Health workforce

The health workforce in Australia is large and diverse and includes a wide range of professionals and support staff working to provide healthcare services to the population. These include health practitioners registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) as well as other health professionals and health support workers. Due to data limitations for the other professional groups, this page presents information on health practitioners registered with Ahpra.

Health workforce supply

Overview of registered health professionals

In 2022, the health workforce represented 5.0% of the total employed workforce in Australia. During that year, over 688,000 healthcare professionals were actively working in their respective registered professions. Nurses, account for 54% of total health industry employment (around 372,000 registered nurses in 2022) (Table 1).

Trends

On this page, health professions are categorised into 4 profession groups: Allied Health, Dental Practitioners, Medical Practitioners, and Nurses and Midwives. Between 2013 and 2022, the number of registered healthcare professionals actively working in their field in Australia increased by 37% (184,000 professionals) (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023a). Allied health professions had the highest total growth (67%) followed by Medical Practitioners (41%), Dental practitioners (29%) and Nurses and Midwives (26%) (Figure 1).

In the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Force Survey over the same period, the Health Care and Social Assistance industry grew by almost 50%, to employ almost 2.1 million people in 2022. In comparison, the entire workforce grew by 21% to employ around 13.8 million people (ABS 2024).

The number of FTE health professionals per 100,000 population (FTE rate) has increased by 25% (from around 2,000 FTE per 100,000 in 2013 to 2,500 FTE in 2022) (Figure 2). Relative to the Australian population, allied health workers showed the highest growth in FTE rate from 2013 to 2022 (an increase of 226 FTE per 100,000 people) (Table 1). The inclusion of Paramedicine Practitioners as a new registered health profession (since 2019) has contributed to this increase, accounting for 92 FTE per 100,000 people in 2022.

Table 1: Key workforce statistics by health profession, 2013 and 2022

(a) For the purpose of this page, allied health professions include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, chiropractors, Chinese medicine practitioners, medical radiation practitioners, occupational therapists, optometrists, osteopaths, pharmacists, physiotherapists, podiatrists, psychologists, and paramedicine practitioners. In 2019, paramedicine practitioners emerged as a new career path of registered health professionals in Australia.

(b) Dental practitioners registered with Ahpra include oral health therapists, dental hygienists, dental therapists, dental prosthetists, and dentists.

Notes

1. Under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law 2009, a medical practitioner is a person who holds registration with the Medical Board of Australia.

2. General Practitioner is a Medical Practitioner with the job area of General Practitioner.

3. Full-time equivalent (FTE) is based on 40 hours per week for medical practitioners and 38 hours per week for all other professions.

Source: ABS 2023; Ahpra 2023; Department of Health and Aged Care 2023a.

Demographics

There have been notable changes in Australia’s health workforce demographics between 2013 and 2022.

Age

Between 2013 and 2022:

• the health workforce has gotten younger. For example, 33% of health professionals were aged between 20–34 years in 2022 compared with 28% in 2013. Medical Practitioners represent the highest proportion of health professionals working within the age range of 65–74 (8% in 2022).
• the FTE rate of all health professionals aged 20–34 and 35–44 increased by 47% (from 594 to 871 FTE per 100,000 people) and 31% (from 469 to 613 FTE per 100,000 people), respectively. The FTE rates of health professionals aged 45–54 and 55–64 decreased slightly over the same period.
• the increase in FTE rate for Nurses and Midwives was highest (53%) in the 20–34 age group (from 290 to 443 FTE per 100,000 people).
• for allied health practitioners and Dental Practitioners, the increase in FTE rate was highest in the 35–44 age group 66% (from 98 to 162 FTE per 100,000 people) and 42% (from 16 to 23 FTE per 100,000 people), respectively (Figure 3).

Sex

On average, Australia’s health workforce is predominantly female (74% in 2022), although health professions with higher income levels tend to have a higher representation of males. For example in 2022, 88% of Nurses and Midwives were female compared with 45% Medical Practitioners. Other roles with underrepresentation of females include, general practitioners (48% female), periodontists (37% female) and specialists (36% female).

While there are more males than females among medical practitioners, between 2013 and 2022, the FTE rate of:

• female Medical Practitioners increased by 38% (from 133 to 184 FTE per 100,000 people) and 36% for Dental Practitioners (from 30 to 41 FTE per 100,000 people).
• male Medical Practitioners increased by 3% (from 249 to 257 FTE per 100,000 people) and for Dental Practitioners decreased by 2.7% (from 42 to 41 FTE per 100,000 people).
• male nurses increased by 28% (from 133 to 171 FTE per 100,000 people) (Figure 3).

In 2022:

• the female/male ratio of the overall number of health professionals was 2.9, with a total of around 512,000 females and 177,000 males registered and employed in Australia’s health workforce.
• 54% of Dental Practitioners were female.
• the FTE rate of health professionals who were female remained at around 2.5 times that of males (Figure 3).

Jurisdiction

The FTE rate varies by jurisdiction:

• In 2022, the Northern Territory had the highest FTE rate of health professionals (2,874 FTE per 100,000 people) this can be explained due to the high FTE rates of Nurses and Midwives, and medical practitioners.
• New South Wales had the lowest FTE rate across all professions (2,285 FTE per 100,000 people).
• Between 2013 and 2022, Queensland had the highest growth in FTE rate (30%), compared to its population growth (14%) over the same time period. The Queensland allied health practitioner FTE rate also grew by 63% (Figure 3).

Figure 3: Total FTE and FTE rates, by profession, state and territory, age, and sex, 2013 to 2022

Rural and remote areas

The accessibility of Australia’s health workforce is highly dependent on the distribution of its members in areas where they are most needed. In this section, the clinical FTE rate is used, in contrast with the FTE rates discussed above. The clinical FTE rate indicates the full-time equivalent of clinical hours provided by health professionals per 100,000 people.

People living in Remote and Very remote areas generally have poorer access to health services than people in regional areas and Major cities (AIHW 2018). This is demonstrated by the low numbers of clinical FTE provided by Medical Practitioners. For instance in 2022, there were 205 FTE clinical Medical Practitioners per 100,000 people in Very remote areas compared with 427 FTE per 100,000 people in Major cities (Remoteness Area ASGS 2021classification was used in this analysis).

Relative to the populations in these areas, Major cities had the highest clinical FTE per 100,000 people in 2022 than each of the other remoteness areas (Figure 4):

• Major cities had 2,248 FTE per 100,000 people.
• Inner regional areas had 1,980 FTE per 100,000 people.
• Outer regional areas had 1,862 FTE per 100,000 people.
• Remote areas had 1,938 FTE per 100,000 people.
• Very remote areas had 1,846 FTE per 100,000 people.

Figure 4: Total clinical FTEs and clinical FTE rate, by profession and remoteness, 2013 to 2022

In contrast to other profession groups, Remote and Very remote areas both have a greater number of registered and working clinical FTE Nurses and Midwives relative to the population in these areas. In 2022, there were 1,232 FTE clinical Nurses and Midwives per 100,000 people in Very remote areas compared with 1,159 in Major cities. People living in remote areas who need specialised treatment, may need to travel long distances or relocate in order to attend health services or receive specialised treatment. Medicare claims indicates that rural and remote populations rely more on general practitioners to provide health care services, due to less availability of local specialist services (AIHW 2023). In 2022, there were 160 FTE specialist clinical medical professionals per 100,000 people in Major cities compared with 53 in Remote and Very remote areas.

According to reports published by Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand (MDANZ), using the Medical Schools Outcomes Database, graduating medical students have shown consistent preference for practising in capital cities with 62% of surveyed medical students indicating a preference to work in capital cities in 2022 (Table 2). In contrast, 21% of students indicated a preference to work in regional cities, small towns, or small communities. The main reason for not opting to work in rural areas was the lack of career opportunities. However, in the last 2 years there has been a slight increase in medical students indicating a preference to work outside capital cities (MDANZ 2023).

Table 2: Graduating medical student first preference region of future practice, by region 2013 to 2022

 Source: MDANZ 2023.

Occupations working the most hours

The ratio of FTEs relative to the number of health professionals therefore provides an overall indication of whether occupational groups worked longer or less than their standard hours.

Between 2013 and 2022, Medical Practitioners (excluding GPs) were the only occupational group whose total FTE was greater than the number of practitioners, indicating that Medical Practitioners overall worked more than their FTE of 40 hours a week (Table 1). This contrasts with Allied Health practitioners, Nurses and Midwives, and Dental practitioners, where the total number of practitioners exceeded total FTEs over the same period. This may indicate greater use of part-time working arrangements for these practitioners.

As shown in Figure 5, specialists, specialists-in-training, and hospital non-specialists (see glossary) worked longer hours (ratio was greater than 1) than general practitioners, non-clinicians and other clinicians. 

Figure 5: Ratio of FTE total to number of practitioners among medical practitioners, by job area, 2013 to 2022

Overseas trained health workforce

Australia relies heavily on internationally recruited health professionals, in particular Medical practitioners. In 2013, 29% of Medical practitioners had received their training overseas, while from 2018 to 2022, around 32% of Medical practitioners were internationally trained. In 2022, Intensive Care Medicine (51%), Emergency Medicine (44%) and General Practice (42%) were the specialities with the highest proportion of health professionals who had received their training abroad (Figure 6). 

Australia ranked sixth highest of 38 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for the percentage of the medical workforce trained overseas (Figure 7) and 21st lowest in the OECD for the number of domestically trained doctors per capita (Go8 2023, OECD 2023).

Figure 7: Proportion of overseas trained doctors, by OECD country, 2021

Non-registered health professions

Many people employed in the health sector work in occupations that are not registered by Ahpra and there are fewer available data for these groups. These members of the health workforce still play an important role in delivering health services to Australians and include, for example, dietitians, clerical workers, health information managers, welfare professionals, service workers, cleaners, and gardeners. Also, some health professionals (such as dieticians, audiologists, speech pathologists) are self-regulated by their professional association to ensure that high safety and quality standards are maintained.

According to the ABS Labour Force Survey – more than 2.1 million people reported working in the Health Care and Social Assistance industry in November 2022 (ABS 2024). 

Challenges for the Australian health workforce

The Department of Health and Aged Care and Jobs and Skills Australia have identified several challenges for the health workforce in Australia (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023c; JSA 2023). These challenges encompassed both current issues and those anticipated to impact the future workforce. 

Increasing demand for health workforce

The demand for the health workforce in Australia is influenced by various factors, reflecting the nation's evolving healthcare landscape and demographic changes. Some of the key contributors to the demand for healthcare professionals include:

• Population growth and aging: Australia’s growing and aging population places increased demand on healthcare services. By 2050, it is projected that older people (aged 65 and over) in Australia will make up around 22% of the total population compared to 17% in 2022 (ABS 2023). As people age, there is a higher prevalence of chronic conditions and a greater need for medical care, leading to an elevated demand for healthcare professionals.
• Policy changes: Changes in healthcare policies by the government are designed to impact workforce demand as well as workforce supply and distribution. For example, The Stronger Rural Health Strategy, which aims to improve the health of people in Australia through the supply of a quality health workforce that is distributed across the country according to community need (APH 2022; Department of Health and Aged Care 2023b).

It is crucial to monitor that the supply of healthcare professionals aligns with the evolving needs of the Australian population.

Shortages in health workforce supply

The Skills Priority List (SPL) 2023 report shows that more than 4 in 5 health professional occupations (82%) were in shortage in 2023. Workforce shortages exist in certain specialities, such as general practice, mental health, Registered Nurse occupations and specific allied health professions. Projected demand for healthcare services may also exacerbate shortages (JSA 2023). 

In the 2023 SPL period, the fill rate for Health Professionals was 44%, with 1.3 suitable applicants per vacancy. This was lower compared with the 2022–23 financial year's average fill rate of approximately 60% and an average of 2.3 suitable applicants per vacancy (Figure 8). The Survey of Employers who have Recently Advertised (SERA) data shows that the main reason for which an applicant was found unsuitable for the occupation is the lack of specific skills or experience (JSA 2023).

Moreover, Australia competes globally for healthcare professionals, leading to recruitment challenges and potential reliance on overseas-trained staff. Continued global competition may impact the ability to attract and retain healthcare professionals domestically.

Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted and collaborative approach involving government agencies, healthcare institutions, educational providers and professional associations.

Figure 8: Proportion of vacancies filled and number of suitable applicants per vacancy for Health Professionals, 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23 

Health workforce reforms

Health workforce reforms are essential for addressing future workforce demand and for building a more resilient, responsive and patient-centred healthcare system. Several health workforce reforms have been implemented in Australia such as:

• The Stronger Rural Health Strategy: the Australian government continues to implement the Stronger Rural Health Strategy, aimed at addressing healthcare challenges specific to rural and remote areas. The strategy encompasses a range of initiatives to improve access to healthcare services, attract and retain healthcare professionals in rural regions, support and build the capacity and capability of the health workforce trialling multidisciplinary models of care and enhance the overall health outcomes for residents in these areas. It will deliver 3,000 extra doctors and 3,000 extra nurses by 2028 (Department of Health and Aged Care 2021).
• The National Medical Workforce Strategy 2021–2031: The National Medical Workforce Strategy (NMWS) was endorsed by all Health Ministers in December 2021 and was released in January 2022. The NMWS is guiding long-term collaborative medical planning across Australia and identifies practical actions to build a highly trained and well‑distributed medical workforce. The NMWS consists of five complementary priority areas to drive the actions – these include collaborating on planning and design, rebalancing supply and distribution, reforming the training pathways, building the generalist capability of the medical workforce and building a flexible and responsive medical workforce.
• Primary Health Care Reforms: Australia’s Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan 2022–2032 is about strengthening primary healthcare services, with a focus on preventive care and early intervention. Reforms aim to enhance the role of general practitioners, nurses, and other primary care providers in the delivery of comprehensive and coordinated healthcare. This will require the expansion of the scope of practice for certain healthcare professionals to optimise their contributions to patient care. This includes exploring the roles of nurse practitioners, pharmacists, and other allied health professionals in providing a broader range of services (Department of Health and Aged Care 2022a). An independent review of health practitioner regulatory settings: Given Australia's reliance on internationally trained health professionals, ongoing efforts have been made to streamline the recognition of overseas qualifications and facilitate the integration of skilled professionals into the workforce (Department of Finance 2023). On 6 December 2023, National Cabinet endorsed and committed to implement the final report of the Independent Review of Australia’s Regulatory Settings Relating to Overseas Health Practitioners (Kruk Review). The review recommends reforms to streamline regulatory settings to make it simpler, quicker, and cheaper for international health practitioners to work in Australia. These reforms will drive productivity dividends for entrants, employers, and communities, while maintaining health care quality and safety. The Government is already working on various initiatives to address these challenges including identifying opportunities for expanded fast track registration pathways, and aligning English language standards with countries such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand (Department of Finance 2023).
• Nurse Practitioner Workforce Plan: highlights the significant opportunity to increase utilisation of nurse practitioners to meet consumer needs. It details how to remove the barriers currently facing the workforce and build the nurse practitioner workforce, while increasing access to care for all Australian communities (Department of Health and Aged Care 2024).
• Strategies to address under-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) health workforce. First Nations health workers are under-represented in the health workforce: The largest gap in representation between First Nations and non-Indigenous Australians nationally exists among registered nurses and general practitioners. Growing the number of First Nations health workers is vital in delivering better health outcomes for First Nations people. A number of strategies are underway to address this challenge including the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workforce Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan 2021–2031 (the Plan). The Plan was developed in genuine partnership with First Nations people, with a target to increase the number of First Nations health professionals working across the health system by 2031 (Department of Health and Aged Care 2022b).

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health workforce

The healthcare system was already facing challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic due to the demands of an aging population and individuals with progressively complex care needs. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the impact of work and the work environment on the mental health and overall wellbeing of healthcare workers (Willis et al. 2021).

During the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2022, the annual growth rate in the number of Medical Practitioners saw a decline, reaching 3.2%, compared to the 3.6% growth experienced between 2013 and 2019. For Nurses and Midwives, the growth rate between 2020 and 2022 remained consistent with pre-pandemic trends (2.6%) (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023).

As shown in Table 3, there is fluctuation in the year on year annual change for each profession. Annual growth is calculated as the percentage change in the number of registered practitioners from the previous year.

The annual change for Medical Practitioners reached its peak in 2016 and 2017, and then held steady between 2018 and 2020. In 2021and 2022, the annual growth for Medical Practitioners declined compared to the previous year.

Nurses and Midwives had the lowest growth rates among all professions in most of the years, except for 2021, when they had the highest growth rate of 4.9%.

Table 3: Annual change in number of Health workforce, by profession (%)

Note: In 2019, Paramedicine practitioners emerged as a new career path of registered health professionals in Australia as seen by the significant increase in registrations for Allied Health.

Source: Department of Health and Aged Care 2023a

The growth rate in total FTE for the health workforce was higher during the pandemic period (3.9% between 2020 and 2022), compared with 3.4% between 2013 and 2019. This growth rate in total FTE during these pandemic years was mainly contributed by Nurses and Midwives (an FTE growth rate of 3.8% between 2020 and 2022) (Department of Health and Aged Care 2023a).

COVID-19 has shown the significance of prioritising the wellbeing of healthcare workers for the effective functioning of our health system. Failure to safeguard the wellbeing of healthcare workers may result in an unsustainable workforce, which will have wider implications for the quality and sustainability of all services provided within the health system (AHHA 2022).

Some positive work practices introduced during COVID-19 included:

• Creating a workplace that is psychologically safe and supportive of healthcare workers, to support their emotional wellbeing.
• Enhancing work conditions by improving job design, managing workloads, and ensuring there are enough workers.
• Using more digital tools to help healthcare workers connect better with patients and each other, making them more efficient and productive. For example, the Australian Government offered free online, tailored COVID-19 training to nurses which rapidly increased their nursing knowledge, skills and confidence.

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasised the critical need for regular data collection on employee wellbeing in the workplace to inform decision-making processes. Monitoring employee wellbeing acts as an early alert mechanism enabling, organisations to advocate for the timely implementation of protective measures to prevent potential issues from arising (AHHA 2022).

Where do I go for more information?

For more information on the health workforce, see:

• Department of Health and Aged Care Health workforce data tool
• Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand Medical schools outcomes database reports

For more on this topic, see Workforce.