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

  • Health debate: parties pressed on payroll tax, the EBA, pharmacy prescribing, hospital delays, and mental health

  • GP summit: practice viability, clinical autonomy, and a stronger voice in advocacy

  • Digital Health Roadmap and CareSync Exchange annual report released

  • WorkSafe’s Code of Claimants’ Rights to commence in February.

 

Health debate: parties pressed on payroll tax, the EBA, pharmacy prescribing, hospital delays, and mental health

On 31 October, four weeks before the state election, AMA Victoria and RACGP Victoria brought together Health Minister Ingrid Stitt, Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier, Greens health spokesperson Dr Sarah Mansfield, and One Nation Victorian Deputy Leader Colleen Harkin to answer doctors’ questions about their plans to improve Victoria’s health system.

The well-attended debate covered practice costs and payroll tax, the public hospital doctors’ EBA, pharmacy prescribing, emergency department access block, alcohol and other drug treatment, and acute mental health capacity.

The Coalition and Greens supported a payroll tax exemption for GPs, while the Government maintained its existing position. Labor, the Coalition, and the Greens all recognised the urgency of resolving the full EBA before industrial action could resume in March. All four parties supported stronger scrutiny of pharmacy prescribing. On access block and acute mental health capacity, there was broad recognition of the problems, but fewer specific commitments to address them.

Together with RACGP Victoria, we will write to the parties about issues not reached on the day, including rural and regional healthcare, prevention and VicHealth, the future of cohealth and the wider community health sector, public specialist access, and climate and environmental health.

This follow-up forms part of our broader work to secure clear commitments before the election. We have also been in contact with the parties about the ten commitments underpinning our Don’t get sick in Vic campaign, with their responses to inform our public scorecard in the week before polling day.

We will share Channel 9’s recording as soon as it is available, and a fuller analysis will appear in this month’s VICDOC. In the meantime, members can watch a short excerpt from the debate here.

 

GP summit: practice viability, clinical autonomy, and a stronger voice in advocacy

 AMA Victoria’s GP Challenges and Solutions Summit on 22 October brought GPs together to discuss practical changes to support their work, sustain their practices, and make general practice a more rewarding profession.

Dr Mukesh Haikerwal AC led the discussion, with contributions from AMA President-elect Dr Michael Bonning and Vice President-elect Dr Sarah Whitelaw. A recurring theme was the importance of giving GPs the time, independence, and resources to provide good care, while reducing the administrative and financial pressures on their practices.

Participants discussed accreditation and paperwork, payroll tax and contractual liabilities, and the influence of corporate ownership and private health insurers. While recognising the business expertise corporate practices can provide, they wanted stronger protection for clinical judgement across ownership models and more practical support for doctors interested in owning and running practices.

Funding discussions focused on better recognition of longer consultations, preventive care, and the ongoing care of patients with complex needs. Participants also sought improved support for home visits, aged care, and coordination with hospitals. Concerns about pharmacy prescribing and other fragmented service models reflected the importance of preserving comprehensive care and patients’ relationships with their usual GP.

 Workforce discussions covered recognition of teaching, adequate supervision, and employment options that accommodate different career stages. Participants highlighted barriers facing international medical graduates, including costly training pathways and gaps in funded supervision, and called for these to be addressed. They also sought stronger GP involvement in formal policy development.

The summit also highlighted opportunities to strengthen general practice’s voice within the AMA. These include exploring how AMA Victoria’s General Practice Policy Council can engage more directly with the broader GP membership and improving coordination with AMA Federal to pursue shared advocacy priorities.

Whether or not you attended the summit, we welcome your views on the issues raised, suggestions for improving general practice, and ideas about where AMA Victoria should focus its advocacy. Please email your suggestions to Principal Policy Adviser Lewis Horton at [email protected].

 

Digital Health Roadmap and CareSync Exchange annual report released

The Department of Health has released Victoria’s Digital Health Vision and Roadmap 2026–31. It sets out priorities for digital investment across the public health system, including electronic clinical records, information sharing, virtual care, patient access to information, and artificial intelligence.

The roadmap recognises that digital capability remains uneven, with critical health information still held on paper in approximately half of Victorian health services. It provides a framework for investment rather than a detailed implementation plan.

The Department has also published the first CareSync Exchange Annual Report 2025–26. By June 2026, the system was in use across 19 public health services, with more than 9,000 clinical users. The report covers implementation, clinician feedback, and privacy and governance arrangements. It also acknowledges that uptake figures alone do not demonstrate improvements in patient safety or health outcomes.

These developments are relevant to AMA Victoria’s longstanding advocacy and election commitments, particularly statewide electronic medical records, systems that can share information, and reducing duplication. Our priorities also emphasise connections between public hospitals, general practice, community health, and private specialists, alongside investment in regional and rural services.

Our further assessment will focus on connections between services, the funding and timeframes needed for delivery, and doctors’ involvement in design and implementation. We will keep members informed as this work progresses.

 

WorkSafe’s Code of Claimants’ Rights to commence in February

WorkSafe has published its Code of Claimants’ Rights, which takes effect on 1 February 2027. It sets standards for respectful treatment, communication, and information, and provides a process for complaints about conduct within the WorkCover scheme.

The Code applies to WorkSafe, its agents, self-insurers, independent medical examiners (IMEs), occupational rehabilitation providers, and private investigators. It distinguishes complaints about conduct from disputes about compensation and treatment entitlements, and excludes complaints about clinical opinions, professional medical services, and medical treatment. Existing processes continue to apply to those matters.

AMA Victoria’s submission supported the Code’s intent, while emphasising timely access to treatment, clear decisions, and workable processes. We also sought safeguards distinguishing complaints about IME conduct from disagreement with clinical opinions. The final Code makes that distinction explicit.

The Code provides a clearer framework for how claimants should be treated, but does not resolve the broader problems doctors and patients encounter with treatment approvals and scheme administration. AMA Victoria continues to pursue treatment delays, inconsistent approval decisions, and administrative burdens through our WorkSafe/TAC Committee and broader advocacy.