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RACGP backs IMG red tape reduction
Federal Government bureaucracy can be cut but the college makes no apology for ensuring standards are maintained, says RACGP Rural Chair.
The application process for IMGs wishing to work in Australia often takes more than a year.
RACGP Rural Chair Dr Michael Clements knows only too well the obstacles facing practices wishing to recruit international medical graduates (IMGs).
The challenges, which have existed for many years, were highlighted in the media last weekend following comments by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard. He said delays ‘should be ringing alarm bells in the offices of the Federal Health Department and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners’ and that they risked creating a healthcare ‘apocalypse’.
At Dr Clements’ Queensland practice it took a total of 18 months to take on a GP previously based in the UK – and he says it is commonplace for the bureaucracy to take more than a year.
‘I certainly agree with [Minister Hazzard’s] comments that it’s a very long and arduous process to go from being interested in working in Australia to actually delivering services,’ Dr Clements told newsGP.
While he welcomes the spotlight on the issue, the resolution of which he believes is crucial to addressing current workforce shortages, he believes the administration needs to be addressed at a Federal level, rather than by the college.
‘We don’t accept that there should be a different rule of standards for whether you see a doctor in the middle of Sydney versus Burke,’ Dr Clements said.
‘The Australian public expects to be able to walk into any GP clinic in any state in any city and rural town and have a level of reassurance about the skills and safety of that particular clinician, and also the supervision standards.
‘We don’t apologise for the standards that we maintain.’
In response to a newsGP inquiry, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) said the process usually takes 6–8 weeks ‘once we have a complete application’ – although a query about the average time of applications was not addressed.
‘Our assessment processes must be robust,’ an AHPRA spokesperson told newsGP.
‘The level and type of information we ask for aims to ensure adequate protection for the public.
‘Sometimes, practitioners also need to complete assessments with others before applying for registration.’
They said documents need to be carefully assessed which can involve repeated correspondence with the applicant to ensure registration standards are met.
‘Sometimes, practitioners also need to complete assessments with others before applying for registration,’ the spokesperson said.
AHPRA also pointed to recent moves announced to address the issue at National Cabinet level.
‘We are pleased First Ministers have decided to progress our proposals to improve skills and qualifications recognition,’ they stated.
‘We look forward to working closely with colleges, governments, accreditation authorities and other stakeholders to progress this work.’
At a National Cabinet meeting last month, First Ministers also agreed to an ‘independently-led, rapid review of regulatory settings for both Australian and overseas trained health professionals’.
The report is due early next year.
For Dr Clements, much of the problem derives from an overly rigid bureaucracy.
‘Each department wants to wait for the other department to do their job before they do their step,’ he said.
‘That’s where a lot of the delays are.
‘What we’ve been talking to [Federal Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler’s] office about is parallel processing, where everything can happen at once, and then there’s a final sign off.’
He also believes there is not enough support for IMGs coming to Australia.
‘They’re on their own,’ he said. ‘They’ve got to navigate these exams, these systems, these processes, the costs are very expensive by themselves – and there’s nobody coordinating that.’
It is an area where Minister Hazzard could have some influence, according to Dr Clements.
‘He’s very welcome to start some programs within New South Wales to identify these doctors, mentor them, give them clinical placements in hospitals, support them with education, training, language support,’ he said.
‘For many of them, that big delay is in learning the Australian system, getting up to scratch with how GPs work here.
‘New South Wales Health is very welcome to contribute to this space and support them do that.’
More than half (52%) of the rural GP workforce already comprises IMGs, and with the issues caused by border closures now lifting, they are also likely to be crucial to address the current workforce shortfalls.
‘We’re in such a GP crisis right now, both urban and rural, that we need to see some quick results,’ Dr Clements said.
‘And that’s only going to come from international medical graduates, not from university students. because the pipeline is so long there.
‘We’re really grateful that Minister Hazzard has identified this group of people need support.
‘Some of it is within New South Wales Health’s control and we welcome discussions with him on how to do that.
‘We shouldn’t really be pointing fingers at whose fault it is. We just need to talk about what we’re going to do about it.’
The RACGP has published guidelines on how to migrate to Australia as an international GP on its website.
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