New permanent Fitness Australia Chief Executive announces peak body will focus on 'core business’

Opening the FILEX Business Summit in Sydney today, Barrie Elvish, newly confirmed as the permanent Chief Executive of Fitness Australia, has announced that the fitness industry’s peak industry association is to place a heavy focus in its core business towards promoting physical activity to the public through partnerships with Government agencies like Sport Australia and the corporate and allied health sectors.

Confirmed in his new role at the Fitness Australia board meeting yesterday, having previously been Fitness Australia’s interim Chief Executive, Elvish stated “our new strategic direction will see Fitness Australia as a key player in getting more Australians more physically active more often and our success will benefit our industry, and the Australian community.

“We know that there’s a deterioration of the overall health of Australians. As a consequence, Governments at all levels nationally - and internationally for that matter - are turning their focus on the need to encourage more members of the community to participate more regularly in physical activity. Indeed, Australia has joined the international campaign and is a recent signatory to the World Health Organization’s Global Action Plan on Physical Activity 2018-2030.”

“I believe this scenario represents a once in a lifetime opportunity for Fitness Australia and our members, to have a significant and long lasting positive impact in the non-exercising Australian community.”

Fitness Australia has an integral, and important, role to play in this initiative at a national level through effective advocacy underwritten by evidence-based research, a professional membership base and high quality accessible facilities.

Elvish added “you’ll start to see new programs and initiatives by Fitness Australia that encourage more people to be active; connecting more mums, dads, children, older adults, people living with a physical disability or with a mental health condition, our First Australians and the wider community generally with our industry’s workforce and facilities.

“The more Australians who participate in physical activity the more opportunities for employment in the industry and associated business growth.”

Elvish also revealed that controversial advice for fitness professionals to not offer nutritional advice to clients is to be reviewed.