What is the Health Workforce?

HWF EXPLAINER SERIES – No. 1 What is the Health Work Force? / V.1 / 19.05.25

The term health workforce refers to the wide range of people whose work – directly or indirectly – contributes to the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities. These are the people who deliver care, support patients, run services, and keep the system functioning. While doctors and nurses are often the most visible, the health workforce extends far beyond these roles and includes both registered professionals and unregistered workers and clinical and non-clinical staff including service managers, administrators and regulators.

In Australia, the frontline health workforce operates not only within hospitals and general practices but also in aged care homes, public health units, disability support services, schools, workplaces, prisons, and people’s homes. It includes highly trained specialists as well as support workers who may not require formal qualifications but play essential roles in service delivery. Together, these workers form the backbone of the health and care systems, and their availability and distribution are key to ensuring that all Australians can access safe and appropriate care.

Australia’s health workforce includes both registered and unregistered roles. Registered professionals are those whose practice is overseen by national regulatory bodies through the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). This group includes general practitioners, medical specialists, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, psychologists, dentists, and a range of allied health professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. These workers are subject to professional standards and must maintain current registration through continuing professional development and annual renewal processes.

Alongside these roles is a large and diverse group of workers who are not regulated under AHPRA but whose roles and contributions are essential to the health system. These include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers, epidemiologists, health promotion specialists, speech pathologists, peer support workers, personal care assistants in aged and disability care, receptionists, cleaners, and administrative staff. Some of these roles have specific training or certification pathways, while others are shaped more by experience and on-the-job learning.

Both curative and public (preventive, promotive and protective) health services are ideally delivered through multidisciplinary teams that bring together both registered and unregistered workers to meet population- and context-specific needs. For example, a community clinic may involve a general practitioner, a practice nurse, an Aboriginal health practitioner, a social worker, and a peer navigator working in close collaboration. Service coverage, quality and access often depend not just on the skills of any one individual, but on how effectively the team functions. Service managers and administrators who are responsible for curating and supervising these teams are thus also key members of the health workforce.

Health workers are found across a wide variety of settings. Hospitals remain the most publicly visible part of the system, but much health care takes place in other locations. General practices, community clinics, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services provide the foundation for primary health care. Public health units, typically embedded in local health districts, play a crucial role in disease surveillance, immunisation, and health promotion. Residential aged care homes and in-home care providers support older Australians in their daily lives, while disability services deliver support across both health and social domains.

Beyond these formal health settings, many workers operate in schools, community centres, justice facilities, and workplaces. Health professionals are also involved in research, policy, education, and digital health innovation. This wide spread across sectors highlights that the health workforce cannot be confined to a single part of government or society—it intersects with aged care, disability support, education, employment, and justice systems.

The health workforce is one of Australia’s largest employment sectors and the single biggest component of health system expenditure. It is central to the quality, safety, and accessibility of care, and to the ability of the system to respond to both everyday and extraordinary demands. Without a sufficient, well-supported, and well-distributed workforce, the goals of timely, equitable, and effective care cannot be met.

This is especially true in rural and remote areas, where workforce shortages can result in serious gaps in service access. It is also true during public health emergencies, when flexibility, training, and collaboration across roles become critical. But beyond crisis situations, the health workforce is essential to the daily delivery of chronic disease care, aged care, rehabilitation, mental health support, and preventive services.

The workforce also plays a broader role in economic and social development. Health services are often major employers in regional and remote communities. Jobs in health and care sectors offer opportunities for long-term employment, skills development, and community stability—especially when workforce policy supports inclusive employment practices.

As one of the largest employment sectors in Australia, and in many countries, and with a growing demand, there are many active debates and questions about how to manage and strengthen health workforce in ways that produce equitable health outcomes. A non-exclusive summary of some of those debates and their implications for policy and practice are outlined below.

Who is counted as ‘health workforce’?

Much of the public conversation about “health workforce” focuses on registered professionals, especially doctors and nurses. But many other roles—especially non-registered and lower-paid workers—are critical for delivering care. Their sidelining or exclusion from routine and formal planning processes, data systems, and public recognition has real consequences for workforce sustainability and care quality.

Which roles are visible and understood?

Some health workers have high public recognition. For example, most people understand what a GP or pharmacist does. But roles like peer navigators, personal care workers, or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Workers and Practitioners are often misunderstood or invisible to the general public, despite their importance—especially in rural and remote areas or among marginalised populations.

Cross-sector complexity

Because the health workforce spans recognised health settings like hospitals, but also aged care, disability, education, and social services – planning and policy responses are often fragmented. Different pay scales, career pathways, and policy settings apply—even when workers have similar training or deliver similar services. This fragmentation makes system-wide reform more difficult.

Evolving roles and scope of practice

There are ongoing debates about how to best use available skills, especially in under-served areas. Can nurses and allied health workers take on broader responsibilities? Can non-registered workers be supported to take on more frontline roles? These are practical but also political questions with different groups often holding different positions on the best way forward.

Pay, conditions, and equity

The workforce is highly gendered and stratified. Many non-registered roles are casualised, poorly paid, and lack clear career progression. Supporting the sustainability of the health workforce requires addressing these systemic inequities, not just recruiting more staff.

Attribution: Topp SM, Nguyen T, Elliott LE. Health Workforce Explainer Series: No. 1 – What is the Health Workforce? 2025.