The RACP Federal Election Statement

Australia’s healthcare system is at an urgent crossroad. As the demands on our doctors and healthcare services grow, so too does the need for bold, evidence-based leadership. The RACP Federal Election Statement sets out a clear roadmap for the next Australian Government – one that prioritises patient care, supports physician wellbeing, and builds a stronger, more sustainable healthcare system for all.

It outlines the key qualities, attributes and policy directions we expect from the next Australian Government to strengthen the healthcare system, support patients and improve physicians’ wellbeing.

It calls for:

• A well-distributed and adequately sized physician workforce in metropolitan, rural, regional, and remote areas, underpinned by robust workforce planning data and expanded training programs and networks.
• Recognition of the link between patient outcomes and physicians’ health, wellbeing, safety and resilience at work. With Australians’ health becoming more complex, we need our doctors to be well more than ever.
• Appropriate support for Specialist International Medical Graduates to practice in Australia which acknowledges the critical roles of the RACP and other medical colleges in assessment and maintenance of quality practice standards.
• Improved access to medicines and better systems to predict, plan for and mitigate shortages which place additional stress on patients and prescribers.
• Urgent performance audit of the urgent care clinics, incorporating the role of physicians to truly reduce pressures on our hospitals.
• Use effective technologies (video/phone) for initial and subsequent physician consultations to enable patient access to specialists through the MBS. Patients are waiting longer than they deem acceptable to consult a specialist and effective solutions now exist with proven benefit.
• Urgent investment in MyHealthRecord to enable interoperability between different digital health systems and provide incentives for physicians to support the 'sharing by default' requirement.

Read the RACP Federal Election Statement, The Roadmap for the Healthcare Australians Need, to find out more about the steps needed to fulfill these and other priorities crucial to improving the healthcare of all Australians.

Read Election Statement