International support for Victoria’s healthcare system

The state government has surpassed a significant milestone in recruiting healthcare workers, as part of an international recruitment campaign launched last year.

The campaign has attracted more than 1200 doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals from overseas, including Australian healthcare workers returning home.

The campaign brought in 980 new metropolitan hospital staff and 261 new staff members working in regional Victoria.

The new workers have been easing pressure on our existing workforce, helping bring down surgery waitlists, reducing workload in our emergency departments and ensuring patients receive care as fast as possible across 40 health services across the state.

The campaign ran in a number of countries with the biggest success in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka.

These additional healthcare workers were among more than 26,500 extra healthcare workers who have joined the state’s public health system since 2014, including 8500 who joined the workforce during the pandemic.

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said these figures proved Victoria was one of the world’s best places to build a career in healthcare.

“We’re recruiting doctors, nurses and allied health workers to take pressure off our healthcare system and get every Victorian the care they need, as soon as they need it,” she said.