Geographic distribution of the Australian primary health workforce in 1996 and 2001

To analyse the geographic distribution of medical and non-medical primary health professions in 2001, and to compare this with 1996.

Census data on the number and characteristics of selected health professionals in Australia by remoteness areas (as measured by the Accessibility Remoteness Index of Australia) were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Number of general medical practitioners, allied health professionals and nurses per capita in Australia by remoteness areas in 2001 and 1996.

In 2001, the number of general medical practitioners per capita in major cities was significantly higher than the numbers in inner regional areas, outer regional areas, and remote areas. This was also true of the number of allied health professionals per capita. The number of nurses per capita did not show the same pattern. From 1996 to 2001, the number of general medical practitioners per capita showed the largest increase in outer regional areas (10%) and no change in remote areas. The allied health professional workforce per capita increased significantly in all regions, while the nursing workforce per capita showed no significant increases.

Supply of all primary health professionals in remote areas remains low, and distribution patterns changed little from 1996 to 2001. The implementation of numerous government health workforce initiatives has coincided with little observable change in geographic distribution of the health workforce up to 2001.