk factors and an increase in death and disability rates. The most important of these are elevated rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some forms of cancers [specifically breast and bowel] that occur as fatness levels increase among the population. The standard BMI cut-offs categorise people in terms of their population risk for such diseases and related mortality. As such, BMI adds to the health risk picture being put together throughout the Stage 2 & 3 process and should provide valuable information to assist in making a professional judgment about exercise intensity prescription. APSS Textbook provides further information about the prevalence and impact of high BMI.
86. What are the qualification requirements for delivering Stage 3 of the Tool?
- The minimum qualification required for measures 1-3 (BMI, waist girth and resting blood pressure) is Certificate III in Fitness
- The minimum qualification required for measures 4 and 5 (fasting lipid profile and fasting blood glucose) is an Exercise Physiologist
It is important that the professional administering these measures has additional skills and knowledge to be able to safely perform metabolic measures, including a deeper understanding of blood lipids, the various sub-fractions, what dietary and lifestyle factors can influence these values and what the cut-offs and recommended levels are for optimal health.
To complete this stage, a business might aim to develop a network of Exercise Physiologists to refer to or may aim to have one that can contract their services on specific days. Alternatively, given that this stage is optional, a business may choose to only include the BMI, waist girth and resting blood pressure measures, utilising the skills of Certificate III & IV qualified fitness trainers.
87. What are the qualification requirements for delivering Stage 3 of the Tool?
- The minimum qualification required for measures 1-3 (BMI, waist girth and resting blood pressure) is Certificate III in Fitness
- The minimum qualification required for measures 4 and 5 (fasting lipid profile and fasting blood glucose) is an Exercise Physiologist. It is important that the professional administering these measures has additional skills and knowledge to be able to safely perform metabolic measures, including a deeper understanding of blood lipids, the various sub-fractions, what dietary and lifestyle factors can influence these values and what the cut-offs and recommended levels are for optimal health.
To complete this stage, a business might aim to develop a network of Exercise Physiologists to refer to or may aim to have one that can contract their services on specific days. Alternatively, given that this stage is optional, a business may choose to only include the BMI, waist girth and resting blood pressure measures, utilising the skills of Certificate III & IV qualified fitness trainers.
88. What is the process for a program to approved and allocated CECs?
Education providers are required to gather all relevant documentation and learning material to be submitted to Fitness Australia for review.
The Fitness Australia CEC Approval Guide will give you all the information you need to know to have your program or event approved for CECs. The guide includes:
- About program assessment & CEC allocation
- New program application requirements
- Administrative requirements
- CEC Approval Quality CriteriaProgram renewal requirements
- Application instructions
- Program approval fees
- Tips on promoting your program or event
89. What is the time frame for approval of a program?
Generally approval is finalised within 6-8 weeks. The steps involved include:
- Provider submits application and a completed self-assessment checklist, together with all mandatory administrative documentation and evidence required to assess the program against the CEC approval criteria
- Fitness Australia checks application and allocates an expert assessor
- Assessor is sent the program submission and asked to conduct the initial assessment. Note: the timeframe for this varies dependent upon the length of the program and the program materials supplied.
- Assessor submits Technical Review Form outlining assessment result, together with explanation of any changes or additional information required.
- Fitness Australia communicates the result to the education provider.
- If no changes are required and program is approved, the approval is processed (program added to Fitness Australia CEC directory; delivery knowledge and skill areas added to program listing if applicable; CEC certificate and branding sent to provider)
- If changes or additional information is required, Fitness Australia will liaise between the assessor and the provider until such time as the requirements for approval have been met or the education provider has decided not to continue with the application.
Please note that incomplete applications or programs that need significant alterations may extend the approval timeframe.
90. Are my qualification enough to be a presenter?
Program presenters are required to have a minimum of five (5) years’ experience relevant to the knowledge/skill area they are presenting. Their qualifications must reflect a level of education of at least the same level or higher than the level of education being delivered in the program/event.
For example, a presenter with a Certificate IV would be expected to be presenting content at the level of Gym Instructors (Certificate III) or Personal Trainers (Certificate IV). They would not normally be considered sufficiently qualified to present t content at the level of Diploma qualified Personal Trainers. Certified copies of their qualifications relevant to the CEC application must be submitted.
Detailed, specific and accurate CVs must be submitted for all presenters. Certified copies of presenter qualifications must be included.