Australia Hospital Staffing Market Overview, 2031

Key Insights

• The Australia hospital staffing market is a critical component of one of the Asia-Pacific region's most advanced healthcare systems, serving approximately 1,347 hospitals across the country's states and territories. The market comprises temporary and permanent placement services for nursing professionals, physicians, advanced practice professionals, allied healthcare professionals, and non-clinical administrative staff across public and private hospital settings. Australia operates a unique public-private healthcare mix, with around 700 public and 633 private hospitals as of 2025.
• Australia has 420,000 registered nurses, representing more than 40% of the total health workforce. The country has 148,185 registered medical practitioners as of June 2025, according to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency's Annual Report. This substantial workforce base creates persistent demand for third-party staffing solutions to address vacancies, turnover, and geographic imbalances.
• Nurse staffing represents the largest professional category in the Australia hospital staffing market. Australia faces a severe nursing shortage, with data from the Australian Department of Health showing a shortage of around 85,000 nurses in 2025, projected to increase to 123,000 by 2030. The Health Workforce 2025 report projects a potential shortfall of almost 110,000 nurses in 2025. By 2035, national projections reveal a shortage of more than 70,000 nurses, with regional areas being the hardest hit.
• Locum tenens and temporary physician staffing are growing segments in Australia, driven by geographic maldistribution of the medical workforce and specialist shortages. Australia is on track to face a shortage of more than 12,000 specialists. The projected oversupply of prevocational hospital doctors was expected to nearly double, from 15,900 FTE in 2025 to more than 38,000 by 2048, highlighting critical imbalances in the medical training pipeline. The private hospital sector, which provides 41% of all hospitalisations, is facing significant financial pressures with 82 hospitals closing since 2020.
• Private hospitals account for a significant share of the Australia hospital staffing market, with 633 private hospitals providing 41% of all hospital admissions. However, the private hospital sector is facing substantial financial instability, with Healthscope Australia's second-largest hospital provider entering receivership and its 37 private hospitals being kept afloat with a A$100 million loan. Public hospitals are also under immense strain, with workforce attrition, pay disputes, and logjams threatening service continuity.

Market Outlook

• According to the research report, "Australia Hospital Staffing Market Overview, 2031," published by Bonafide Research, the Australia Hospital Staffing Market was valued at more than USD 330 Million in 2025. This market size is supported by persistent workforce shortages, an aging population, increasing chronic disease burden, and the ongoing structural transformation of Australia's hospital sector.



• The Australian market is expected to benefit from sustained demand for locum tenens physician staffing, nursing agency staffing, and permanent placement services. The nursing shortage of 85,000 in 2025, projected to reach 123,000 by 2030, creates structural demand for agency-supplied nursing staff across both inpatient and outpatient settings. With the health workforce not only ageing but also facing burnout, attrition, and geographic maldistribution particularly in rural and remote regions the strain on the health workforce has reached a critical point. By 2035, regional areas will be the hardest hit by the projected shortage of more than 70,000 nurses.
• Specialist physician shortages are a critical driver of staffing demand. Australia is on track to face a shortage of more than 12,000 specialists. The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry into Healthcare Funding recognised there is a shortfall in anaesthesia specialists compared with available positions in NSW. Public hospital psychiatrists have been at the centre of workforce disputes, with more than 200 threatening resignation in early 2025 and at least 62 having resigned, with another 72 opting to shift into potentially more lucrative contract roles. Mental health remains the biggest barrier to Australia's healthcare, with patients facing wait times exceeding 20 hours in some states.
• Rising adoption of digital workforce management solutions and online recruitment platforms is increasing the efficiency of hospital staffing procurement. The Australian healthcare staffing market is served by a range of specialist agencies, including Healthcare Australia (HCA), which operates 18 offices across Australia supporting employers in metropolitan, regional and remote areas. Digital transformation of staffing procurement is expected to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enable more strategic workforce planning.
• Workforce constraints in nursing and physician supply are expected to sustain demand for third-party staffing providers. The Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery has emphasised that increasing supply alone will not address the projected shortfall of nurses and midwives, noting that Australian universities have increased student intakes substantially over the last 10 years but access to clinical training opportunities is hindering further increase. Effort must now be made to support health services to keep nurses and midwives in the system, as too many are leaving because of a lack of adequate support post-graduation. There is extensive evidence showing that nurse retention is high where nurses feel supported in the clinical environment.

Market Dynamics

Driver: Severe Workforce Shortages and Geographic Maldistribution
The Australia hospital staffing market is driven by chronic shortages of qualified healthcare professionals and severe geographic maldistribution. Australia faces a nursing shortage of 85,000 in 2025, projected to increase to 123,000 by 2030. The Health Workforce 2025 report projects a potential shortfall of almost 110,000 nurses in 2025. The health workforce is not only ageing but also facing burnout, attrition, and geographic maldistribution particularly in rural and remote regions. By 2035, the shortage of more than 70,000 nurses will hit regional areas the hardest. Physician shortages are equally significant Australia is on track to face a shortage of more than 12,000 specialists. The private hospital sector, which provides 41% of all hospitalisations, is facing financial instability that could further concentrate demand on public hospitals. These workforce gaps compel Australian hospitals to utilize locum tenens physicians, agency nurses, travel staff, and permanent placement services to maintain patient care continuity. The federal government's Budget 2025–26 outlines investment to strengthen Medicare by continuing to grow the primary healthcare workforce, through training and retaining more doctors, nurses and midwives, yet the gap between supply and demand persists.

Challenge: Private Hospital Financial Instability and Public Hospital Strain
The most significant challenge in the Australian market is the combination of private hospital financial instability and public hospital workforce strain. Australia's private hospital sector is facing a crisis, with 82 hospitals closing since 2020. Healthscope, Australia's second-largest hospital provider, entered receivership with its 37 private hospitals being kept afloat with a A$100 million loan. Private hospitals are struggling with soaring costs for staff and supplies, while private health insurance is not paying enough to cover these expenses. Toowong Private Hospital in Brisbane is the latest to close its doors. Public hospitals are under immense strain, crumbling under logjams and workforce attrition as doctors reject government pay offers. The NSW government stared down a mass exodus of public hospital psychiatrists in early 2025. More than 200 psychiatrists threatened resignation in January and at least 62 have resigned, with another 72 opting to shift into potentially more lucrative contract roles. Patients needing mental health support are facing wait times exceeding 20 hours in some states. These systemic pressures create both challenges and opportunities for the hospital staffing market, as hospitals increasingly turn to agency and contract staff to fill critical gaps.



Trend: National Nursing Workforce Strategy and Digital Transformation
The Australia hospital staffing market is experiencing significant transformation through the development of Australia's first-ever National Nursing Workforce Strategy and accelerating digital workforce management. The Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer is leading the development of Australia's first ever National Nursing Workforce Strategy. With 420,000 registered nurses making up more than 40% of the total health workforce, there has never been a national-level strategic approach to nursing policy and investment. The strategy is expected to look at issues such as workforce sustainability, the diversity of the profession, challenges of regional, rural and remote nursing, pathways from novice to expert, workforce planning and data sharing. Concurrently, digital workforce management is accelerating. The Budget 2025–26 includes A$10.5 million for 400 more postgraduate scholarships to become a highly trained nurse practitioner or endorsed midwife. The Government is also in the final stages of developing the National Nursing Workforce Strategy, which will guide the nursing workforce now and into the future. Measures to expand the nursing workforce and harness the full strengths of Australia's diverse health workforce are being implemented. The Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025 aims to empower nurses to work to their full scope of practice in primary care and, in doing so, ease workforce pressures. These trends are moving the market toward more structured, technology-enabled, and strategically planned workforce strategies.

Policies

• The Australian Government's Budget 2025–26 includes substantial investment to strengthen Medicare by continuing to grow the primary healthcare workforce through training and retaining more doctors, nurses and midwives. The budget outlines investment to strengthen Medicare and grow the primary healthcare workforce through expanded training and retention programs.
• The Government is in the final stages of developing the National Nursing Workforce Strategy, which will guide the nursing workforce now and into the future. The strategy is being developed by the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer and will be underpinned by extensive stakeholder engagement and collaboration.
• The Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025 aims to empower nurses to work to their full scope of practice in primary care and, in doing so, ease workforce pressures and provide more equitable access to treatment for people living in rural and remote areas of Australia.
• The Government has introduced a new Commonwealth prac payment that started on 1 July 2025, supporting around 68,000 eligible higher education students including nursing and midwifery students.
• The Government has allocated 100 new medical Commonwealth Supported Places per year from 2026 and introduced a new prevocational program with 200 additional rotations in 2026, increasing to 400 rotations from 2028, to provide primary care rotations for interns and junior doctors. A one-off incentive payment of $30,000 is offered to doctors who leave hospital employment to become a GP trainee.
• The Government is providing A$10.5 million for 400 more postgraduate scholarships to enable nurses to become highly trained nurse practitioners or endorsed midwives.

Segment Analysis

Australia Hospital Staffing Market By Staffing Service
• Travel Staffing: Travel staffing is a significant service segment in the Australian market, driven by severe geographic imbalances in workforce supply and demand across the country's states and territories. With 1,347 hospitals and a nursing shortage of 85,000 in 2025 projected to reach 123,000 by 2030, hospitals in rural and remote regions require travel nurses and physicians to maintain operations. Healthcare Australia (HCA) operates 18 offices across Australia supporting employers in metropolitan, regional and remote areas. Travel staffing demand is sustained by persistent workforce shortages and the imperative for hospitals to maintain bed capacity and service lines. The health workforce is facing burnout, attrition, and geographic maldistribution particularly in rural and remote regions, creating sustained demand for travel staffing solutions.
• Per Diem Staffing: Per diem staffing provides hospitals with on-demand, shift-by-shift clinical staff to cover unexpected absences, sick calls, and immediate vacancies without long-term contracts. This segment is particularly important in the Australian context, where public hospitals face chronic understaffing, workforce attrition, and logjams. Per diem staffing offers hospitals flexibility to adjust staffing levels in response to daily census fluctuations and is widely used across both public and private hospitals to address immediate staffing gaps. Specialist agencies such as INMC-Australia provide on-hired employee services, compliance management, and tailored onboarding support for public and private sector clients.
• Locum Tenens Staffing: Locum tenens physicians are utilized to fill short-term vacancies caused by physician departures, leaves of absence, and recruitment gaps. Demand is strongest in specialist medicine, where Australia is on track to face a shortage of more than 12,000 specialists. The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry recognised a shortfall in anaesthesia specialists compared with available positions. Public hospital psychiatrists have been at the centre of workforce disputes, with at least 62 resigning and 72 shifting into contract roles. MGG Health, through its brands Global Medics and Medacs Healthcare, has long provided high-quality staffing support to healthcare systems across Australia, New Zealand, the UK, and Ireland. Locum tenens staffing enables hospitals and health centers to maintain patient access and service continuity while conducting permanent recruitment searches.
• Permanent Placement: Permanent placement services recruit and place healthcare professionals into long-term, full-time hospital positions. This segment is driven by the ongoing need for hospitals to build permanent workforce capacity and reduce reliance on agency staff. Permanent placement demand is particularly strong for nursing professionals, where Australia faces a shortage of 85,000 in 2025, and for specialist physicians, where the shortage of more than 12,000 specialists is expected. Major recruitment agencies such as Healthcare Australia, AHP Healthcare, JPS Medical Recruitment, HealthStaff Recruitment, and ACM Healthcare provide permanent placement services across Australia. The Government's Budget 2025–26 investment in training and retaining more doctors, nurses and midwives reflects sustained permanent placement activity in the public sector.
• Other Temporary & Contract Staffing: This segment includes fixed-term local contracts, seasonal staffing, project-based clinical assignments, and temporary staffing arrangements that do not fall under travel, per diem, or locum tenens categories. Demand is driven by seasonal surges such as influenza season, public health emergency response, and hospital expansion projects requiring temporary clinical and non-clinical staffing. Pulse Staffing Australia, a specialist healthcare talent solutions provider partnering with private and public hospitals and residential aged care providers nationwide for over 20 years, is part of the Acacium Group. VNS Nursing Agency is one of Victoria's leading nursing recruitment agencies. Globe Healthcare Australia provides clinician-founded healthcare recruitment delivering tailored staffing solutions across Australia.

Australia Hospital Staffing Market By Professional Category
• Nursing Professionals: The largest professional category in the Australia hospital staffing market. Australia has 420,000 registered nurses, representing more than 40% of the total health workforce. The country faces a severe nursing shortage of 85,000 in 2025, projected to increase to 123,000 by 2030. The Health Workforce 2025 report projects a potential shortfall of almost 110,000 nurses in 2025. By 2035, the shortage of more than 70,000 nurses will hit regional areas the hardest. The nursing workforce faces critical challenges: the health workforce is ageing and facing burnout and attrition. The Council of Deans of Nursing and Midwifery has warned that increasing supply alone will not address the projected shortfall, as too many nurses are leaving because of a lack of adequate support post-graduation. These factors create persistent demand for agency-supplied nursing staff across all hospital departments.
• Physicians: Australia has 148,185 registered medical practitioners as of June 2025. The country faces a shortage of more than 12,000 specialists. The physician workforce is facing significant challenges: public hospital psychiatrists have threatened mass exodus, with at least 62 resigning and 72 shifting into contract roles. The projected oversupply of prevocational hospital doctors is expected to nearly double from 15,900 FTE in 2025 to more than 38,000 by 2048, highlighting critical imbalances in the medical training pipeline. Physician staffing demand is driven by shortages in specialist medicine, mental health, rural medicine, and anaesthesia. Locum tenens physicians are widely utilized to fill temporary vacancies and maintain service continuity during recruitment gaps. The expedited specialist pathway has seen 229 Specialist International applications processed, with UK-trained general practitioners making up the bulk of the fast-track applications.
• Advanced Practice Professionals: Nurse practitioners and physician assistants are increasingly utilized in Australian hospital settings to address primary care gaps and support physician workloads. The Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025 aims to empower nurses to work to their full scope of practice in primary care. The Government is providing A$10.5 million for 400 more postgraduate scholarships to enable nurses to become highly trained nurse practitioners. The growing professionalization of the nursing workforce and the expansion of clinical responsibilities for advanced practice nurses are creating expanding demand for APP staffing across hospital departments.
• Allied Healthcare Professionals: Allied health professionals, including radiologic technologists, laboratory technicians, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, pharmacists, and other technical staff, are essential to hospital operations. Demand for allied staffing is driven by the expansion of hospital services, increasing patient acuity, and the growth of diagnostic and therapeutic services. Pulse Staffing Australia provides specialist healthcare talent solutions for private and public hospitals. Specialist agencies such as Mediserve and Evolve Talent provide allied health recruitment across Australia.
• Non-Clinical & Administrative Professionals: Non-clinical staffing includes administrative, operational, financial, and technology professionals supporting hospital functions. Demand is driven by healthcare IT implementation, revenue cycle management, and administrative workforce needs. INMC-Australia provides healthcare and IT placements across Australia. HiTalent Recruitment is a specialist Health & Social Care recruitment agency partnering with not-for-profit organisations across Australia, offering both permanent and temporary recruitment solutions. Non-clinical staffing represents a smaller but growing segment of the hospital staffing market.

Australia Hospital Staffing Market By Hospital Ownership
• Public & Government Hospitals: Public hospitals represent a significant segment of the Australia hospital staffing market. Australia has approximately 700 public hospitals. Public hospitals are largely government-owned and provide free care, funded by taxes. Public hospitals face persistent staffing shortages that necessitate agency utilization, though budget constraints limit their ability to pay premium agency rates. The NSW government in early 2025 stared down a mass exodus of public hospital psychiatrists. Public hospitals are crumbling under logjams and workforce attrition as doctors reject government pay offers. The NSW Special Commission of Inquiry recognised a shortfall in anaesthesia specialists. Public hospitals in regional and remote areas are particularly affected by workforce shortages, with 57% of public hospitals located in regional areas and 16% in remote areas.
• Private Hospitals: Private hospitals represent a significant and growing segment of the Australia hospital staffing market. Australia has 633 private hospitals in 2025, including day surgeries. Private hospitals provide 41% of all hospitalisations, with 74% being same-day stays. However, the private hospital sector is facing significant financial instability, with 82 hospitals closing since 2020. Healthscope, Australia's second-largest hospital provider, entered receivership with its 37 private hospitals being kept afloat with a A$100 million loan. Private hospitals are struggling with soaring costs for staff and supplies, while private health insurance is not paying enough to cover these expenses. Private hospitals are concentrated in metropolitan areas (83%). The future of the private hospital sector depends on who buys the distressed hospitals and what new owners decide to do. Private hospital staffing is often more responsive to market conditions, with faster procurement cycles and greater flexibility in staffing mix.

Australia Hospital Staffing Market Economics

• Staffing agency bill rates vary significantly by professional category, specialty, and geographic location. Specialist physicians and nurses in underserved regions command premium rates due to the acute shortage of healthcare professionals. The nursing shortage of 85,000 in 2025 projected to reach 123,000 by 2030 and the specialist shortage of more than 12,000 sustain premium rates across all clinical categories. Registered nurses in Australia earn an average annual salary of AUD 90,000 to 95,000.
• Hospital procurement of staffing services is shaped by federal and state health authorities, the Department of Health and Aged Care, and hospital-level contracting. The Budget 2025–26 includes investment to strengthen Medicare by continuing to grow the primary healthcare workforce. State governments are also involved in workforce procurement, with the NSW government facing a mass exodus of public hospital psychiatrists in early 2025.
• The economic value of agency staffing is measured in terms of avoided revenue loss from service disruptions, bed closures, and patient throughput reductions. With Australia's hospitals serving 12.8 million hospitalisations in 2024–25 and operating with 1,347 hospitals, maintaining service capacity is a critical operational priority. The private hospital sector, which provides 41% of all hospitalisations, is facing financial instability that could further concentrate demand on public hospitals.
• The cost of turnover is a significant economic factor in hospital staffing economics. The health workforce is ageing and facing burnout, attrition, and geographic maldistribution. The nursing workforce shortage of 85,000 in 2025 and the specialist shortage of more than 12,000 create ongoing demand for temporary staffing solutions and permanent placement services.
• The economic impact of locum tenens and agency staffing is measured in terms of maintained patient access, preserved service lines, and avoided revenue loss from vacancies. The specialist shortage of more than 12,000 means that locum tenens physicians play a critical role in maintaining patient access to care. Mental health patients are facing wait times exceeding 20 hours in some states, highlighting the critical role of temporary staffing in maintaining hospital operations.
• Australia's healthcare expenditure and the government's commitment to strengthening Medicare create ongoing pressure to optimize staffing costs while maintaining patient care quality. In 2023-24, total A$21.5 billion was spent on private hospitals. The private hospital sector's financial instability, with 82 hospitals closing since 2020 and Healthscope entering receivership, is reshaping the economics of hospital staffing in Australia.


Considered in this report
• Historic Year: 2020
• Base year: 2025
• Estimated year: 2026
• Forecast year: 2031

Aspects covered in this report
• Hospital Staffing Market with its value and forecast along with its segments
• Various drivers and challenges
• On-going trends and developments
• Top profiled companies
• Strategic recommendation

By Staffing Service
• Travel Staffing
• Per Diem Staffing
• Locum Tenens Staffing
• Permanent Placement
• Other Temporary & Contract Staffing

By Professional Category
• Nursing Professionals
• Physicians
• Advanced Practice Professionals
• Allied Healthcare Professionals
• Non-Clinical & Administrative Professionals

By Hospital Ownership
• Public / Government Hospitals
• Private Hospitals