Australia
Working In Australia |
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In Australia, General Practice is usually the first point of contact for the majority of people seeking health care, and often therefore the first point of referral.
In the provision of primary care, much undifferentiated illness is seen; the general practitioner often deals with problem complexes rather than with established diseases. The general practitioner is the first line of health care in Australia, and must be able to make a total assessment of the person's condition without subjecting a person to unnecessary investigations, procedures and other treatment.
if you are an internationally trained general practitioner, and you do not hold the Fellowship of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, or of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners, then there are rather complex, and often confusing, restrictions on where and how you can be employed.
Some of the key factors are mentioned here, however it is very important that you discuss this with your Latitudes Consultant, as how this may affect you individually varies based on many factors.
DWS and AoN | Fellowship with the RACGP | Registration
DWS and AON (Districts of Workforce Shortage and Areas of Need)
International Doctors are only able to accept positions within Australia which have been determined as a District of Workforce Shortage and declared as an Area of Need.
As explained further below, Districts of Workforce Shortage are areas determined to be unable to provide sufficient medical facilities to their relative populations using local GP resources. As such, DWS positions are generally in rural/remote locations, however in recent years DWS positions have become increasingly common in outer metropolitan areas and regional centres.
The Australian Government facilitates the equitable distribution of suitably qualified overseas trained doctors through the Medicare Provider Number Legislation. Under section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act 1973, this works through restricting the number of doctors with Medicare Provider Numbers in areas where there is no workforce shortage. Exemptions to Section 19AB can be granted for suitably qualified overseas trained doctors, who are currently not eligible to access Medicare and who agree to work in locations that have been identified as Districts of Workforce Shortage.
Working in a determined District of Workforce Shortage allows a suitably registered doctor to bill medicare for services provided.
The Australian Government defines a District of Workforce Shortage as a geographic area in which the general population need for health care is not met. Population needs for health care will be unmet if a district has significantly less access to medical professional services of the type provided by applicants than the national average. A Delegate of the Minister in the Department of Health and Ageing applies this determination.
Area of Need positions are very similar to DWS positions, however where the DWS positions are determined by the federal level Deptartment of Health and Ageing, the AON declarations are determined by the individual state and territory medical boards, with each state having its own criteria for assessment.
The relationship and necessity of both DWS and AON classifications can be summarised as this:
GPs working in Australia are required to be both registered with their relative state or territory medical board, and also require a government provider number in order to be able to access medicare benefits. The DWS system regulates the conditions on which provider numbers are available to international GPs, and the AON system regulates the accessability of registration to international GPs within their relative state or territory.
Further information on both DWS and AON classifications can be found at the DoctorConnect web site.
Fellowship with the RACGP
To perform unsupervised practice in an Australian General Practice, you are required to possess a Fellowship with Royal Australian College of General Practice. Internationally trained Doctors are able to commence work in General Practice in Australia on a special consideration registration in a DWS position only if sufficient supervision is provided by a current FRACGP based permanently onsite. It should be the immediate priority of an internationally trained GP commencing work in Australia to prepare for and secure their FRACGP as soon as possible.
An assessment process has been established by the RACGP to recognise the qualifications and prior experience of international GPs, which will determine what you will need to do in order to be eligible to sit for the Fellowship exam. A minimum of 12 months or an assessed equivalent of 12 months Australian experience is required before a GP may sit for the Fellowship exam. Further information on applying for recognition can be found here.
Comprehensive Information on applying for Fellowship with the RACGP can be found here.
Further Information
Job Levels
Working as a General (Family) Practitioner
Specialist Colleges
Indemnity Insurance
Taxation
Living in Australia
