Australian Change Rules For Foreign Educated Doctors To Promote Local Doctors
A landmark bid to curtail the use of overseas-trained doctors has been expanded to include hospitals, not just city GP clinics originally targeted amid concerns about over-servicing.
The federal government wants more direct and immediate control over placement of doctors to make better use of a growing number of Australian graduates. Rather than remove health occupations from the skilled-migration list, the government will require prospective employers to prove Australian medicos are unavailable before endorsing their visa applications.
In the last budget, the government proposed reducing the number of approved GP visas by 200 a year, over four years, to save Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme $415.5 million. Officials have raised concerns over apparent over-servicing in metropolitan areas while rural and remote communities continue to go without.
Documents obtained by The Australian under Freedom of Information laws reveal a new “position endorsement” will not only be required for GPs but also resident medical officers recruited by hospitals.
Last financial year, 1057 visas were granted for RMOs and 1168 for GPs. From January, the Department of Home Affairs will require the endorsement of an agency acting on behalf of the Department of Health to be satisfied the tougher requirements have been met.
“Automatic or expedited position endorsements will be made available for state and territory employers who nominate a hospital-based position for filling by an OTD (overseas-trained doctor) as well as employers in rural, remote and regional areas,” according to Health Department briefing notes released under FOI.
It was unclear yesterday what impact this would have on hospital recruiting or expenditure, given the focus to date has been on GPs (the budget initiative was “Visas for GPs” although internally it was also known as “Right Worker, Right Location”).
A statement provided by a department spokesman appeared to suggest RMOs recruited by hospitals for community-based work would be most affected.
“Data from Home Affairs shows that the RMO occupation is currently being used by some hospitals (both public and private) to recruit overseas-trained doctors to fill both hospital-based, non-primary-care positions and primary-care positions,” the spokesman said. “Hospital-based positions (public or private) will be provided with an expedited endorsement, and any reductions in visa approvals will be limited to general practice settings.”
The department will rely on new mapping, and definitions of community need, as it exercises more control over doctor distribution. Instead of establishing a new agency, it will rely on its existing network of Health Workforce Agencies.
A health summit hosted by Regional Services Minister Bridget McKenzie this month reaffirmed the need to reduce Australia’s reliance on overseas-trained doctors.
The department had previously sought to remove health occupations, including GPs and RMOs, from the skilled-migration list but was overruled. GPs remain on the medium and long-term shortage list and RMOs on the short-term shortage list, even as the government rolls out the new requirements on prospective employers.
Immigration Minister David Coleman is expected to finalise changes by the end of the year.