Miles Doing What Matters: More doctors, nurses and health heroes for Queensland

• Through the Miles Government’s Workforce Attraction Incentive Scheme, 1,320 health heroes have joined Queensland Health.
• Following a recent international recruitment drive targeting healthcare workers from the UK, New Zealand and Canada, more than 7,000 expressions of interest were received.
• More than 70% have moved to regional, rural, and remote parts of the state. 
• The news comes as the Miles Government has already smashed its recruitment goal of 9,735 additional frontline health workers, months earlier than expected.

Thanks to the Miles Government’s Workforce Attraction Incentive Scheme, 1,320 health heroes have joined Queensland Health in just over a year.

The scheme, which has a retention rate of 95 per cent, has brought more than 240 doctors and more than 800 nurses to hospitals right across the State.

Around 73 per cent of these frontline workers are delivering high quality healthcare in one of Queensland’s regional, rural, or remote regions.

The Workforce Attraction Incentive Scheme provides interstate and international health workers who take up a role in Queensland Health with a $20,000 payment. A payment of $70,000 is also available for health workers who take up a role with Queensland Health in a rural or remote location.

A recent international health recruitment initiative led by the Miles Government drew 630,000 views to its website, and saw more than 7,000 health staff express their interest in moving to the Sunshine State.

The Make a Healthy Career Move international recruitment drive ran from December 2023 to March 2024, and targeted qualified nurses, midwives, doctors and allied health workers from the UK, New Zealand and Canada.

To date, the international recruitment campaign has led to 123 candidates being offered roles right across the state including Townsville, Cairns, Mackay, West Moreton and the Sunshine Coast, including 67 nurses and midwives, 53 doctors and 3 allied health professionals.

In recognition of the state’s growing healthcare needs, the 2024-25 State Budget allocates more than $1 billion (budget to budget) extra for frontline workforce growth, which translates to an additional 700 doctors, 2,600 nurses and midwives, and 1,000 allied health staff.

Quotes attributable to Premier Steven Miles:

“Queensland has one of the best health systems in the country, and in the world.

“That’s because of the talent of our frontline – a frontline that my government is bolstering.

“Our Workforce Attraction Scheme has helped bring more than 1,320 doctors, nurses and health professions into our health system, in every part of the state.

“It’s my commitment to Queensland that we will keep our frontline growing, to meet the needs of our rapidly expanding state.

“I will always back our hardworking health heroes, and encourage even more to move to the best country in the world – Queensland.”

Quotes attributable to Minister for Health, Mental Health and Ambulance Services Shannon Fentiman: 
“Queensland is the best place to live in Australia and arguably the world.

“We make no excuse for trying to poach worldclass health workers to work across our sunshine state.

“Despite a global workforce shortage, our campaigns to attract more health heroes are working, which is why we’re seeing skilled workers making the move to Queensland.

“I’m incredible proud that since 2015, we’ve managed to hire 24,000 health workers, significantly boosting our workforce.

“We acknowledge that the global competition for healthcare workers is at an all-time high, and we need them now more than ever.

“Only the Miles Government can be trusted to build the sustainable health workforce we need and to keep their jobs safe.

“Crisafulli and Bates were both cabinet ministers in the Newman LNP government which viciously gutted Queensland’s health system – including sacking 4,400 health heroes.”

Extra information:

For more information visit: Workforce attraction incentive scheme | Careers (health.qld.gov.au)

Data broken down by HHS below as of 31 July 2024

TOTAL – 1,320

Dropbox link to photos:

• Danika – midwife at Gold Coast University Hospital, originally from New Zealand
• Kareem – vascular surgeon at Metro North, originally from New Zealand
• Hayley - clinical nurse from Cairns, originally from the UK
• Louisa – emergency department medical specialist at Gold Coast University Hospital, originally from the UK

ENDS