A new survey by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) has revealed key insights into why health practitioners stay in or leave their respective fields — pointing to mental burnout, a sense of fulfilment and feeling recognised as critical factors in workforce retention.
The research involved 25,752 healthcare practitioners across nine regulated health professions — including Chinese medicine, chiropractic, dental, medical radiation practice, occupational therapy, optometry, osteopathy, paramedicine, and podiatry — and examined 10 years (2014–2023) of registration data. While most of those surveyed plan to continue in their profession, more than one in 10 say they are uncertain about the future or intend to leave within a year.
Among those intending to leave, the top reasons cited were mental burnout, retirement, feeling undervalued, lack of professional satisfaction, and work no longer being fulfilling. “A resilient health workforce is essential to keeping our communities safe, healthy and growing, and the wellbeing of our practitioners goes hand-in-hand with that,” said Rachel Phillips, Chair of the Psychology Board of Australia and Co-convener of the Forum of National Registration and Accreditation Scheme Chairs.
Conversely, those who plan to stay indicated they enjoy and find meaning in their work, value flexibility and work-life balance, feel a sense of achievement, and appreciate their profession’s alignment with their training.
Targeted Strategies to Boost Retention
Ahpra’s decade-long registration analysis shows the practitioner-to-population ratio grew by 30% overall. However, the replacement rate fluctuated — peaking in 2020, dipping significantly in 2021, and partially recovering in 2022 and 2023. The data also revealed that age and gender influenced intentions to leave, as did work hours and employment type.
- Practitioners over 60 were nearly three times more likely to leave than those aged 35–60.
- Male practitioners were almost twice as likely to plan an exit compared to female colleagues.
- Those who were not self-employed were almost twice as likely to be unsure about staying.
- Practitioners working under 20 hours weekly were nearly twice as likely to leave or remain uncertain, while those working over 50 hours weekly were also more inclined to be unsure.
“These findings highlight the importance of a working environment that is both professionally fulfilling and supportive of practitioner wellbeing — not only for the welfare of our valued practitioners themselves, but also the health needs of the patients they care for,” Phillips said.
Informing Future Workforce Measures
Ahpra Acting Chief Executive Officer, Kym Ayscough, said that the findings will help shape strategies to boost workforce retention: “The more we understand why people choose to stay or leave their health profession, the better placed the health sector is to address these factors within the workforce. This research has identified not only why people are staying or leaving, but who makes up those cohorts, which can be used to inform targeted retention interventions.”
