Action needed on medical workforce planning

AMA Vice President, Dr Stephen Parnis, said last week that the AMA is concerned that medical workforce planning in Australia has stalled since the abolition of Health Workforce Australia in the May Budget. He said that effective and coordinated medical workforce planning is essential to ensure we have a highly skilled medical workforce in the right numbers and in the right places to meet the future health needs of the Australian community. 

Australia is currently experiencing ongoing medical workforce shortages in a number of specialties, including general practice, as well as in regional and rural Australia. He highlighted that, by 2017, it is projected there will be more than 3800 graduates of Australian medical schools and that these medical graduates must have access to sufficient postgraduate training positions in the right specialties and locations so that the future medical workforce is delivering the services that the community needs.