AROUND THE WORLD WITH HFA

Making Fitness Part of the Healthcare System in Australia

AUSactive CEO Ken Griffin discusses the evolving role of the health and fitness industry in preventive health.

AUSactive—the largest membership organization for exercise and active-health professionals and businesses in Australia—is working to position physical activity as an essential part of the country’s healthcare infrastructure. This mission is aligned with HFA’s work to do the same in the US, while helping international federation groups like AUSactive with research and other support.

AUSactive CEO Ken Griffin sat down with HFA Chief of Staff Mike Goscinski while both attended the 2026 HFA European Congress in London. Their conversation was released in a recent HFA Pod episode, “Making Fitness Part of the Healthcare System.” (The episode was released on October 1, 2026. HFA Pod is sponsored by Hapana.)

Griffin points out that 75% of Australian adults don't meet physical activity guidelines, and Australia ranks 140th out of 146 countries for teenage physical activity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). AUSactive is focused on turning these numbers around.

The good news, Griffin says, is that 80% of the country lives within a three-minute drive of a gym. This translates into a tremendous opportunity. But the industry has to position itself as a credible partner in the healthcare system.

“We all know that we can play a role in health, but we haven't actually made the case for how that could happen with the health system,” Griffin says.

“What I always say when I'm talking to policymakers is that fitness is more than a hobby; it is a part of preventive health infrastructure.”

• Ken Griffin

Building on “Million Moves”

Now in its second year, Million Moves is AUSactive’s public engagement campaign targeting people who don't normally move or exercise regularly. This national 21-day evidence-based program, which includes free access to health clubs, breaks down barriers to participation and supports governments to build healthier, more equitable, and connected communities. It is branded as a cost-effective investment in chronic disease prevention, mental well-being, and social cohesion.

Griffin notes that the program was evaluated by a university research team after its first year. Of those participants who said at the beginning of the 21-day campaign that they didn't exercise regularly—or at all—an impressive 55% of them were still exercising eight weeks later.

“We're good at motivating people,” Griffin explains. “That's not something that's generally taught to healthcare professionals.”

AUSactive recently published a white paper called "From Clinical Advice to Community Action," which proposes a link between the fitness industry and the healthcare system. Based on the evidence, the white paper proposes that healthcare professionals should be able to prescribe programs of activity.

The launch, which was held in Australia’s Parliament, was attended by patient groups, professional organizations for healthcare professionals, policymakers, lawmakers, and others.

“What I always say when I'm talking to policymakers is that fitness is more than a hobby,” Griffin says; “it is a part of preventive health infrastructure.”

People from across the spectrum of the parliamentary parties support the proposal, according to Griffin. No one doubts the change needs to happen. But the health system moves very slowly, and there are many vested interests because it's what he calls “a complex ecosystem.”

“We can measure everything that happens in a hospital, not anything that happens to people before they enter the health system. So we're actually meeting them where they’re at [in] the moment. But ultimately, we need to build towards a genuine prevention model.”

A People Business

One of the things about the fitness business that Griffin loves is that it is still a people business. It’s one thing to have a facility with equipment, but in order for users to be successful and for a referral pathway to work, there needs to be someone to help guide the user experience, he explains.

“We'll have a more intimate relationship with that patient of theirs who is our customer than they will ever have,” Griffin says—in part because physicians are short on how much time they can spend with patients.

In Australia, as with most countries, healthcare professionals spend limited time with each patient, Griffin notes—often just 15 minutes. The country’s 35,000 exercise professionals, on the other hand, can spend much more time with each person—especially in group exercise programs.

The challenge is in convincing healthcare professionals to refer their patients to fitness centers, as opposed to giving them more medication or saying that exercise should happen, but only in a clinical environment.

“As a sector, we're going to ask a health professional who calls the person in front of them a ‘patient’ to refer that patient to us,” Griffin says. “And we're not health professionals. We're going to call that patient a member, a client, or a customer. So they [health professionals] don't tend to refer outside the system.”

Griffin and Goscinski also discuss the power of a “One Vision, One Voice” approach that looks beyond individual markets such as the US and Australia. Fitness industry organizations around the world—including HFA and AUSactive—are working together to influence health policy, strengthen the industry’s credibility, and demonstrate how physical activity can help address some of the biggest public health challenges facing communities today.

Griffin says: “It’s just a really nice, sweet spot for us where we show our value for no benefit other than [that] we actually want the country to be healthier.”

HFA Pod is sponsored by Hapana.

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Health & Fitness Business (HFB) is the leading health and fitness industry publication. Published monthly by the Health & Fitness Association (HFA) and distributed free to the industry, HFB offers analysis of the opportunities, challenges, issues, and news that impact the industry.

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