ACT Health Workforce Strategy
The ACT is investing in services and health infrastructure to grow the ACT workforce to meet the increasing healthcare needs of our region.
About the workforce
The ACT health workforce provides health services with transitions of care across public, private and non-government sectors, within the ACT and to surrounding NSW regions.
Our health workforce includes those registered by:
- the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra)
- self-regulated and unregulated
- technical and non-clinical staff
- students and care workers
ACT Health Workforce Strategy 2023-2032
The ACT Health Workforce Strategy 2023-2032 sets out the territory wide approach to building a sustainable health workforce. It supports the territory and surrounding regions to predict and respond to workforce challenges.
The strategy identifies eight priority areas to target specific workforce needs including:
- creating exciting career paths and investing in data intelligence
- ensuring we provide a culturally safe environment for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforce.
These priorities help us deliver on our ambition to be the most capable health workforce in Australia.
Strategy implementation
The strategy will be implemented over 10 years.
Action plans are developed with key stakeholders including:
- public and private health organisations
- education providers
- the non-government sector.
The strategy will support national, organisational and profession-specific workforce plans and frameworks. It will build a health workforce that meets the needs of Canberra and the surrounding regions.
Completed actions
14 early actions from the strategy have been completed, and two actions partially completed. The remaining early actions are expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
Information for the below two early actions can be accessed using the links:
- 6. Commit to improving publicly available health workforce data. Go to Data, statistics and surveys.
- 19. Convene a student round table or forum in 2023 - Forum was held on 26 April 2023. Go to ACT Health Workforce Strategy: Student Round Table Forum for a summary of the forum.
2025 – 26 Action Plan
We released the 2025 - 26 Action Plan in June 2025. We collaborated with stakeholders to develop the action plan.
It outlines the activities that are being achieved during 2025-26 to meet the 8 strategic priorities in the ACT Health Workforce Strategy 2023-2032.
We will evaluate the action plan in 2026. We will use the findings to develop future action plans.
Advocating for the ACT health workforce
The sustainability of the health workforce is a priority of states and territories across Australia. A national Health Workforce Taskforce has been established to consider health workforce issues and progress priorities agreed at the Health Chief Executives Forum and the Health Ministers’ Meeting, which is currently chaired by Ms Rachel Stephen-Smith MLA, Minister for Health, ACT.
The Health Workforce Taskforce is currently prioritising migration, workforce intelligence, and registration and assessment. The ACT is an active participant to represent the Territory’s concerns, influence the national strategic direction and advocate for reform.
Territory-wide Health Workforce Planning Group
A new governance committee, the Territory-wide Health Workforce Planning Group, has been established to focus on the sustainability of health workforce. It will consider the health workforce employed in all sectors across the ACT, including community, education, disability and ageing services, and the public health service.
Contact
Contact the Health Workforce Strategy Unit by calling 02 5124 9966 emailing territoryhealthworkforce@act.gov.au.
More information
Find out more about career opportunities.