In 2008, the Federal Government asked the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC) to implement a process to rationalise the number and content of awards across the country. This is part of the Government’s policy to simplify and modernise awards.

In January, the AIRC released a number of draft national awards including two key ones affecting private medical practices – the Nurses Occupational Award and the Health Professionals and Support Services Industry Award.

The AMA has made a submission in response to the draft national awards and also appeared before AIRC hearings in Sydney. The AMA has argued that the new awards may result in cost increases for some private medical practices as they prescribe, in some cases, more generous working conditions than those contained in existing awards. The AMA submission called on the AIRC to bring working conditions in the proposed awards back into line with current awards so that medical practices are not hit with increases in costs.