Australian Medical Association

08/12/2025

It's been more than 2 years of negotiating while patients wait in pain for surgery and emergency care. We're demanding the federal government honour their 45 per cent public hospital funding promise. Australians can't afford to wait.

08/12/2025

Our public hospitals are at breaking point. We're calling on the federal government to deliver on their promise of 45 per cent funding in the next funding agreement. After 2+ years of negotiations, patients can't wait any longer. It's 5 minutes to midnight for our public hospitals.

05/12/2025

The federal AMA's new Private Health Insurance Report Card is out, and the findings are alarming.

Australians are paying double what they paid for private health insurance in 2008, whilst insurers' profits have grown by nearly 50 per cent.
Meanwhile, 360,000 people have abandoned their gold-tier policies since 2020, and 14 private maternity units have closed in just five years.

The system needs urgent reform. Australians deserve better value from their private health insurance.

Read the full report: https://www.ama.com.au/media/report-card-reveals-warning-signs-private-health-australia

04/12/2025

Your 2025 federal AMA advocacy wrapped!

03/12/2025

Today we welcomed federal Minister Matt Keogh's commitment to update DVA fee schedules for doctor report writing — something the federal AMA has been advocating for directly with DVA leadership.

This represents a much-needed commitment with the fees offered by DVA being significantly out of date. The federal AMA will work with DVA to ensure any new fee arrangements are fair and support veterans in accessing the care they deserve.

And we'll continue pushing for adequate indexation of all DVA medical service fees to ensure veterans can access the care they need.

Read the full release: https://www.ama.com.au/media/federal-ama-welcomes-commitment-update-fees-schedule-veterans

03/12/2025

A scathing report predicts a net reduction in aged care beds by 2030. The waitlist for home care will hit 60,000 people minimum as our population ages.

This is one of the key reasons exit block is paralysing our hospitals. Older Australians are stuck in hospital beds because there's nowhere else for them to go, costing millions while denying beds to those who urgently need them.

We need immediate action to Clear the Hospital Logjam — proper funding and solutions to the exit blocks that are contributing to permanent gridlock in hospitals.

01/12/2025

For almost two decades, the AMA's Public Hospital Report Card has tracked the health of our public hospital system, and in the past four years, dedicated mental health editions of the report have highlighted the unique challenges patients face when accessing mental healthcare in public hospitals.

This year’s mental health edition paints a stark picture: Australia’s mental health system is at breaking point, and the consequences are being felt in emergency departments and communities across Australia.

Read AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen's piece in the The Medical Journal of Australia's Insight+

For almost two decades, the Australian Medical Association’s Public Hospital Report Card has tracked the

01/12/2025

Australia stands at a critical juncture in its immunisation trajectory. Once a global leader in vaccine coverage, the nation is now seeing sustained declines across childhood, adolescent, and adult programs, with serious implications for public health, health-system capacity, and economic productivity.

Sustained, targeted action now is essential to protect Australians from vaccine-preventable diseases, strengthen health system resilience, and ensure equitable, lifelong access to vaccination.

Today, the AMA releases a new report — From coverage to concern: a policy analysis of Australia’s immunisation decline — and calls for immediate action to combat vaccine hesitancy and reverse declining immunisation rates across the country.

Find out more here: https://www.ama.com.au/media/urgent-action-needed-tackle-declining-immunisation-rates

01/12/2025

With an ageing society and rising chronic disease, the cost of inaction on Australia's public hospital logjam crisis is only going to increase. Our best chance of success is a new National Health Reform Agreement — one that gives the hospitals the resources they need to increase capacity, address avoidable admissions and bed block, and improve performance. It's time for all governments to work together.

01/12/2025

Congratulations to AMA member Dr Haseeb Riaz for being named WA's Young Australian of the Year. 👏

This terrific achievement is in recognition for Dr Riaz's role in educating thousands of students on the root causes of poor mental health and gender-based violence.

Co-founded by Dr Riaz and Gareth Shanthikumar, MAN UP is an educational service challenging negative stereotypes of masculinity and helping young men communicate openly and build pathways to healthier lives.

Read more about Dr Riaz via Australian Medical Association (WA): https://www.amawa.com.au/news/ama-wa-member-named-was-young-australian-of-the-year/

29/11/2025

🙏 Thank You

As Rural Health Month ends, the federal AMA thanks all doctors who shared their experiences in the 2025 Rural Health Issues Survey. Your voices shape the future of rural healthcare and guide the reforms needed to support every community.

https://www.ama.com.au/articles/insights-rural-health-issues-survey

28/11/2025

As Rural Health Month comes to a close, the federal Australian Medical Association would like to thank the many doctors who shared their experiences through our 2025 Rural Health Issues Survey.

Over the past week, we’ve highlighted the voices of:

🌍 international medical graduates
🩺 specialist general practitioners and rural generalists
⚕️ non-GP specialists
🎓 doctors in training.

Together, their insights reveal the realities of rural practice — workforce shortages, training pathways, professional isolation, and resource limitations — and the policy priorities needed to address them.

The survey findings provide a clear, evidence-based foundation for advocacy and reform. They remind us that to strengthen rural healthcare governments need to listen to practitioners and tailor solutions to their unique challenges.

We are committed to building a sustainable, supported workforce that ensures every Australian — no matter where they live — has access to quality healthcare.

🙏 Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences. Let’s continue working together to deliver equity in health for rural and remote communities.