Health Workforce Planning

This article discusses health workforce planning in Australia, focusing on the strategies developed by the Australian government. It explores the challenges and main findings in health workforce planning, including the supply and demand of skilled migration and the impact on healthcare services. The article also provides recommendations for addressing the challenges in health workforce planning.

Running Head: HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING 1
Health Workforce Planning
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

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Executive Summary
The Australian government focuses on the supply and demand skilled migration through
assigning tests to potential applicants whose nominated occupation features on the MODL. As
such, the Australian government sets the policies that a migrant must meet to be a legal migrant
in the country. Alternatively, the purpose of HWA is to facilitate that a suitable pool of
practitioners is available to cater for the demand. Additionally, the reform and innovation
scenarios seek to address outcomes on the future HW from strategies, which could include
reducing demand through enhancing preventative health metrics. Thus, nurses and medical
practitioners have a positive impact on the HW gap associated with the scenarios. For instance,
doctors lower demand while increasing productivity and results of the HW. The HWA focuses
on facilitating that an appropriate pool of practitioners is available to cater for the demand.
Hence, proper planning of the inputs to the HW in terms of immigration, migration, and
education can be considered. Also, coordinating various health reform programs using national
data are considered about the impact of change such as innovation. The MODL review suggested
that it was an insufficient strategy for helping employers in resolving skill shortages.
Nonetheless, temporary skilled migration occurs when employers are unable to occupy skilled
vacancies within their Australian labor market, and unable to meet sponsorship obligations and
the required payment rates. Therefore, there is no limitation on the number of visas that can be
issued, which means that temporary skilled migrants can transition to permanent residents
through several possible avenues. The approach used in HW planning in Australia is supply and
resource-driven instead of need-based; there have been cycles of oversupply and shortages. Thus,
the techniques used tend to use sex and age projections as a standard metric of demand and need
for healthcare.

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Table of Content
Introduction…………………………………………………………………….4
Australian Approach to Health Workforce (HW) Planning…………………....4-5
Strategies Developed By Australian Government……………………………..5-6
Main Findings………………………………………………………………….6-12
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………..12
Recommendations……………………………………………………………..12-13
References……………………………………………………………………...14-16

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Health Workforce Planning
The Australian government council established the Health Workforce Australia (HWA)
with an aim to reform the health workforce. As such, the national agency provided
comprehensive reforms of the health workforce, which addressed the challenges of delivering
flexible and innovative health workforce in Australia. Thus, HWA is responsible for undertaking
health workforce planning exercises for medical practitioners, midwives, and nurses. Moreover,
there are essential principles that are implemented by HWA to facilitate adequate planning.
These principles include authoritative planning strategies at a national level, utilizing national
data, consultation and evaluation processes. Therefore, this article focuses on the strategies put in
place by the HWA, which provides an avenue for planning the necessary health reforms that
need to be addressed.
Australian Approach to Health Workforce (HW) Planning
According to Australian Government Initiative (2012), various challenges are affecting
the national HW planning; self-sufficiency, demographic, reform, and cost barriers. These
challenges have had a significant impact on HWA and systems. As such, HWA acknowledges
that the initiative undertaken by the government is based on strategic approaches, assumptions,
and data, which may differ to those utilized by the planners, jurisdictions, and professions
(McCarty & Fenech, 2013). The primary aim of HWA is to facilitate that a suitable pool of
practitioners is available to cater for the demand (Palliative Care Australia, 2013). Moreover,
WHO (2016) asserts that the organization has partnered with the “Health Worker Migration
Policy” initiatives, and the “Global Health Workforce Alliance” to develop a global code of
practice on various international health personnel recruitment. The code intends at tackling

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shortages in the global HW, and addressing issues connected to the mobility of HWs. These
include safety, healthcare and salaries of health practitioners who get employed in other country.
Additionally, specific strategies are canvassed to manage demand which includes making
additional resources available for health education and promotion. It is vital to consider that
funding plays a primary role in ensuring that early intervention and education is provided; this
means that the Australian government has to redistribute the current health budgets to cater for
the constantly rising demand (Tonts, Martinus & Plummer, 2013).
Strategies Developed By Australian Government
The government embarked on numerous reforms to qualified migration (Swing & Care,
2011). It is critical to note that skilled migration to Australia is either temporary or permanent
based on the capabilities and attributes. As such, temporary skilled migration occurs when
employers are unable to occupy skilled vacancies within their Australian labor market, and
unable to meet sponsorship obligations and the required payment rates (Curry, 2011). Thus, there
is no limitation on the number of visas that can be issued, which means that temporary skilled
migrants can transition to permanent residents through several possible avenues (Hall & Wilcox,
n.d). Alternatively, qualified migrants who are chosen can be distinguished into two distinct
decision making steps. Firstly, the migrants must be willing to leave their home nation for
Australia. Secondly, the destination nation must be willing to accept the migrant. Therefore, the
Australian government sets the policies that a migrant must meet to be a legal migrant in the
country (Koslowski, 2014). It is essential to note that the effectiveness of the State policies can
be evaluated based on what kind of migrants would be selected.

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As such, utilizing the frameworks developed by the Australian government aim at
identifying the adverse effects and reforming them. Hence, the Australian government focuses on
the supply and demand skilled migration through assigning tests to potential applicants whose
nominated occupation features on the MODL. This program was introduced to make skilled
migration is directed to labor market needs, and it is updated twice per year by evidence gathered
from advertisements on qualified employees. Consequently, the Australian government utilized
the chance offered by the worldwide economic crisis to facilitate MODL reviews. This was due
to concerns that it was no longer meeting its intended purpose. As such, there were concerns
regarding the blow-out in the occupations available.
Nevertheless, the Australian government decided to focus on supply-driven migration
within the whole workforce development approach (Wright, Groutsis & van den Broek, 2017).
Thus, Skills Australia is an agency that was tasked with the duty to provide the government with
guidelines on the provision of post-school training and education. As such, the government was
only required to intervene in specialized skills, while leaving the market to resolve other skill
shortages. These specialized skills were identified through the years taken to learn the skill, if the
skill had a high effect on the economic and social costs to local communities if it was not
adequately available, and if the skill had a high relation between the study filed and employment
in a particular occupation. Hence, the government required Skills Australia to suggest which
occupations met the market needs, and if they could be sourced through migration.
Unfortunately, some occupations were not available for migration due to the task needed to be
handled by a native citizen. Moreover, other occupations were termed temporarily unavailable
due to an oversupply of imported skills, which was against regulations that inhibit migrants

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displacing Australian employees. As such, the government resolved this by decreasing the
number of occupations for skilled migrants from 400 to 180 (Swing & Care, 2011).
Main Findings
The approach used in HW planning in Australia is supply and resource-driven instead of
need-based. As a result, there have been cycles of oversupply and shortages. Thus, the
techniques used tend to use sex and age projections as a standard metric of demand and need for
healthcare (Laurence & Karnon, 2016). As such, there has been less prioritization put to more
complex aspects of the Australian population; for instance, increase in the aging population and
chronic illness levels. Alternatively, Mason (2013) suggests that some of the health care
professionals have acquired further training overseas; approximately 15 percent of nurses and 25
percent of doctors. As such, the general acceptance of Australia’s reliance on international health
practitioners will progress in short to medium term to cater to the demand for health services.
Thus, the Australian government has engaged in various strategies of retaining, recruiting, and
supporting health professionals who were trained overseas.
Health Workforce Australia (2014) asserts that there are two stages of classifying nurses
in Australia-ENs and RNs. As such, an RN is an individual who has completed a three-year
bachelor’s degree, and registered with the NMBA. Thus, RNs practice interdependently and
independently, and are responsible for their actions to ENs. Hence, ENs work hand in hand with
RNs to provide sufferers with essential nursing care, and they also handle less complex
procedures compared to RNs.

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Figure 1:The total number of ENs and RNs was 331,804 in 2012.

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Table 1: The total number of ENs and RNs in Australia, 2011 to 2015
Table 2: Registered midwives in Australia, 2011 to 2015.

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The total number of ENs and RNs was 331,804 in 2012. Also, under the NRAS,
appropriate people are registered as midwives and nurses or both. This means that nurses who
are registered as midwives “Dual-registered nurses and midwives” are included in the nursing
registration tools. In spite of this, 82 percent were registered as RNs, while 18 percent were
registered as ENs. Consequently, of all the employed midwives and nurses (2015), only 79.6
percent received their initial nursing and midwifery training in Australia; 4.8 percent in England
and 2.9 percent in India. Also, some employed nurses and midwives received their initial training
in Malaysia-these reported the highest average age at 56 years.
Table 3: Registered medical practitioners in Australia, 2011 to 2015
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2016) suggest that the medical practitioners
supply increased in 2015 than previous years with a 1.8 percent annual growth rate. Additionally,
there was an oversupply of medical professionals working in various medical facilities in

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Australia’s States and territories. For instance, there was a 7.2 percent increase in the Northern
boundary, while South Australia experienced a 2.8 percent increase. This effect was due to the
increase in the national supply of employed medical professionals. Moreover, research indicated
that more than four in five registered medical professionals were active workers in their fields;
from 76 percent psychologists to 92 percent podiatrists. As such, the average working week for
medical practitioners they are ranged between 32 hours from Chinese professionals to 41 hours
for ATSI health professionals.
Figure 2: Permanent and Temporary HW migrations of skilled labor from (2008-2009 to
2015-2016)
From figure 2 it is evident that the number of permanent and temporary skilled medical
personnel in Australia has decreased from 2008-09 to 2015-16. This is due to the measures put

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the Australia government to decrease the number of skilled labor who began overtaking the
population of native Australian medical personnel (WHO, 2017).
Figure 3 illustrates the various trends in health practitioner migrating from various countries to
Australia. This consists of both temporary and permanent skilled labor.
Conclusion
HWA is responsible for undertaking health workforce planning exercises for medical
practitioners, midwives, and nurses. As such, the primary aim of HWA is to provide a suitable
pool of practitioners is available to cater for the demand. Alternatively, the Australian
government focuses on the supply and demand skilled migration through assigning tests to

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potential applicants whose nominated occupation features on the MODL. Therefore, the reform
and innovation scenarios seek to address outcomes on the future HW from strategies, which
could include reducing demand through enhancing preventative health metrics.
Recommendations
Research shows that the constant rise in the aging population in Australia affects the
supply of healthcare practitioners because HW ages while an increase in the demand for
healthcare services increases (Segal & Bolton, 2009). Furthermore, it is essential to note that
various factors influence HWA particularly on the demand level because of rising in income and
wealth, new technology emerges, and shift in public health prioritization. Fortunately, plans are
being put in place to redesign the workforce with an aim to enhance service delivery and
sustainability; this includes responding to the changing demands, while maintaining the quality
of patient care. Alternatively, changing and extending the scope of healthcare practices is
effective in addressing the high demand for health services (NSW Government, 2011). These
changes associate with demographic changes, decrease in healthcare dollars, and advanced
technology would assist in improving the challenges faced in HWA. Furthermore, pharmacist
practices have evolved to provide better care of patients. This prescribes a tool that facilitates the
delivery and effective healthcare services. Consequently, the Australian government supports
health practitioners through offering special education to the natives in certain fields that were
not locally available.

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References
Australian Government Initiative. (2012). Health Workforce 2025: Doctors, Nurses and
Midwives Volume 1. Health Workforce Australia. Retrieved from:
https://submissions.education.gov.au/forms/archive/2015_16_sol/documents/
Attachments/Australian%20Nursing%20and%20Midwi
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2016). Workforce. Australian Institute of Health and
Welfare. Retrieved from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/health-welfare-
services/workforce/reports
Curry, M. (2011). Skilled Migration Selection Policies: Recent Australian Reforms. Australian
Department of Immigration and Citizenship or the Australian Government. Retrieved
from: http://legacy.iza.org/en/papers/7882_10042012.pdf
Hall & Wilcox. (n.d). Guide for Sponsoring Skilled Personnel to Australia-482 Visa. Hall &
Wilcox. Retrieved from: https://hallandwilcox.com.au/guide-sponsoring-skilled-
personnel-australia-482-visa/
Health Workforce Australia. (2014). Australia’s Future Health Workforce-Nurses.
Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from:
http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/content/34AA7E6FDB8C16AAC
A257D9500112F25/$File/AFHW%20-%20Nurses%
Koslowski, R. (2014). Selective migration policy models and changing realities of
implementation. International Migration, 52(3), 26-39.

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Laurence, C. O., & Karnon, J. (2016). Improving the planning of the GP workforce in Australia:
a simulation model incorporating work transitions, health need and service usage. Human
resources for health, 14(1), 13.
Mason, J. (2013). Review of Australian government health workforce programs. Retrieved from:
https://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/D26858F4B68834EAC
A257BF0001A8DDC/$File/Review%20of%20Health%20
McCarty, M. V., & Fenech, B. J. (2013). Towards best practice in national health workforce
planning. Medical Journal of Australia, 199, S10-S13.
NSW Government. (2011). Health Professionals Workforce Plan Taskforce. NSW Ministry of
Health. Retrieved from:
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/workforce/hpwp/Publications/hpwp-discussion.pdf
Palliative Care Australia. (2013). Workforce for Quality care at the End of Life. Palliative Care
Australia. Retrieved from: http://palliativecare.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/PCA-
Workforce-position-statement.pdf
Segal, L., & Bolton, T. (2009). Issues facing the future health care workforce: the importance of
demand modelling. Australia and New Zealand Health Policy, 6(1), 12.
Swing, W.L., & Care, G. (2011). Migration Policy Practice. International Organization for
Migration. Retrieved from:
http://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/migrationpolicypracticejournal_11311.pdf

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Tonts, M., Martinus, K., & Plummer, P. (2013). Regional development, redistribution and the
extraction of mineral resources: the Western Australian Goldfields as a resource
bank. Applied Geography, 45, 365-374.
World Health Organization (WHO). (2017). Health workforce mobility: migration and
integration in Australia. World Health Organization. Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/hrh/Track-Health-workforce-mobility-Hawthorne-15Nov-15h30-
17h.pdf?ua=1
World Health Organization (WHO). (2016). Health workforce migration and the WHO global
code of practice on the international recruitment of health personnel. World Health
Organization. Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/workforcealliance/ECmigration_brochure_13Aug15.pdf
Wright, C. F., Groutsis, D., & van den Broek, D. (2017). Employer-sponsored temporary labour
migration schemes in Australia, Canada and Sweden: enhancing efficiency,
compromising fairness?. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 43(11), 1854-1872.