Health Workforce

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Medical professionals in Australia in 2013

Registration type Number Average age (years) Women (per cent)
General 29,492 37.0 50.0
General and specialist 46,866 52.4 33.4
Limited 5,365 39.6 38.7
Non-practicing 2,491 57.6 38.6
Provisional 3,546 28.0 54.1
Specialist 7,253 47.5 32.1
Total 95,013 45.7 39.7
  • Almost 2 in 5 employed medical practitioners were women.[1]
  • About 1 in 4 employed medical practitioners were aged 55 or older.[1]
  • 42.8 hours per week were worked, on average, by medical practitioners: men worked an average of 45.4 hours and women 38.8 hours.[2]
  • 95.2% of all employed medical practitioners worked in a clinical role.[3]
  • 3,033 domestic students commenced medical undergraduate training in Australia in 2013.

Medical professionals in Australia in 2012

Size of Medical workforce

In 2012, there were 91,504 medical practitioners registered in Australia. The Australian medical workforce has grown substantially over recent years. The number of medical practitioners employed in medicine increased by 16.4% between 2008 and 2012, from 68,455 to 79,653. The overall supply of clinicians across all states and territories increased by 10.0% between 2008 and 2012, from 323.2 full-time equivalents per 100,000 population in 2008 to 355.6 in 2012.

The supply of medical practitioners was not uniform across the country, with the supply generally being greater in Major cities than in Remote/Very remote areas. The supply of general practitioners was highest, however, in Remote/Very remote areas, at 134.3 full-time equivalents per 100,000 population, but overall these areas had the lowest supply of medical practitioners in total.

Demography

The medical workforce is predominantly male, but women are increasingly represented, growing to 37.9% of employed practitioners in 2012 (up from 34.9% in 2008). Among clinicians, women accounted for 46.5% of hospital non-specialists compared to 26.8% of specialists. The proportion of general practitioners who were female increased over the 5-year period from 38.4% in 2008 to 40.8% in 2012.

In 2012 there were 221 employed medical practitioners who identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, representing 0.3% of all employed medical practitioners in Australia. The average age of medical practitioners differed little between 2008 (45.7) and 2012 (46.0). About two thirds (65.8%) of medical practitioners who answered the relevant question gained their initial medical qualification in Australia.

Working arrangements

Of the employed medical practitioners in 2012, 94.5 % (75,258) were working as clinicians, of whom 35.0% were specialists and 34.5% were general practitioners. ‘Physician’, which includes general medicine, cardiology and haematology, was the largest main speciality of practice (5,918). ‘Surgery’ was the second largest (4,275). Of employed non-clinicians, more than half were researchers (27.8%) or administrators (24.5%).

The average weekly hours worked by employed medical practitioners remained stable between 2008 and 2012. In 2012, male medical practitioners worked an average of 45.3 hours per week, while female medical practitioners worked an average of 38.3 hours per week. In 2012, both male and female medical practitioners aged 20–34 worked the highest average weekly hours (47.6 hours and 44.0 hours respectively).

Allied Health

Allied workforce Australia 2012

Size of Allied Health workforce

In 2012, the total number of allied health practitioners registered in Australia was 126,788, of whom 29,387 (23.2%) were psychologists. There were 27,025 (21.3%) pharmacists, 23,934 (18.9%) physiotherapists, 14,307 (11.3%) occupational therapists, 13,376 (10.5%) medical radiation practitioners, 4,564 (3.6%) optometrists, 4,533 (3.6%) chiropractors, 3,885 (3.1%) Chinese medicine practitioners, 3,783 (3.1%) podiatrists, 1,729 (1.4%) osteopaths and 265 (0.2%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners registered. The proportion of registered practitioners actively employed in their profession ranged from 76.2% for psychologists to 92.3% for podiatrists.

Demography

Most allied health professions had more women employed than men. The exceptions were chiropractors and optometrists (34.8% and 48.2% women respectively). The professions with the highest proportion of women were occupational therapists (91.5%), psychologists (76.7%) and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners (71.9%).

For all professions, the average age of those employed was between 37 and 47. The practitioners with the youngest average age were occupational therapists (36.8), while Chinese medicine practitioners had the oldest (47.0).

Working arrangements

The average working week of all employed allied health practitioners ranged from 31.8 hours for Chinese medicine practitioners to 40.5 hours for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners. Chinese medicine practitioners had the largest proportion working part time (less than 35 hours a week) at 51.5%, followed by chiropractors at 48.8%.

Nearly all employed chiropractors were working in private practice (97.0% of clinicians and 95.3% of all employed chiropractors). This was also the case for osteopaths, with 97.0% of clinicians and 94.9% of all employed osteopaths working in private practice.

All but one of the allied health professions had the highest rate of FTE practitioners working in Major cities. The exception was Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners, where the highest FTE rate was in Remote/Very remote areas.

Nursing

Nursing and midwifery workforce Australia 2013

  • 296,029 nurses and midwives were employed in Australia. Over all, 10.4% of them were male.[2]
  • Almost 2 in 5 of them were aged 50 or older.[3]
  • 9 in 10 employed nurses and midwives worked in a clinical role.[4]
  • 23,458 midwives were employed in Australia.[5]

Nursing and midwifery workforce Australia 2012

Size of nursing and midwifery workforce

  • In 2012, the total number of nurses and midwives registered in Australia was 334,078, a 6.8% (312,828) increase since 2008.
  • There were 35,632 midwives registered and 30,792 employed, almost all of whom were also registered nurses.
  • 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.
  • Of these people employed in nursing and midwifery, 238,520 were registered nurses (including midwives) and 51,624 were enrolled nurses.
  • Overall, the nursing and midwifery workforce increased by 0.5% between 2008 and 2012, from 1,117.8 to 1,123.6 full-time equivalent nurses and midwives per 100,000 population.
  • Nursing and midwifery supply across remoteness areas ranged from 1,071.3 full-time equivalent nurses and midwives per 100,000 population in Outer regional areas to 1,302.8 in Very remote areas.

Demography

  • Nursing and midwifery continued to be a female-dominated profession, with women comprising 89.8% of employed nurses and midwives in 2012 (slightly down from 90.5% in 2008).
  • The average age of the nursing and midwifery workforce increased slightly between 2008 and 2012, from 44.1 to 44.6 years.
  • The proportion of employed nurses and midwives aged 50 or older increased from 35.1% to 39.1% over this period.

Working arrangements

  • The average weekly hours worked by employed nurses and midwives remained the same between 2008 and 2012, at 33.4 hours.
  • Of all employed clinical nurses and midwives, almost two-thirds (62.6%) worked in hospitals.
  • The principal area of nursing and midwifery with the largest number of workers in 2012 was aged care (41,300).
  • There were almost twice as many registered nurses working in the public sector compared to the private sector.
  • Nurses employed in the public sector worked more hours on average than those in the private sector.

Dental

Size of the dental workforce in Australia

  • In 2012, there were 19,462 dental practitioners registered in Australia.
  • Three-quarters of these practitioners (14,687) were dentists.
  • The number of employed dentists increased by 5.3%, from 12,599 in 2011 to 13,266 in 2012.
  • There were 1,330 dentists working as specialists. Orthodontics was the most common specialty (518 dentists).
  • In 2012, there were also 1,425 dental hygienists, 1,117 dental therapists, 1,100 dental prosthetists and 675 oral health therapists employed in their fields.

Demography

  • Dentistry is a male dominated profession; however, the proportion of female dentists increased to 36.5% in 2012 from 35.2% in 2011.
  • Employed dental therapists, dental hygienists and oral health therapists, were predominantly women (96.9, 94.6% and 84.7%, respectively).
  • Dental prosthetists were much more likely to be men. Women made up 14.7% of this workforce, an increase from 13.9% in 2011.
  • The average age of dentists employed in 2012 was 43.4 (the same as in 2011) and 23.4% were aged 55 and over.
  • Employed dental prosthetists, dental therapists, dental hygienists and oral health therapists were aged 49.1, 46.4, 37.4 and 31.0, on average, respectively.

Working arrangements

  • Dentists worked, on average, 37.0 hours per week in 2012, a slight decrease from 2011 (37.3 hours per week). In 2012, 31.7% dentists worked part time (less than 35 hours per week).
  • The majority of employed dentists were working in private practice (79.7% of clinicians and 77.3% of all dentists).
  • Most specialists worked in private practice (75.0%) and in Major cities (89.1%).
  • Major cities had more dentists per capita than other areas in 2012 at 64.3 full-time equivalent (FTE) dentists per 100,000 population, and more than the Australian rate of 56.9 FTE dentists.

Occupations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Who are medical practitioners?, AIHW, http://www.aihw.gov.au/workforce/medical/who/
  2. ↑ What is the medical practitioner work setting like?, AIHW, http://www.aihw.gov.au/workforce/medical/worksetting/
  3. ↑ How many medical practitioners are there?, AIHW, http://www.aihw.gov.au/workforce/medical/how-many-medical-practitioners/
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