VICDOC Summer 2025 - Flipbook - Page 59
These reforms will determine key
scope issues, opposing autonomous
features of Victorian healthcare for many
pharmacist prescribing and engaging
years, making continued clinical input
with the Department on the practical
essential as implementation advances
implementation of designated nurse
in 2026.
prescribing. At the Federal level, the
Medical workforce wellbeing
Medical workforce wellbeing became a
more prominent theme across the year.
Under Simon’s leadership, and with
strong support from Vice President Dr
Geoff Toogood, AMA Victoria highlighted
the connection between wellbeing and
the broader conditions in which doctors
work. High workloads, inadequate
resourcing, unsafe staffing levels, poor
rostering practices and inconsistent
tripling of the bulk billing incentive
provided short term support for some
practices, although AMA Victoria
noted that durable reform will require
strengthening Medicare rebates
themselves. Against this backdrop, the
national expansion of the GP registrar
incentive stood out as a welcome
development after years of advocacy
and offered a point of progress in a
difficult environment.
Other issues impacting members
workplace culture all featured in member
feedback. Surveys conducted by AMA
AMA Victoria also worked across a wide
Victoria and ASMOF described the
range of other issues impacting members
impact of these pressures, particularly
throughout the year, including hospital
on doctors in training. New psychological
financial transparency, maternity service
health regulations that came into effect
capacity, emergency department safety,
on 1 December created clear legal
public specialist outpatient performance
duties for employers and reinforced
and mental health reform. Across these
long-standing concerns about workload,
areas, the organisation’s role remained
supervision, workplace conduct and
constant. Bring clinical experience into
the ability to raise issues safely. These
policy discussions. Reduce avoidable
duties now sit within the wider structural
burden. Help keep system settings
pressures affecting the system and will
aligned with the conditions required
guide advocacy next year.
for safe and sustainable practice.
General practice
Development of policy councils
General practice remained under
We continued to grow our policy capacity
considerable strain. Payroll tax
through the development of AMA Victoria
instability eased but is not resolved
policy councils. The General Practice
and will remain on the agenda. AMA
Policy Council completed its second
Victoria continued strong advocacy on
year, shaping advocacy on GP workforce
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