Welcome to the web site of the Australian Health Workforce Institute.

The current pressures on the Australian health care system demand some radical surgery. About 9 per cent of Australians are already working in the health sector. This is the fastest growing employment sector, and it is predicted that by 2025 some 20 per cent of the workforce will need to be engaged in health-related jobs if we are to deliver the present level of services, let alone innovations. This increased demand for health workers -- driven by an ageing population, many of whom have chronic diseases -- will place significant pressures on a workforce already under stress.

Doctor, nurse and other health professional shortages in Australia are only a reflection of a worldwide trend, as exemplified by the recent World Health Organisation workforce report showing a 4.3 million shortfall in health workers globally over the next decade.

So what, apart from more cash, is needed? We have to make the health system more efficient: inject good business practice into the billion-dollar industry and expand the health workforce by creating new models of care, involving nurse practitioners, physician assistants, carers and other doctor extenders.