Disparate Health Workers

Australia?s employed health workforce has been growing considerably faster than the population. Between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses, the health workforce increased by over 11%, nearly double the population growth of around 6%. However, this growth was not uniform across the workforce. By occupation, the number of enrolled nurses grew by only 2.7% and the numbers of registered nurses grew by 7.3%. Allied and complementary health professions grew at 26.5% and 29.6% - four and five times the growth in population in this period. Pay rates and preference for lifestyle not impacted by shift work have something to do with this trend.

When the baby boomer nurses finally clock off and as Australian ageing increases, the only solution will be increasing the migration points for trained nurses and hoping they are available from an English speaking country not going through an ageing crisis ? Philippines and India seem to fit this criteria.

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