Here’s an update on a few of the issues AMA Victoria is working on for members, including:

• GROSS gaining ground: your examples are driving real reform
• Payroll tax update: transition looms for general practices
• Advocating for fairness and reform in the use of immediate action powers.
   

GROSS gaining ground: your examples are driving real reform

AMA Victoria’s Getting Rid of Stupid Stuff (GROSS) campaign continues to build momentum, with strong engagement from the Victorian Minister for Health, the Department of Health, Safer Care Victoria, and WorkSafe Victoria.

As shared last week, our recent meeting with Minister Mary-Anne Thomas focused on how GROSS can reduce unnecessary administrative burden and return valuable time to patient care. The Minister offered strong support for the initiative and agreed that eliminating duplicative mandatory training modules across public health services is a clear and achievable starting point. This issue continues to frustrate public hospital doctors across all career stages, who are often required to repeat the same training over and over as they move between health services.

We also proposed several practical measures, including the creation of simple channels within health services for clinicians to report examples of “stupid stuff,” and suggested that Department Secretary Jenny Atta PSM act as a senior system champion to lead and coordinate this work. Both proposals were received positively.

Following that meeting, AMA Victoria has continued to drive the initiative forward—engaging directly with Safer Care Victoria, senior Departmental officials, and WorkSafe Victoria. All three bodies expressed strong alignment with the goals of GROSS and acknowledged the need to address the daily inefficiencies that undermine clinician morale and distract from patient care.

Media attention has also continued to grow. Australian Doctor recently profiled the GROSS campaign, highlighting real-life frustrations reported by doctors across Victoria: geriatricians being asked to obtain Working With Children Checks, trainees repeatedly filling out onboarding paperwork, radiology and pathology results lacking identifying headers, and clinicians having to log in to five different systems just to run a single outpatient clinic. These aren’t isolated irritations—they reflect widespread inefficiencies that waste time, cost money, and sap motivation.

Our digital health recommendations have also been featured in Pulse+IT, where AMA Victoria outlined how clinician-centred digital solutions—such as interoperable systems, single logins, unified dashboards, and streamlined documentation templates—can help eliminate many of the repetitive tasks that GROSS seeks to address.

But to keep the momentum going, we need your help.

We’ve previously called on members to share their examples of “stupid stuff”—and those examples are already informing real conversations with government and health system leaders. But this phase of the campaign is critical. The more specific, grounded, and widespread the examples, the stronger our case for action.

Submit your examples here.

And if you haven’t already, please add your voice to our petition calling for GROSS to be adopted across all public health services in Victoria.

We’ve built real momentum. Let’s keep it going—and get back to care.
 

Payroll tax update: transition looms for general practices

In less than three months, significant changes to payroll tax arrangements will come into effect for Victorian general practices. Following legislation passed by the Victorian Parliament in November 2024, from 1 July 2025, payments to GPs for fully funded services — including bulk-billed consultations and services funded by Medicare, DVA, the TAC or workers’ compensation — will be exempt from payroll tax. All other GP payments may be taxable, and many practices could face new obligations and reporting requirements as a result.

These legislative changes follow a long period of uncertainty and sustained AMA Victoria advocacy. In May 2024, the Victorian Government confirmed that no retrospective payroll tax would apply to eligible practices that had not yet begun paying, and that ex gratia relief would be available for those with outstanding assessments. These measures were vital in shielding many practices from sudden and significant financial risk.

Nonetheless, the transition ahead remains challenging. We understand that many practices are now reviewing their arrangements and exploring different approaches — including contracting structures, payment flows, and billing systems — in preparation for the new framework. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Indeed, we note the State Revenue Office’s view, expressed across a series of meetings throughout 2023–24, that in most cases it is unlikely practices can structure their affairs in a way that avoids payroll tax liability. However, that remains the SRO’s view and has not been tested in court. Practices will need to assess their individual circumstances and work closely with their accountants and tax advisers to understand how the changes may apply to their business.

AMA Victoria will continue to support members throughout this process, including through our partnership with the Bongiorno Group. Our focus remains on ensuring the implementation of these changes is as fair, workable and transparent as possible.

MORE: State Revenue Office’s payroll tax and medical industry page; Payroll tax on medical practices update (28 November 2024)
 

Advocating for fairness and reform in the use of immediate action powers

AMA Victoria has made a formal submission to the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman’s investigation into the use of immediate action powers by Ahpra and the Medical Board.

Our submission acknowledges the importance of immediate action in rare and urgent cases where serious risk to the public is clearly established. However, member experiences show that the current system too often fails to meet basic standards of timeliness, fairness and transparency. The result is lasting harm to practitioners – personal, professional and psychological – even in cases where no wrongdoing is ultimately found.

Practitioners report being subject to immediate action with little or no opportunity to respond, delays that stretch into months or years, and communication that is sparse, inconsistent, or absent altogether. Many describe the process as opaque and predetermined, with conditions imposed before reasons are provided, or based on vague references to “public confidence” rather than clear evidence of risk. Some report never receiving the investigator’s report on which the decision was based.

The professional consequences are severe: lost income, withdrawal of job offers, cancelled clinics, and restrictions recorded on the public register – sometimes before the practitioner has seen the allegations. The personal toll is just as profound, with members describing anxiety, depression, family breakdown and lasting trauma. Several reported ongoing panic or reputational damage despite no finding of fault. In some cases, public risk was arguably worsened – for example, when clinicians were abruptly removed from obstetric care or emergency surgery rosters.

The submission calls for urgent reform. We argue for clearer thresholds for immediate action, a stronger and earlier role for peer input, better triage of low-risk complaints, enforceable timeframes, and independent review of ongoing restrictions. We also call for a shift in regulatory culture: one that remains robust but treats practitioners with fairness, transparency and compassion, rather than suspicion and silence.

AMA Victoria thanks the National Health Practitioner Ombudsman for undertaking this important investigation, and we thank the members who shared their experiences to inform our advocacy. We remain committed to regulatory processes that uphold both public safety and practitioner trust.