News
RACGP calls for removal of general practitioner from strategic skills list
The RACGP has made a submission to the Department of Employment and various health ministers as part of its advocacy efforts for the removal of ‘general practitioner’ from the Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List.
The RACGP wants ‘general practitioner’ removed from the lists due to current and projected workforce numbers following the recent increase in Australian-trained medical graduates.
The Federal Government announced reforms to Australia’s temporary and permanent skilled visa programs in April 2017. These reforms included regular updates of the skilled occupation lists – the Short Term Skilled Occupation Lists (STSOL) and the Medium and Long Term Strategic Skills List (MLTSSL) – that underpin these visa programs. These reforms were designed to ensure the lists would be more responsive to genuine skill needs across Australia.
With the Department of Employment’s next update to the lists due in January 2018, ‘general practitioner’ remains on the MLTSSL, with no change expected.
In reviewing these lists, the Department Of Employment created the Traffic Light Bulletin for public consultation and submission. The RACGP’s submission advocates for the removal of ‘general practitioner’ from the MLTSSL because:
- Australia currently has an adequate supply of GPs
- the increasing number of medical graduates means Australia is in danger of oversupply of GPs
- medical workforce issues in Australia are no longer a matter of supply, but rather a matter of misdistribution.
In an effort to draw more attention to the issue, the RACGP has sent its submission to a number of politicians:
- Greg Hunt, Minister for Health
- Michaelia Cash, Minister for Employment
- Catherine King, Shadow Minister for Health and Medicare
- Ed Husic, Shadow Minister for Employment Services, Workforce Participation and Future of Work
- Brendan O’Connor, Shadow Minister for Employment and Workforce Participation
The submission was also sent to healthcare organisations that are likely to be experiencing similar issues of workforce supply, including the Australian Medical Association (AMA), the Confederate of Postgraduate Medical Education Councils, and the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges.
The full submission to the consultation on skilled migration occupation lists is available on the
RACGP website.
doctor-oversupply medical-graduates Strategic-Skills-List
newsGP weekly poll
Would you feel confident diagnosing ADHD and initiating treatments if laws allowed you to do so?