Reliance on Migration for Health Workforce Planning in Australia

This report examines Australia's dependence on international migration to meet its health workforce needs. It provides data and statistics highlighting the country's reliance on migrant healthcare professionals due to shortages in nursing and medicine. The report analyzes current Australian gover...Read More

Running head: HEALTH WORKFORCE PLANNING
Health Workforce Planning
Student’s Name
Affiliate Institution

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Executive Summary
This report provides information, data, and statistics on the level of reliance of Australia
on international migration for the health workforce, the reasons for this developments and
whether the current policies adequately address the adverse effects of health worker migration.
The significant findings and recommendations on the same include:
- Shortages in specific capacities of nursing and medicine in Australia remain and are
anticipated to increase owing to an international deficiency of health workers.
- In the current era, as confirmed by the OECD, Australia has established an unusual
reliance on migrant healthcare workforce.
- Current Australian government policies on international health worker migration
include; privatization of Australia’s trained migration platform, deletion of a three-
year admissibility scale, and medical migrants are presently admitted on a short-term
rather than a long-term foundation.
- Current policies are sustainable since Australia has exploited proficiency exploitation
and curtailed excess.
- To reduce the adverse effects of health worker migration, Australia should; capitalize
on safe working environments, increase salary and enticements, and decentralize task
management.
- Australia’s reliance on international health workforce remains strong.
Table of Contents

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Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
How dependent is Australia presently on Transnational Medical Employee Immigration to meet
labor force hoard..............................................................................................................................3
Current Australian Government Policies on International Health Worker Migration....................4
Historical reasons for these developments in Australia...................................................................8
Sustainability of the Current Policies..............................................................................................9
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................10
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Transnational immigrants perform an imperative duty within the healthcare personnel of
developed nations such as Australia. Presently, migrant terminus states have depended on
overseas-native and overseas-skilled specialists to take up stations athwart the expertise range, as
of household health assistants and aides to dentists, pharmacists, caregivers, doctors, and health
experts (Iredale, 2015). Shortages in specific capacities of nursing and medicine remain and are
anticipated to increase owing to an international deficiency of health workers. Placing history to
the front would aid legislators to recognize the importance of Australia’s constant reliance on
overseas health workers and the necessity consequently both to advance fairness and prospect for
such health workers and to assimilate this element of health workforce scheduling into national
immigration strategy.
How dependent is Australia presently on Transnational Medical Employee Immigration to
meet labor force hoard
Ten years ago, the Australian medical personnel comprised 82 895 enumerated
physicians, likened to 57 553 in 1999 of whom 90% were working in the health staff, practically
all as doctors (a quotient of 3 for each 1000 of the populace, average for OECD states).
Generally, 25 707 physicians were working as prime attention physicians (an increase of a
quarter in the preceding era), with an additional 24 290 experts (+48%), 9154 experts in
preparation (+106%) and 7677 infirmary amateurs (+72%). In 2011–2012, Australia’s medical
personnel also comprised 326 669 enumerated nurses and midwives (8% increase from 2007,

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with 90% of all nurses and midwives being women), 26 547 enumerated pharmacologists, 23
501 physiotherapists, and 19 087 dental specialists (Foster, Henman, Gable, & Denton, 2016).
In the current era, as confirmed by the OECD, Australia has established an unusual
reliance on immigrants (Khoo, Voigt-Graf, McDonald, & Hugo, 2016). As of 2006, almost 50%
of inhabitants with health training were foreign-born. Between 2006 and August 2011, an
additional 12 696 physicians voyaged every migration classes (threefold the sum conventional
from 1996–2000) crossways. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, by
2009, a quarter of Australia's 72 739 pathologically working personnel was educated abroad.
This number escalates to 36% of doctors in local regions, centered on a 2011 Parliamentary
estimation. As validated by the 2011 Census, 57% of immigrants held health occupation in
Australia in their opening half a decade year (Merçay, 2014).
Current Australian Government Policies on International Health Worker Migration
The denationalization of Australia’s trained migration platform has become marked. By
2009, 70% of short-term and long-term labor immigrants were subsidized – in positions of
medication classically to engage in capacities of requisite for a minimum of four years (Ray,
Lowell, & Spencer, 2016). Beginning 2010, funded immigrants have assured primacy treating:
rated first when employer-sponsored, second and third when sponsored by States, and fourth
when seeking to voyage on the common marks-assessment free foundation.
There was a severe upsurge in new 457 visas given out last financial year (2010–11 up
34% year-on-year). If this tendency stays then the yearly impermanent skilled immigration
intake might soon surpass the yearly perpetual trained immigration intake, as it did once before

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2007–08, since perpetual immigration is subject to a yearly control and impermanent
immigration is not (chart 1).
Chart 1: Perpetual trained immigration admission versus impermanent skilled 457 visas 1999-
11
In a noticeable withdrawal from Australia’s typical immigration exemplary, the
mainstream of medical immigrants is presently admitted on a short-term rather than a long-term
foundation (Wright, 2016). From 2005–2006 to 2010–2011, 17 910 IMGs were subsidized on
457 visas, likened to only 2790 nominated in the General Skilled Migration class. From 2005–
2006 to 2009–2010, 15 960 nurses were also admitted, along with 660 dentists, 420
physiotherapists, and 160 pharmacologists. In the three years to June 2013, an additional 22 110
immigrants were subsidized through the 457 visas, comprising 9115 physicians, 8410 nurses,

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and 330 dentists. This comprised two-thirds of the 31 576 medical trained immigration aggregate
at this stage.
Considered under the Keating Labor regime and officially presented soon after John
Howard steered the Liberal–National Party Coalition to supremacy in 1996, the 457 visa was
originally proposed to be an interim measure to seal impermanent skills openings in the
Australian labor market till the internal education and teaching scheme could catch up with
ultimatum. But in the years after it was formed, use of the 457 visa class grew intensely. Even
though figures fell back in the course of the international economic crisis, the stock of 457 visa
holders in the country in 2010 was still virtually duple that of five years earlier (up from 64 340
to 116 012) (chart 2).
Chart 2: 457 visa holders in Australia 2005-10 (Wright, 2016)

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Within this current policy perspective, advanced ways to exercise and registering have
remained established, steered by the central regime with cross-national Municipal and Region
backing. The Australian medical legislators have developed an objective for local self-reliance.
Their imperious to 2025 is to take in immigrants capable of making an immediate influence. As
of 2010, conferring to the Rural Workforce Agency, Victoria, and 36% of the 1209 overall
physicians (GP's) employed in the countryside, as well as faraway Victoria, had acquired their
primary health requirement abroad. As timely as 2007, IMG's consisted of 52% of landscape
plus faraway GPs in Western Australia, sourced from 33 states of training. By 2010, this had
increased slightly to 53% – twice the degree of reliance in 2002.
Twenty years ago, succeeding Australia’s deletion of a three-year admissibility scale,
transnational scholars turned out to be proximately competent to a voyage (Louis, Duck, Terry,
& Lalonde, 2016). In a year of this strategy amendment, approximately half of GSM contenders
were holders of native grades, reducing to slightly above a quarter in the current age. As from
2002, past transnational scholars were allowed to seek for aground – preferably positioned to
earn the mandatory scores if they owned an aptitude-linked grade, were aged between 18 and 29
years, had unconventional English semantic capacity (with analysis relieved), and an Australian
requirement of twofold years in an excellent precedence size (encompassing nearly every
medical occupations). By 2010, conferring to the latest research, 242 711 international scholars
were registered in Australian institution of higher education studies – comprising 139 902 in
bachelor notches, 80 935 in masters grooves, and 13 355 in doctoral classes (about 8% finishing
medical examinations). Instigations in health and linked medical programs have persisted in
increasing, from 6255 in 2008 to 6993 in 2010, producing 18 487 aggregate admissions.

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In addition to those on bridging visas and awaiting their perpetual citizenship requests to
be deliberated, there is another group of 62 000 international student graduates who have been
issued with, or who have applied for 18-month long 485 Skilled–Graduate (Temporary) Visas
(chart 3).
Chart 3: Transnational scholars and apprentice alumnae and joining and 485 visas (Cully,
2012)
Historical reasons for these developments in Australia
Fundamental health dangers connected through transnational populace migrations have
compelled the expansion of state and transnational boundary regulation therapeutic strategies in
Australia. The plans mirror the capacities plus varieties of populaces in movement amid states
besides areas with vast differences in infection jeopardy as well as an occurrence (Blake, 2012).
The controlling of contagious illnesses plus improvements in contagion regulation observes

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impelled Surgeon General William Stewart of the United States Public Health Service to
pronounce in 1969 that it was "time to close the book on infectious diseases." Nevertheless, the
transnational menace of contagious illnesses continues to occur and continues through
immigration.
In what can be perceived as a strategy exemplar change, the UN Millennium
Development Goals allied indigenous socio-economic action (referring to education, scarcity,
starvation, gender parity, women empowerment, and development) straight to particular health
aftermaths.
Sustainability of the Current Policies
The principles of medical labor force immigration stay intricate. Australia takes in
workforces on the transnational market to curb labor market shortages (Blake, 2010). Susceptible
strain concerning its specified moral objectives and push-pull immigration diminuendos lingers.
Additionally, the denationalization of skilled immigration is resulting in an abridged government
omission accountability. Correspondingly, Australia has upgraded its enactment on a subsequent
principled aspect. Australia has exploited proficiency exploitation and curtailed excess. In
international footings, it achieves comparatively fine on this notch, devising several ways to
attain complete registering.
Modifications the Australian Regime ought to deliberate executing to lessen the
Undesirable influences of Medical Employee Immigration
Capitalizing in safe working settings- Program managers attribute extraordinary holding
degrees in individual hospitals to the eminence of the hospice amenities, which are supplied with

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needed medications and expertise so that international health workers are not discouraged by
their incapacity to deliver care (Breen, 2016).
Increasing salary and enticements- satellite Internet services should be provided, which
will allow doctors to converse with their kinfolks and proficient associates and will give them
access to extensive medical reference resources and patient supervision schemes.
Devolving task management- aspects such as the self-sufficiency and objectivity of the
international team, mutual accountability for actions, and a concentration on refining schemes
and developing workforce capacity will help to generate an empowering setting in which
international staff will feel endowed to perform and to undertake accountability for hitches and
their elucidations.
Conclusion
Modeling by Health Workforce Australia suggests that the country’s dependency level on
migratory medical specialists will stay robust. In case 50% condense entry in the next 5 or 6
years, a shortage of 129 818 nurses and 9300 physicians are projected (increasing to -148 113
nurses and -15 240 physicians if immigration is to be slashed by 95%). The concern is well
beyond the figures. Labor force misdistribution stands a deep-seated matter in Australia – one
fundamentally looked into to today by immigration.

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References
Blake, N. (2010). Nursing Migration: issues of equity and balance. Australian Nursing
Journal, 18(3), 24–27. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=aph&AN=53325132&site=ehost-live
Breen, F. (2016). Australian Immigration Policy in Practice: a case study of skill recognition and
qualification transferability amongst Irish 457 visa holders. Australian
Geographer, 47(4), 491–509. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049182.2016.1220895
Cully, M. (2012). More than Additions to Population: The Economic and Fiscal Impact of
Immigration. Australian Economic Review, 45(3), 344–349.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8462.2012.00693.x
Foster, M., Henman, P., Gable, A., & Denton, M. (2016). Population health performance as
primary healthcare governance in Australia: professionals and the politics of production.
Policy Studies, 37(6), 521–534. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2015.1118028
Iredale, R. (2015). “Luring Overseas Trained Doctors to Australia: Issues of Training,
Regulating and Trading.” International Migration, 47(4), 31–65.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2009.00563.x
Khoo, S.-E., Voigt-Graf, C., McDonald, P., & Hugo, G. (2017). Temporary Skilled Migration to
Australia: Employers’ Perspectives1. International Migration, 45(4), 175–201.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2007.00423.x

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Louis, W. R., Duck, J. M., Terry, D. J., & Lalonde, R. N. (2010). Speaking Out on Immigration
Policy in Australia: Identity Threat and the Interplay of Own Opinion and Public
Opinion. Journal of Social Issues, 66(4), 653–672. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-
4560.2010.01669.x
Merçay, C. (2014). Managing the International Migration of Health Workers: The Development
of the WHO Code of Practice. Journal of Ethnic & Migration Studies, 40(6), 960–978.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2013.855076
Ray, K. M., Lowell, B. L., & Spencer, S. (2016). International Health Worker Mobility: Causes,
Consequences, and Best Practices. International Migration, 44(2), 181–203.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2435.2006.00368.x
Wright, C. F. (2015). Why Do States Adopt Liberal Immigration Policies? The Policymaking
Dynamics of Skilled Visa Reform in Australia. Journal of Ethnic & Migration
Studies, 41(2), 306–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2014.910446