The origins of the Australasian Cleft Lip and Palate Association are integrally associated with the adoption of a multidisciplinary or team approach to the treatment and management of cleft lip and palate. Harold McComb and Bill Brogan were instrumental in developing not only the cleft lip and palate unit at Princess Margaret Hospital in Perth, but also a multidisciplinary team of specialists to administer treatment. After various discussions at annual College of Surgeons meetings, the proposal to form a national cleft association was realised. Harold McComb was elected as the inaugural president of the Australasian Cleft Lip and Palate Association, with Owen Cole as vice president and Bill Brogan as secretary.
The inaugural ACLAPA Conference was held in Perth in 1990, attended by 120 delegates including 10 speakers and overseas visitors. The constitution was adopted and Owen Cole was elected as the new president.
A secondary reason for forming the Association was to allow Australia to bid and hold the International Cleft Congress. In 1993, ACLAPA successfully hosted the 7th International Congress for Cleft Lip and Palate and Related Craniofacial Anomalies on the Gold Coast. Owen Cole was tragically killed in an accident only 3 months before this Congress. In his honour, and initiated at the next International Congress in Singapore in 1997, ACLAPA has awarded the Owen Cole Scholarship for the Best Junior Investigator at each subsequent Congress held every four years.
Various national and international meetings have been held since this time, with financial assistance provided by the ACLAPA Education Fund. ACLAPA looks forward to again hosting the International Cleft Congress when we welcome cleft clinicians from around the world to Brisbane in 2029 for the 16th International Congress for Cleft Lip and Palate and Related Craniofacial Anomalies.

ACLAPA Objectives as a Not For Profit Association

• To provide a venue for the discussion of current topics of interest concerning all aspects of the management of persons with cleft lip and palate and associated conditions.
• To provide a multi-disciplinary forum for presenting new work and research concerning cleft lip and palate and associated conditions.
• To stimulate and enhance study and clinical practice of all disciplines involved in the management of persons with cleft lip, cleft palate, or associated conditions.
• To encourage cooperation amongst those specialists interested in the management of persons with cleft lip, cleft palate, or associated conditions.
• To stimulate public awareness and support of the habilitation of persons with cleft lip, cleft palate or associated conditions.