Australia is seeing an increase in the need for nursing services due to its diversified population and wide landscapes. There are few places that stand out as hotspots for this expanding demand as the healthcare industry changes and the population ages. In this article, we’ll look at Australia’s high-demand nursing service regions, including metropolitan centres and rural places that need a specialised nursing staff.

One of Australia’s most resilient industries has historically been the healthcare industry, and the government anticipates that this pattern will continue with an impending significant increase in demand. But even now, there is a significant shortage of competent nurses—more than 120,000 will be needed by 2030—because demand is exceeding supply.

In 2023, one of the most in-demand careers will be nursing. Despite a 14.1% growth in employment in the industry from 2015 to 2020 (from 306,487 to 349,589), Health Workforce Australia projects a shortfall of more than 100,000 nurses by 2025. There won’t be as many qualified nurses available to offer sufficient on-the-job training due to the anticipated shortfall.

By means of programmes like the Workforce Incentive Programme Practice Stream, the Australian government is allocating funds towards finding ways to fill service shortages for nearby areas. Thus, there are more career prospects for allied health and nursing professions.

Numerous nursing and midwifery roles across Australia are available through the Medfuture website. Medfuture is a trusted healthcare recruitment company based in Australia and if you’re seeking a job in any field and area that interests you, visit the Medfuture page for all available vacancies across Australia.

Why is the anticipated demand so high?

The following are the issues that have been recognised as likely to have a significant impact on future nursing requirements and employment opportunities:

• Population and workforce aging: According to government projections, the proportion of Australians 65 and older will more than quadruple by 2057.
• Changing medical requirements of society: Nurses and physicians must be on the front lines of combating new or developing diseases like COVID-19 before they spread to other areas and become widespread epidemics.
• Chronic illness pressure is rising: As we age, chronic conditions including diabetes, cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, depression, and dementia grow more prevalent. To treat patients and manage their symptoms, more specialised nurses will be required.

Nursing Specialties Available On-Demand

As the nation’s population ages and requirements continue to evolve, so does the need for specialised nurses. Thus, even though there will likely be a greater need for nurses overall, experts believe that these three nursing career specialisations will see significant demand in the near future.

Nursing for mental health: Health Workforce According to Australian forecasts, there will probably be a significant shortage of workers in the mental health field in the future. There aren’t enough nurses to fulfil demand, despite the fact that mental health is a major growth area for healthcare and nursing workers. Furthermore, a lot of people in today’s world are attempting to manage a variety of emotional or psychological issues, such stress and worry. Meanwhile, other people have more severe mental health issues.

Critical care nursing: is a highly sought-after specialisation due to its emotionally and physically taxing nature, high turnover rate, and stressful work environment. They deal with emergency situations such as burns, wounds, infections, and accidents. Regretfully, there are typically fewer nurses in this specialty than are needed. Thus, it would be beneficial to receive the necessary critical care nursing training if you desire a career that is in high demand.

Aged care nursing: As the population ages, there will be a greater need for nurses, which is now lacking in the senior care sector. Because each patient’s health depends on having a high-level of experience in caring for the elderly, aged care nurses are in great demand.

What is the current demand for Nurses in Australia currently?

By 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that there will be a 10 million shortage of healthcare personnel worldwide. The Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA) estimates that by 2050, there would be more than 400,000 skilled workers in the elderly care industry, compared to over 110,000 in the following ten years.

To reliably track the hiring and retention of Australian healthcare professionals, the Australian Government releases comprehensive statistics every quarter. The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) reports that as of right now, 453,515 registered nurses nationwide—including enrolled nurses and midwives—represent around 55% of the workforce in the healthcare industry.

Nurse registrations have increased by 18% since 2019, which translates to an average of 3,000 new workers joining the healthcare sector each month. Nonetheless, Australia still has a nursing deficit, particularly in remote or rural areas and in facilities that provide care for the elderly.

What are the trends driving the Australian healthcare system’s increasing need for nurses?

Despite being a cornerstone of healthcare, nursing is a profession with many unique challenges. An aging workforce and rising healthcare costs have made problems like staffing shortages and salary disputes worse.

The ever-evolving technology landscape has both advantages and disadvantages for nursing personnel, necessitating continuous skill enhancement and flexibility. In addition to these challenges, nurses frequently deal with long workdays and a great deal of emotional stress.

An already overworked nursing staff is being directly impacted by a few larger patterns observed throughout Australia, such as:

Changing Demographic population

People are becoming older. Six percent of Australians, or sixteen percent of the total population, were 65 years of age or older as of June 2020. According to Australian government projections, the proportion of the population over 65 will reach 23% by 2066.

This includes a large number of individuals with chronic illnesses, which account for 62% of all diseases afflicting Australians.

We are living longer in good health on average, but we are also living longer in poor health. This includes people with mental illness, which accounts for 24% of Australia’s burden of chronic disease, making it the second greatest contributor.

In Australia, there is also a rise in mental health problems. Approximately 800,000 Australians, or 5% of the population, suffer from serious mental illness, necessitating substantial help from qualified healthcare providers.

The need for nurses who can advance into more specialised and accountable roles, such as critical care, renal, aged care, mental health, and community nursing, is evidently growing in light of these data.

Let us now look at the high demand locations for nursing services in Australia

In Australia, registered nurses have continuously been among the most in-demand workers for the last 12 months. Sydney leads the country with over 763 job vacancies for nurses, followed by Adelaide with 387 and Melbourne with 683.

Additionally, medical demands are not concentrated; in fact, just around 25% of nursing job listings are found in Sydney, Queensland, Brisbane, Perth, and Adelaide, although making up roughly 60% of Australia’s population.

New South Wales, Australia

According to modelling data, there would be a shortage of about 8,000 nurses by 2030. For registered nurses, there will be a greater disparity, with a projected shortage of almost 13,000 by 2030.

By 2030, it is expected that South West Sydney, an area that is expanding quickly and will shortly host Sydney’s second airport, would require 5,500 licensed nurses, but there are only expected to be 4,000 available. The number of enrolled nurses needed is 600, but only 100 are anticipated to be available; these numbers fall into the “catastrophic” category of nursing shortages.

The modelling statistics are reported to represent worst-case scenarios, and the NSW Government has indicated that it would enact measures to meet the growing requirement for nursing personnel. Nevertheless, a large portion of the rest of NSW is shown to be seriously at danger of a nursing shortage.

You may head out to Medfuture official page to hunt down for Nursing Jobs that are available directly in New South Wales.

Queensland, Australia

Due to years of negligence in creating recruiting and retention strategies, there is a severe nursing shortage in Queensland that affects both public and private hospitals as well as aged care institutions (conservative estimates place this deficit at about 1400 nurses).

The majority of nursing specialties, including accident and emergency, critical/intensive care, midwifery, mental health, community care, aged care, and indigenous health, are now understaffed in Queensland (Commonwealth Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2008). These limitations have been made worse by the large influx of people into this state, which has increased demand for health services, particularly in the southeast area.

You may reach out to Medfuture official page for nursing Job opportunities in Queensland.

The need for nursing services in Australia is widespread and provides a variety of possibilities for nurses. There is always a demand for qualified and committed nurses, regardless of whether you choose to work in thriving cities or support healthcare services in rural areas. Staying up to date on the distinct requirements and possibilities that come with working as a nurse in different parts of Australia will enable you to make meaningful decisions in the constantly changing Australian healthcare sector.