Identify and evaluate the effectiveness of existing professional support structures for doctors in rural and remote settings – Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing engaged Healthcare Management Advisors (HMA, led by Deborah Roczo) in collaboration with KBC Australia (Kris Battye) and BOS Health (Belinda O’Sullivan) to identify and evaluate the effectiveness of existing professional support structures for doctors in rural and remote settings.
Since 2000, doctor vacancy rates have increased significantly Australia-wide, with recruitment and retention challenges most pronounced in rural, remote, and First Nations communities. Australia relies heavily on International Medical Graduates (IMGs) in these communities. A 2023 Independent Review of Australia’s Regulatory Settings Relating to Overseas Health Practitioners (Kruk Review) has recommended exploring support structures for IMGs in rural settings, in line with the National Medical Workforce Strategy 2021–2031 actions, to identify and use effective support structures for rural doctors. This required a national stocktake and evaluation of professional support activities and programs for rural doctors in Australia. The evaluation aimed to:
- identify existing professional support structures for doctors, including International Medical Graduates (IMGs), in rural and remote areas across Australia
- evaluate the effectiveness of professional support structures in attracting and retaining doctors, focusing on IMGs, in rural and remote areas across Australia
- develop recommendations based on findings from the literature review (provided by the Department), the stocktake, and the evaluation results for effective professional support structures to attract and retain doctors, including IMGs, in rural and remote areas of Australia
Key tasks of the evaluation included:
- a stocktake of current professional support activities for rural and remote doctors
- a logic model and evidence synthesis framework to build a contextualised understanding of the key elements of professional support for rural doctors
- triangulation of information gathered to answer the evidence synthesis framework questions and make pragmatic recommendations for the Department to improve professional support for doctors in rural and remote Australia.
The evaluation commenced in September 2024 and was completed in May 2025.
