Australian Health Department Wants Decreased Immigration of Overseas Doctors

Here’s not a too good news report for the skilled medical professionals from abroad, keen to work in Australia!

The nation’s Health Department is eager to see 41 medical jobs taken away from the nation’s Skilled Occupations List (SOL), even as it would mean that several skilled doctors from abroad would not be any more in a position to get Work Visas for the country. Resident Medical Officers, General Practitioners, Surgeons, and Anaesthetists are just some of the processionals the department is keen to chuck out from the list.

The department reportedly hopes that the local doctors will fill the different areas of need--particularly in the nation’s inaccessible areas. The same claims that with a big figure of the doctors from abroad at present working in Down Under--together with an increasing figure of the local graduates--the doctors trained in Oz will lose out, in case some immigration paths continue to be available.

Still, originally before the election, the Prime Minister Turnbull’s Administration had dismissed the department’s proposals. However, it’s likely that the recommendations will be re-reviewed in the next months with Health Minister, Susan Ley, and it could allegedly denote that improvements take place in 2017.

Critical Observations

Foreign doctors in Australia have made a huge contribution to the country’s general health & welfare. In case one checks movement of such doctors, there will be cutting off a supply of professionals with the essential expertise. Apart from this, the chances of adequate Australians, ready to offer their professional services in the Countryside as doctors, are not high. In case there are more curbs on the movement of the doctors into Down Under on some visas like the Temporary Work 457 Visa, Training and Research Visa 402, or a Skilled Sponsored Immigration Visa, it may not do any good.

Medical Association Hails Move to Limit Australian Visas

As per a report, the two well-known concerned medical and doctor bodies have welcomed the plan to check visas. But, they have also urged for superior motivations & backing for the local doctors.

Earlier, in an effort to cut down costs, Canberra had allegedly reduced the number of doctors. The Australian Administrations had then made a decision that this was an error, and they did a u-turn and moved to finance new medical schools, and improve the tally of the graduates gaining admission into the medical profession. But, the increase in the number of graduates denotes that training places and internships have become incredibly tough to secure at hospitals.

As per a report--in an unpublished submission to the newest evaluation of the SOL--the Health Department has forecasted a flood of the Australia-trained doctors moving into the system, and worries that the public investment in their expertise will be wasted.