Over Half of Australia’s Doctors Are Trained Overseas, AMA Says They’re a ‘Temporary Fix’

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has informed a parliamentary inquiry that bureaucratic inefficiencies and a rigid 10-year rural service requirement are discouraging skilled overseas-trained doctors from coming to or staying in Australia. These international medical graduates are crucial, comprising over half of Australia’s General Practitioners and rural medical workforce, and their absence would severely limit healthcare access in many non-metropolitan communities. The AMA highlighted that IMG recruitment has significantly increased, yet the current system presents barriers.

• Bureaucratic duplication and a 10-year rural service requirement are deterring skilled overseas-trained doctors from Australia.
• International Medical Graduates (IMGs) constitute approximately 56% of Australian GPs and 53% of the rural medical workforce.
• Many regional, rural, and remote communities would have limited or no healthcare access without IMGs.
• IMG recruitment has grown over 13% since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• 42,056 IMGs were registered as medical practitioners in 2021/22.