The Visas for GPs initiative will manage growth in Australia’s medical workforce by regulating the number of doctors entering Australia to work in the primary healthcare sector through the skilled migration program. The Visas for GPs initiative will commence on 11 March 2019.
All employers nominating a position that will be filled by a doctor who needs a visa to work in the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO) occupations below will be required to obtain certification (a Health Workforce Certificate) from a Rural Workforce Agency (RWA). A Health Workforce Certificate is a letter issued by a RWA confirming the genuine need to fill a primary healthcare position at a given location in Australia by a doctor in the following three occupations:
- General Practitioner (ANZSCO 253111)
- Resident Medical Officer (ANZSCO 253112)
- Medical Practitioners not elsewhere classified (ANZSCO 253999).
Employers will be required to attach a Health Workforce Certificate to their nomination application for any of the following employer sponsored visas:
- Temporary Skill Shortage (subclass 482) visa
- Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visa
- Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (subclass 187) visa.
Under this initiative, the number of doctors entering the primary healthcare workforce through the skilled migration program will be reduced by about 200 doctors a year, over a period of four years. This initiative will direct doctors into areas that have lower access to services such as rural, remote and regional areas of Australia.
Further information regarding the Visas for GPs initiative, HWC and RWA is on the Department of Health’s DoctorConnect website. http://www.doctorconnect.gov.au/internet/otd/publishing.nsf/Content/visas_for_GPs
To learn more Contact Us in the UK or Australia.