Fitness Australia recently posed the question:
SHOULD THE FITNESS INDUSTRY BE REGULATED?
My answer. No.
The benefits of regulation address three key areas:
- Client safety
- Consumer protection.
- Guaranteed continued education of professionals
The COST of regulation comes at:
- Innovation
- Restrictions to operators
- Unclear and undefined terms
- Industry freedoms
Point 1: Client safety. Even the unqualified and stupid don’t intend to hurt clients as that’s bad for business. More often, it’s the well-meaning, ‘qualified professionals’ who hurt clients. Regardless, regulation does not solve this.
Point 2: Consumer protection. Firstly; we already have consumer protection laws in Australia, and they are enforceable. Additionally, consider the large majority of Fitness-consumer cat-fishing happens online with online coaching. If Sally Sue in Nigeria puts up a landing page to target clients in Australia, there’s nothing industry regulation can do. Online regulation is needed; however, this is a separate issue to ‘industry’ regulation.
Point 3: Education. Currently, the Fitness industry is self-regulated, and evidence that self-regulation works can be found in the high turnover rate of trainers who are unwilling to up-skill after a cert IV exiting the industry. In short, the fit survive. The unqualified perish.
As the question is posed by @Fitness Australia, one can only assume that they intend all professionals to partake in their CEC programs which still include courses like nautical walking and attending FLIEX whom continue to keynote motivational speakers – not industry leaders.
Which begs the question, who decides on the value of educational programs and industry leaders? Merit of content or Fitness Australia’s organisational values?
And beware, the carrot regulation will dangle is private health insurance. There’s no such thing as free money. We will pay for it in regulation, freedoms and innovation. The cost is too high, and the return is too little. The question ethically can also not be posed by the ones who stand to benefit with mandatory memberships. It’s a conflict of interest.
Watch my video on this topic here:
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