Ahpra and the National Boards has welcomed an independent review to cut the red tape and costs for qualified overseas-trained practitioners wanting to work in the Australian health system. If introduced, the measure could alleviate workforce shortages in regional areas that have struggled especially when it comes to specialist eyecare services.
Released on 28 April 2023, the Independent Review of Overseas Health Practitioner Regulatory Settings Interim Report, led by Ms Robyn Kruk AO, recommends measures to immediately boost the health workforce and ensure Australia is a competitive destination for the global health workforce, while maintaining quality and safety.
According to the report, employers and health practitioners say Australia’s registration and immigration processes are often slower, more complex and expensive than other countries. For example, recruiting an overseas GP can take up to 21 months and cost more than $25,000 even for cohorts from fast-tracked countries, while nurses can pay over $20,000 and take 35 months to get their qualifications recognised.
Interim findings of the Kruk review include:
- Improving regulation timeframes and consistency by making registration assessment a core process under the bolstered stewardship of Ahpra
- Fast tracking approvals for practitioners from trusted countries by expanding the use of competent authority pathways
- Cutting red tape by removing duplications such as having to submit multiple criminal history checks while speeding up the allocation of Medicare provider numbers
- Improving monitoring and publishing data outlining health workforce shortages, distribution and skills to better inform planning and policy
- Reviewing current standards, including English language and recency of practice requirements.
“The severe shortage of healthcare professionals across Australia’s health systems is a real and significant risk to patient safety,” Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) CEO Mr Martin Fletcher said.
“While a system-wide overhaul is needed to better align the qualifications recognised by Australian medical colleges and cut duplication of processes across authorities, Ahpra and the National Boards welcome the opportunity to be stewards for changes that will strengthen the nation’s health system immediately and in the long-term.
“Patient safety will always be the paramount priority in registering any practitioner. But by eliminating needless duplication, easing bureaucratic delays and better recognising the experience of overseas health professionals, we can attract the best and most suited to Australia, sooner.”
A move to a single portal for international applicants to lodge all their paperwork to Ahpra (covering migration, registration and employment) would also remove duplicity in the system. A “tell us once” approach would significantly cut the time and expense of navigating the current system, Ahpra stated.
“Australia’s health regulation system is the safest in the world. This isn’t an accident. We have a rigorous process to ensure those registered to care for the community are adequately trained and qualified,” Fletcher said.
“We know that registration and migration processes are not the easiest to navigate. We have been working closely with relevant agencies to streamline this and are pleased that we are already seeing a positive impact with overseas-based practitioner registration back to pre-pandemic levels.”
Impending shortages
The National Registration and Accreditation Scheme has allowed Australia’s registered health workforce to increase every year through both domestic graduates and international recruits.
But despite record numbers of practitioner registrations, figures show Australia needs an extra 860 GPs and this demand will grow to 10,600 by 2031-32. A severe shortage of nurses, will see Australia requiring an additional 46,000 registered nurses needed by 2026, including those required in aged care.
In ophthalmology, a 2018 report into workforce shortages recommended an increased intake of trainees to counter the predicted undersupply of ophthalmologists in 2030 of three per year from 2019 – compounding. Along with a maldistribution of ophthalmologists who disproportionately mostly work in urban locations, it highlighted “a higher-than-average reliance” on international medical graduates.
And in optometry, a Deloitte Access Economics report commission by Specsavers calculated that the number of optometrists required to support the level of clinical demand is projected to grow from 4,234 in 2018 to 7,841 by 2037.
According to Ahpra, it has already begun streamlining the registration process to make it simpler for registrants, including changes to English language requirements that allow applicants to resit specific parts of the test rather than restarting the entire process. Additional test options are also allowing applicants to be assessed sooner.
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