Health Ministers convene to address essential reforms amid mounting system strains

Health Ministers convened in Hobart on Friday to address a suite of pressing issues, including health reforms and workforce challenges.

Health Ministers continued negotiating for the National Health Reform Agreement (NHRA) with discussions centred on implementing recommendations from the Mid-term Review to create a more “integrated public health system”. A draft First Nations Schedule for the 2025-2030 NHRA Addendum was also reviewed at the meeting.

Notably, despite escalating pressures within the private healthcare sector, this critical issue was conspicuously absent from the agenda.

“Australia’s health system needs structural reform. As the system strains to meet growing demand, it will also have to change, fixing the mismatch between the system we inherited from the 20th century and the system we need for the future,” said Peter Breadon, Health Program Director at the Grattan Institute.

“The emphasis must shift from hospital care to keeping people healthy. The configuration of the system, from the workforce, to infrastructure, to digital systems, needs to be planned as a whole, not in silos. And how funding is divided should be based on population health needs, and the results that services will achieve, not based on turf, precedent, and cost-shifting,” he added.

In response to immediate workforce shortages, Health Ministers backed expedited pathways for priority Specialist International Medical Graduates (SIMGs). However, the move has faced strong opposition from medical bodies including the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR).

“The proposal, in its current form, lacks the mechanisms to make an impact where it’s needed most and puts patient safety and standards of care at risk. It’s important to get this right. Let’s not rush it,” emphasised RACS President, Associate Professor Kerin Fielding.

RACS raised concerns over insufficient oversight for SIMGs in regional and rural areas and the risk of creating a two-tier workforce with uneven standards.

“We have real concerns about the potential this has to erode the rigorous professional standards we set for our medical specialists,” Associate Professor Fielding added.

RANZCR echoed these concerns. “By rushing registration processes [for international specialists] and introducing different standards for various regions, we risk creating disparities in care, with some Australians receiving a lower standard of specialist care than others, simply because of their location,” said Clinical Professor John Slavotinek, RANZCR President.

Martin Fletcher, CEO of Ahpra, updated ministers on the rollout of the expedited pathways. General practice has already adopted the pathway, with anaesthesia and psychiatry set to follow by December 2024, and obstetrics and gynaecology by February 2025. General medicine, general paediatrics, and diagnostic radiology have been identified as the next priorities.

Health Ministers also approved the addition of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD) to Australia’s Newborn Bloodspot Screening (NBS) program for male newborns and initiated further work on screening female newborns. This marks the first time X-ALD will be included in the NBS programs. States and territories will begin preparations to integrate the screening.

With over 1,300 locally acquired cases of mpox reported in Australia this year, Health Ministers emphasised the need for a coordinated national response. They requested the Australian Health Protection Committee to provide urgent advice, in consultation with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), on expanding testing, vaccination, and inclusive public communication strategies.

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