After several years of divisive debate, the Federal review of the Skill Occupation List has concluded with GPs and other medical specialists still among the ranks of sought-after skills.

Peter Chong of PR Migration Services said, ”There are no conditions attached to the profession and generally applications can still get the four year 457 visa”.

There has been a mere 12.5 per cent increase in the number of Australian doctors between 2004-2015.

Doctors’ place on the Skill Occupation List has been an issue in the medical community for a long time, with the national undersupply of GPs being met with foreign imports.

However, with efforts to encourage more Australians to take up a stethoscope limited, this decision seems sound. It ensures qualified international doctors can still secure their dream career move to Australia.

The Australian doctor shortage

Australia has had an increasing undersupply of doctors over the last 15+ years – The Department of Health (DoH) indicates there were just over 22,000 GPs nationwide in 2002, meaning there were roughly 111 for every 100,000 people.

But the way to address this shortage has been a point of contention. Adding a number of medical professions to the Skilled Occupation List was an obvious solution. This allowed overseas doctors to practice in Australia under a 457 visa after passing national medical exams.

Many, however, thought this would do nothing to address the undersupply of Australian doctors nor the shortfall in rural and remote parts of the country.

Why GPs should remain on the Skill Occupation List

Despite strong calls from the Royal Australian College of GPs to remove medical professions from the Skill List because there are now ‘enough Aussie GPs’, the statistics say otherwise.

There was only a 30.5 per cent increase in the number of Australian-trained doctors between 2002-2017 as of DoH statistics, showing attempts to raise the numbers of locally trained doctors has been slow in bearing fruit. Similarly, DoH data shows the population of nationally-qualified GPs in inner and outer regional areas has only increased by around 36 per cent over this time. In contrast, the number of overseas-qualified doctors has more than doubled on average between 2002-2017.

This shows the important role overseas doctors’ desires to work in Australia plays in bringing healthcare to regional areas.

Working to get qualified GPs into rural roles is part of the service Your Doctor Jobs offers – the natural beauty and opportunity for career fulfilment is a big draw in and of itself for overseas doctors. This recruitment is also vital for ensuring rural populations have the same access to medical help as their urban counterparts.

How we help overseas GPs make the dream Australian move

The team at Your Doctor Jobs are experts at placing qualified doctors in roles they really want, especially in under-served areas in rural Australia. Satisfied Your Doctor Jobs’ customer Dr. Louis Koster, following his recent move to Mt Isa in rural Queensland, says, ”I wanted a change from the city; in rural communities everyone knows each other, and the remoteness is comforting,” he says.

Your Doctor Jobs’ recruitment services are helping overseas doctors find their dream role.

”Once Your Doctor Jobs found the opportunity for me to relocate, I couldn’t say no”.

Your Doctor Jobs’ medical recruitment services are key to helping expert overseas doctors find the medical role they want. Working with a recruiter gives you a greater likelihood of finding a GP role that blends career satisfaction with a lifestyle you want to lead. It gives you an advantage in the competitive medical sector – an experienced recruiter can the difference between ‘just another job’ and the one you’ve always wanted.

Working with you from first contact to getting you into your dream role, the Your Doctor Jobs difference is built of a commitment to finding a role that suits the doctor, not the opposite.

Take advantage of the chance to work as a GP in Australia – contact the Your Doctor Jobs team today by clicking below.