National Health Workforce Strategic Framework
The National Health Workforce Strategic Framework (the Framework) was designed to guide national health workforce policy and planning and Australians investment in its health workforce throughout the decade.
The centrepiece of the framework is a direction setting vision for the Australian health workforce and a set of guiding principles for government and all workforce stakeholders to apply to the development of health workforce policy.
The framework outlines a vision for Australia's future health workforce:
“Australia will have a sustainable health workforce that is knowledgeable, skilled and adaptable. The workforce will be distributed to achieve equitable health outcomes, suitably trained and competent. The workforce will be valued and able to work within a supportive environment and culture. It will provide safe, quality, preventative, curative and supportive care that is population and health consumer focussed and capable of meeting the health needs of the Australian community”..
The vision is the direction in which national health workforce effort should be focused, the principles are the underlying fundamentals that will guide health workforce strategic action in achieving the vision; and the strategies are the planned actions that will delivery the visions.
The principles highlight key actions as:
- Ensuring and sustaining supply.
- Workforce distribution that optimises access to health care and meets health needs for all Australians.
- Health environments being places in which people want to work.
- Ensuring the health workforce is always skilled and competent.
- Optimal uses of skills and workforce adaptability.
- Recognising that health workforce policy and planning must be informed by the best available evidence and linked to the broader health system.
- Recognising that health workforce policy involves all stakeholders working collaboratively with a commitment to the vision, principles and strategies outlined in this framework.
The Framework was endorsed by Australian Health Ministers in April 2004 and the Council of Australian Governments in February 2006.
Reports
National Health Workforce Strategic Framework - April 2004 (pdf, 244k)
National Health Workforce Action Plan (pdf, 125k)
