Medicare plus and overseas-trained medical doctors

Until the late 1990s the Australian Government’s medical workforce policy focussed on limiting reliance on overseas trained doctors (OTDs). Since that time the reverse policy has been instituted. As a result, by 2004 there was a heavy reliance on temporary entry OTDs in areas of medicine that locally trained doctors were reluctant to service. The introduction of Medicare Plus in mid-2004 has been accompanied by additional initiatives to increase OTD recruitment. This article explores the implications of these policy developments. Copyright. Monash University and the author/s