International medical workforce surge under Ahpra’s streamlined registration processes

10 Sep 2024

More doctors registered in faster clearance times

More international medical practitioners are being registered to work safely in Australia in faster clearance times, according to data released today by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra).

Action to streamline Ahpra’s registration processes has seen a surge in new international medical practitioners registered to enter the Australian workforce, with 1,205 more overseas qualified doctors registered in the 2023-24 financial year than in the previous 12 months.

The influx equates to a 27 per cent annual increase in the number of international applicants approved to work in Australia, with a 26 per cent decrease in the time taken to assess their applications.

Changes implemented on 18 December last year mean that overseas-based applicants are no longer required to undergo an in-person identity check by coming to Australia before being registered and coming. Having provided sufficient documents to verify identity while offshore, overseas applicants must provide further evidence of identity operating in Australia once registered and living in Australia. This further evidence is required at the time of first renewal of registration.

This has had a significant impact in improving the number of international doctors registered as well as the time taken to assess their applications. (See data table below)

Ahpra CEO Martin Fletcher said the figures are proof that improvements to the registration process were better serving practitioners, health systems and, most importantly, Australian patients.

‘We want to do everything possible to make Australia an attractive work destination for international medical graduates by simplifying the process while not compromising on safety,’ Mr Fletcher said.

‘We are in a time of unprecedented demand for health services and practitioners. State and territory health systems are aiming to recruit thousands of international health workers to ease the strain on our health systems, and Ahpra is working closely with our health partners to ensure they are safe, qualified and ready.’

To be registered to work in Australia, internationally trained medical practitioners must provide proof of their training and qualifications, international criminal history checks, English language skills, Australian employer documentation, application forms and identity checks, among other safeguards.

In the 2023-24 financial year, 5,717 international medical graduate applications were finalised, an increase of 1,205 on the previous financial year. The average time taken to assess those applications decreased significantly from 110 days in 2022-23, to 87 days.

Ahpra has worked hard to improve the registration system, while maintaining all the necessary quality and safety checks, in line with recommendations from the Kruk Review into health practitioner regulatory settings that was released in December last year.

In another strategy to get more doctors practising in Australia, the Medical Board of Australia in April announced plans for a new fast-track registration pathway that will recognise specific overseas specialist qualifications and grant upfront specialist registration to eligible doctors.

This new pathway, initially prioritising GPs, is on track to open in October, subject to Ministerial approval. Specialists with accepted qualifications in anaesthetics, psychiatry, and obstetrics and gynaecology are expected to l be included by December 2024.

Medical Board of Australia Chair, Dr Anne Tonkin AO, said the Board was fast tracking regulatory reforms to help make Australia a globally competitive destination for internationally qualified doctors.

’We’re doing what we can with the regulatory levers we have to attract skilled medical specialists to Australia, while keeping standards high,’ Dr Tonkin said.

’The entire health sector is under pressure. We are grateful to our colleagues in specialist medical colleges for sharing their expertise to support both regulatory reform and patient safety.’

Contact us

• For media enquiries or to arrange to speak to the case studies below, phone (03) 8708 9200.
• For registration enquiries, please phone 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 9125 3010 (overseas callers).

Appendix A: data tables

New International Medical Graduate applications finalised and average days from received to finalised

Appendix B: Experiences of practitioners and administrators using improved registration processes

Dr Sana Mahmud (Launceston, Tasmania): Dr Mahmud first registered as a doctor in Australia in January 2012 after emigrating from Pakistan She has post graduate qualifications in obstetrics and gynaecology from the UK and Ireland and is also a specialist GP who in 2022 was awarded the Australian Patients’ Association’s Most Outstanding GP in Australia Award. She is now director of the workplace-based assessment (WBA) program while continuing clinical work at Launceston General Hospital.

‘I have had many dealings with Ahpra over the past 12 years with my various registrations and they have all been very positive and I was helped by the staff to have a smooth start to my career in a new country,’ Dr Mahmud said.

‘Most recently I had to deal with the registration team over my fellowship registration and, while I was more confident with dealing with the process, this was a lot more streamlined that in the past. I got very prompt emails from the case manager, and I was able to complete the process in just four weeks.

‘My transition process from registration from an international medical graduate with limited registration to a specialist general practitioner was seamless and smooth and done in a timely and professional manner.

‘We want you here working in our health system and Ahpra is certainly assisting to deal with the workforce shortages by way of easier processes.’

Georgie Nash (project coordinator GP recruitment, Rural Health West, Western Australia): Ms Nash has spent the past 13 years working as a facilitator to recruit and retain medical practitioners in rural Western Australia. Around 55 per cent of the workforce she manages are international medical graduates and are vital in providing much needed health services in rural and remote parts of Western Australia.

‘I act as an authorised agent assisting medical candidates from all over the world, who want to work in Australia, through the registration process,’ Ms Nash said.

‘There have been improvements to the Ahpra processes over the past 13 years. There is a lot more clarity in the process, faster responses from the registration team and much better two-way communication.’

Andrea Edwards (practice adviser, Wunan Health and Well-being Centre, East Kimberley, Western Australia): Ms Edwards owns her own GP practice in Perth but also works as a consultant practice advisor to the Wunan Health and Well-being Centre in remote WA. Part of that work is cross-checking and aligning the paperwork of international practitioners so they can be registered to work in Australia.

‘I have recently worked to get a doctor from Malaysia registered to work in the East Kimberley, who has now been approved by Ahpra, and the process was so much easier than in the past,’ Ms Edwards said.

‘One of the best changes to the process is there is no longer a need for the doctor to present in person for an identity check. This streamlined the process and meant our doctor didn’t have to make an extra trip to Perth to verify who she is.

‘There are great incentives, including extensive financial rewards, for international practitioners to be fly in, fly out medical practitioners. It is a great career path, and we would keenly support international practitioners coming to Australia to provide these much-needed services to our communities in need.’

* Case study contacts available on request.