Basic work rights up but safety worse for junior doctors

AMA Queensland releases 2025 Resident Hospital Health Check

Queensland’s junior doctors have given Queensland Health a cautionary B minus grade in this year’s survey of their employment experiences, slightly up from its C plus grade in 2024.

The AMA Queensland-ASMOFQ (Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation Queensland) Resident Hospital Health Check (RHHC) is the leading independent workplace survey of doctors in training across Queensland’s public hospitals.

“This report shows Queensland Health is slowly addressing its past failures to honour basic work rights,” AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim said.

“For years, doctors in training have reported hours of unpaid overtime, denial of leave and inadequate teaching, training and hospital facilities.

“This is the bare minimum expected of any employer so even though it’s an improvement on last year’s results, there is still a long way to go.

Dr Yim said only 53% of junior doctors were satisfied with the teaching and training they received, up from the concerning 37% reported last year.

A worrying 46% of early career doctors remain concerned about making a clinical error due to fatigue from long work hours.

“Clearly, that is not good for our workforce or the patients they treat,” Dr Yim said.

“What we need to see urgently is real investment into our medical workforce to staff our hospitals properly, as called for in AMA Queensland’s Workforce Action Plan.

Dr Yim said the Queensland government knows action is necessary and urgent.

“Just this week we saw the state government release its Workforce Gap Analysis, which projects Queensland will be short almost 6,000 doctors by 2032,” he said.

“Getting more frontline workers in our hospitals is the only way to improve conditions for all doctors, especially those just starting their careers.”

AMA Queensland Committee of Doctors in Training Chair Dr Emma Hodge said making sure entitlements on paper were honoured on the front line was essential but lifting hospital culture and doctor wellbeing was the real challenge.

“A B minus is a solid grade overall but more needs to be done to make our hospitals more attractive to future medical professionals.

“Too many junior doctors reported they felt their safety had been compromised at work, at 42% of all respondents compared with 29% in 2024.”

Dr Hodge said nearly half of survey respondents think their hospital is not doing enough for wellbeing and mental health, despite it being a high priority for this cohort of doctors.

“There was a jump from 13% in 2024 to 21% this year in junior doctors witnessing or experiencing bullying, discrimination or sexual harassment,” she said.

“That is shocking when other workplaces are tackling psychosocial safety head on.

“Only 32% thought there was anything they could do about such incidents and only 34% reported it.

“More than half (52%) still thought there could be negative consequences for reporting bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment even though there was a significant reduction from 81% last year.

“For those brave enough to report it, just 56% felt it was properly addressed, worse than 63% just 12 months ago.”

“Like all doctors, our future medical leaders must feel safe at work to provide the care their patients expect and deserve.

“It is positive Queensland hospitals scored an A overall for hours of work and overtime but a C grade for career progression and development and a C plus for wellbeing and culture shows there is still much work to be done.”

This year’s RHHC follows the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission’s certification of MOCA 7, after months of negotiations between the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Queensland (ASMOFQ) and Queensland Health.

ASMOFQ President Dr Hau Tan said the improvements secured under MOCA 7, such as strengthened provisions around workplace health and safety, better rostering practices, and new clauses on workplace behaviour, reflect the union’s sustained efforts to address long-standing issues such as workloads, psychosocial hazards and doctor well-being.

“ASMOFQ will continue to monitor, support and fight for doctors to ensure their workplaces are safe and their working conditions are protected,” he said.

“There is important work ahead, particularly to secure better conditions for junior doctors. Retention must be a central pillar of any workforce plan going forward, and that starts with creating conditions that keep all doctors safe, valued and supported.”

AMA Queensland and ASMOFQ provide the results to Queensland Health and the individual hospitals and associated hospital and health services reported in that year.

In 2025, this included 19 different hospitals stretching from the Gold Coast to Cairns and west to Toowoomba.

Dr Yim said the RHHC results are an invaluable tool for junior doctors deciding which hospital they want to work in next year.

“The results show that Bundaberg is punching above its weight, being the only hospital that achieved an A overall,” he said.

“There is no doubt this is due to its strong focus on junior doctor wellbeing through the establishment of its medical education and wellbeing registrar position.”

Cairns Hospital achieved a B plus, with five others scoring a B and eight a B minus.

Dr Yim said four hospitals got a grade in the Cs due to poor results on career progression and development and wellbeing and culture, so those are urgent areas for the government’s attention.

“Beyond individual results, the RHHC is a powerful advocacy mechanism for AMA Queensland to engage Queensland Health and make real changes in the working lives of our early career doctors,” he said.

“Each year, we invite every hospital included in the RHHC to meet with AMA Queensland to discuss practical, achievable solutions.

“Investing in junior medical officers flows on to benefit all doctors and, importantly, the patients they treat.

“Improving the employment experiences of doctors in training year on year attracts more talented people to a career in medicine and helps secure the workforce we need for the future.”

Background

AMA Queensland’s Committee of Doctors in Training (CDT) and ASMOFQ (Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation Queensland) have surveyed junior doctors in Queensland hospitals since 2016 about their work conditions, culture and training opportunities.

In 2025, a total of 798 doctors across 35 hospitals completed the survey, 4% fewer than in 2024 across 40 hospitals.

Hospitals are graded from A to E across core employment domains with 24 measures in total.

Data from all responses is used to calculate state averages but results for individual hospitals are only reported when there are 20 or more responses unless otherwise indicated.

Many junior doctors use the RHHC results to determine their hospital preferences for the following year.