The Andrews Labor Government is boosting Victoria’s healthcare workforce by recruiting hundreds of doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals living overseas – including healthcare workers wanting to return home – to help ease pressure on the hospital system.

Premier Daniel Andrews and Minister for Health Mary-Anne Thomas today visited the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre to meet with healthcare workers who are coming from far and wide to work at the world-leading centre.

Almost 700 overseas healthcare workers have arrived in Victoria in the past year from Ireland, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, New Zealand, the Philippines and the United States – taking up employment across Victoria’s public health services, with one in five working in regional areas.

These additional healthcare workers have helped add more than 22,000 extra healthcare workers to the public health system since 2014, including 8,500 who joined the workforce during the pandemic.

The opening of international borders has seen interest from other countries continue to grow, with many workers keen to experience the Australian way of life and further develop their careers in Victoria’s world-class public health system.

The international pipeline of new recruits is more important than ever as Victoria’s health system continues to experience record-breaking demand for services, while managing the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With health systems around the world under pressure, workers are in high demand globally. Many have chosen to come to here because of Victoria’s high living standards and its place as a leader in global healthcare innovation.

Almost 200 of the new arrivals have accessed the Labor Government’s travel allowance scheme to help with relocation costs of up to $10,000 if moving to a metro area, or $13,000 for regional areas.

Investing in the size and wellbeing of the workforce is a priority for both the sector and the Government as work continues towards building a better health system for the future.

Some of the Government’s recent workforce initiatives include $3,000 payments to help retain staff working in public hospitals and ambulance services and a $59 million package to recruit more student nurses and student midwives.

Quotes attributable to Premier Daniel Andrews

“People are our healthcare system’s greatest asset, and as demand for care continues to rise, the biggest support we can give our healthcare workers is an extra set of hands.”

“Our health system continues to see record demand and our recruitment blitz is making a big difference on the ground, helping provide the timely, world-class care that every Victorian deserves.”