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released: 21 Feb 2003 author: AIHW media release

This report presents the most comprehensive and authoritative demographic and labour force statistics available on the medical profession in Australia. It is based on the major findings of the 1999 national survey of registered medical practitioners, as well as a great deal of supporting information from other sources. Information presented in this report includes the number of registered medical practitioners in each geographic region and in each State and Territory, Their age and sex profiles, work setting, areas of practice, medical specialties, and hours worked. To complement the survey findings, the report includes data on hospital staff, Medicare usage, students enrolled in and completing medical courses, postgraduate specialist training places, and workforce migration patterns. Medical Labour Force 1999 is an essential reference for all people interested in the make-up of the current medical workforce in Australia, and in workforce planning in this important profession.

ISSN 1327 4309; ISBN 978 1 74024 236 3; Cat. no. HWL 24; 80pp.; OUT OF PRINT

Full publication

Publication table of contents

  • Preliminary material (191K PDF)
    • Title page and verso
    • Contents
    • List of tables
    • List of figures
    • Abbreviations
    • Symbols and other usages
    • Acknowledgements
    • Preface
    • Explanatory notes
  • Sections
    1. Main features (117K PDF)
    2. Overview of the medical labour force in 1999 (145K PDF)
      1. Introduction
      2. Employed medical practitioners in 1999
        1. Clinicians
        2. Non-clinicians
      3. State/Territory and geographic distribution
        1. State and Territory distribution
        2. Geographic distribution
    3. Trends in the medical labour force (256K PDF)
      1. Employed medical practitioners
        1. Demographic changes
        2. Changing work patters
      2. Clinicians
        1. Primary care practitioners
        2. Hospital non-specialists
        3. Specialists and specialists-in-training
      3. State and Territory comparisons
        1. Supply of medical practitioners
        2. Age and sex
    4. Future growth in the medical labour force (191K PDF)
      1. Education
        1. Medical students in university
        2. Postgraduate specialist training
      2. Migration
  • End matter (396K PDF)
    • Appendixes
      • Appendix A: Detailed tables
    • Glossary
    • References
    • Related publications

Notes and corrections:

  1. Significant changes were made to the survey design in 2000. Data from the 1997 to 1999 surveys have been revised to enable time series comparisons.
  2. New table added August 2005.

Recommended citation

AIHW 2003. Medical labour force 1999. National Health Labour Force Series. Cat. no. HWL 24. Canberra: AIHW.