Workforce

Australia’s welfare 2019: in brief tells the story of welfare in Australia with key findings on housing, education and skills, employment and work, income and finance: government payments, social support, justice and safety, and Indigenous Australians.

Australia’s welfare 2019 is the 14th biennial welfare report of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. This edition introduces a new format and expanded product suite:

• Australia’s welfare 2019: data insights
• Australia’s welfare snapshots
• Australia’s welfare 2019: in brief
• Australia’s welfare indicators

This report uses a new measure developed by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare—the Geographically-adjusted Index of Relative Supply (GIRS)—to examine the geographic supply of the clinical health workforce in seven key professions with particular relevance to Indigenous Australians. These professions were general practitioners, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, dentists, psychologists and optometrists. Areas with lower GIRS scores are more likely to face workforce supply challenges than those with higher GIRS scores. The GIRS scores were compared with the distribution of the Indigenous population to assess the extent to which Indigenous people live in areas with lower relative levels of workforce supply.

An online summary describing data on oral health, oral health behaviour, oral health-related hospitalisations, cost of dental care and the dental workforce.

The supply of employed medical practitioners in Australia increased from 323.2 to 355.6 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population between 2008 and 2012, which reflected a 16.4% rise in employed practitioner numbers. Women made up 37.9% of practitioners in 2012 compared with 34.9% in 2008.

The number of dental practitioners registered in Australia in 2012 was 19,462, of whom 14,687 (75.5%) were dentists. The supply of employed dentists increased slightly from 55.4 to 56.9 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population between 2011 and 2012, which reflected a 5.3% increase in dentists. The gender balance continued to shift, with women making up 36.5% of dentists in 2012 compared with 35.2% in 2011. The average hours worked each week by dentists decreased slightly from 37.3 to 37.0; and those working part time increased from 30.8% to 31.7%.

This report outlines the workforce characteristics of nurses and midwives in 2012. Between 2008 and 2012, the number of nurses and midwives employed in nursing or midwifery increased by 7.5%, from 269,909 to 290,144. During this period, nursing and midwifery supply increased by 0.5%, from 1,117.8 to 1,123.6 full-time equivalent nurses and midwives per 100,000 population. In 2012, the proportion of employed nurses and midwives aged 50 or older was 39.1%, an increase from 35.1% in 2008.

This report outlines the workforce characteristics of 11 allied health practitioners for 2011 and 2012. In 2012, more than 4 in 5 registered practitioners were actively employed in their profession (from 76.2% for psychologists to 92.3% for podiatrists). For most professions there were more women than men employed. The average working week for employed practitioners ranged from 31.8 hours for Chinese medicine practitioners to 40.5 hours for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners.

The number of dental practitioners registered in Australia in 2011 was 18,803, of whom 14,179 were dentists. The supply of employed dentists increased from 50.9 to 56.1 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population between 2006 and 2011, which reflected a 22.4% increase in dentists. The gender balance continued to shift, with women making up 35.6% of dentists in 2011 compared with 29.0% in 2006. The average hours worked each week by dentists decreased slightly from 38.5 to 37.4.

The supply of employed medical practitioners in Australia increased from 344.6 to 381.4 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population between 2007 and 2011, which reflected a 10.7% rise in practitioner numbers. The gender balance continued to shift, with women making up 37.6% of practitioners in 2011 compared with 34% in 2007. Specialists-in-training in the public sector worked the most average hours per week (47.6) while general practitioners in the public sector worked the least (20.5).

Between 2007 and 2011, the number of nurses and midwives employed in nursing increased by 7.7% from 263,331 to 283,577. Over this period, the supply of nurses and midwives decreased by 1.3% from 1,095.1 to 1,081.1 full-time equivalent positions per 100,000 population. The average age of the workforce increased from 43.7 to 44.5, and the proportion of nurses and midwives aged 50 or older increased from 33.0% to 38.6%.

The supply of employed medical practitioners increased between 2006 and 2010, from 346 to 366 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population. The increase reflected a 13% rise in practitioner numbers. The gender balance continued to shift, with women making up 37% of practitioners in 2010 compared to 34% in 2006. The average hours worked each week by medical practitioners declined slightly from 43.5 to 43.3 hours. The group with the longest average hours worked per week was Specialists-in-training at 49.9 hours, while General practitioners averaged 39.2 hours a week.

The supply of nurses increased by 6.2% between 2005 and 2009, from 1,040 full time equivalent (FTE) nurses per 100,000 population to 1,105 FTE nurses based on a 38-hour week. This was mainly a result of both a 13.3% increase in the number of employed nurses, and a 0.9% increase in the average hours they worked over this period. Nursing continued to be a female dominated profession, with females comprising 90.4% of employed nurses in 2009 (down slightly from 92.1% in 2005).

The supply of employed medical practitioners increased between 2005 and 2009, from 323 to 350 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population, based on a 40-hour week. The increase reflected a 20.7% rise in practitioner numbers. The gender balance continued to shift, with women making up 36% of practitioners in 2009 compared to 33% in 2005. The average hours worked by medical practitioners declined from 43.7 to 42.2 hours.

Between 2006 and 2025 the number of oral health therapists practising in Australia is expected to increase from 371 to 2,117. Dental hygienist numbers are also expected to increase (from 674 to 1,458), while dental therapist numbers are projected to decrease (from 1,171 to 443). Overall, the number of oral health practitioners per 100,000 population is expected to increase from 10.8 to 16.2 by 2025.

The supply of dentists (including dental specialists) grew from 46.6 to 50.3 full-time equivalent practising dentists per 100,000 population between 2000 and 2006. In 2006 there were an estimated10,400 practising dentists in Australia, of whom 1,300 were dental specialists. There were an additional 3,100 allied dental practitioners comprising of dental hygienists, dental therapists, and oral health therapists, nearly all of whom were women. Almost 90% of the estimated 900 practising dental prosthetists in 2006 were men.

Concern about the shortfall in the clinical coding workforce in Australia has been raised in a number of national fora. This report quantifies the scope of the existing shortfall, provides some projections of future numbers required to cover increasing demands, and provides a consolidated set of recommendations to address the issues identified.

In 2008 the total number of registered and enrolled nurses estimated by the Nursing and Midwifery Labour Force Survey was 312,736, an increase of 10.6% since 2004. The nursing workforce continued to age between 1997 and 2008; the proportion of nurses aged 50 years or over increased from 18.9% to 34.4%.The number of full time equivalent nurses per 100,000 population increased by 15.2% between 2004 and 2008, and the profession continued to be predominantly female, with females comprising 91% of employed nurses in 2008.

The supply of employed medical practitioners increased between 2004 and 2008, from 283 to 304 full-time equivalent practitioners per 100,000 population. The increase reflected a 20.5% rise in practitioner numbers. The gender balance continued to shift, with women making up 35% of practitioners in 2008 compared to 33% in 2004. The average hours worked by male practitioners declined from 47.1 to 45.4 hours, while hours worked by female practitioners changed marginally from 37.6 to 37.7 hours.

In 2007, the total number of registered and enrolled nurses estimated by the Nursing and Midwifery Labour Force Survey was 305,834, an increase of 12% since 2003. The nursing workforce continued to age between 2003 and 2007; the proportion of nurses aged 50 years or over increased from 28% to 33%. The number of full time equivalent nurses per 100,000 population increased by 8% since 2003, and the profession continued to be predominantly female, with females comprising 90% of employed nurses in 2007.