For immediate release
Media Release:
Rural workforce census confirms what doctors already know: the agency model isn't fixing rural healthcare
StatDoctor backs calls for practical, place-based solutions after the Victorian Rural Health Workforce Census finds 37% of rural health professionals have considered leaving.
Brisbane, 18 August 2026: StatDoctor, Australia's commission-free locum doctor marketplace, has welcomed the findings of the Victorian Rural Health Workforce Census 2025-2026 and called for the sector to redirect money currently lost to recruitment margins into the practical barriers keeping doctors out of rural communities.
The Census, led by the Rural Workforce Agency Victoria (RWAV) and drawn from more than 700 health professionals, found workforce shortages across general practice, nursing, mental health, allied health and specialist professions, with the greatest pressure concentrated in Northern Victoria, Gippsland and Western Victoria.
Among its findings, the Census identified estimated unmet demand of:
- 45 FTE psychologists
- 24 FTE social workers
- 21 FTE psychiatrists
- 18 FTE counsellors
- 17 FTE mental health registered nurses
Mental health was named the most significant service gap, with 77% of respondents reporting it as underserved, followed by paediatrics and child health (66%) and First Nations health (42%).
The Census also found that 37% of respondents had considered leaving their rural health care role in the past year, that 27% work more than 40 hours per week, and that 80% identified staff shortages as the leading issue facing the healthcare system, ahead of long specialist wait times (71%). Relocation costs, limited housing, childcare shortages, professional isolation and restricted access to professional development were all named as barriers to recruitment.
Quote attributable to Dr Anu Ganugapati, Emergency Physician and Founder, StatDoctor
Every number in this Census matches what I see rostering and working shifts. Rural services aren't short of doctors who are willing. They are short of doctors who can make the maths work.
When a hospital in Mildura or Yarram pays for a locum, a significant share of that money can disappear into a recruitment margin before it ever reaches the clinician or the community. That is money that could be paying for the very things the Census identifies as barriers: accommodation, travel, professional development, a genuine reason to come back next month.
RWAV is right that we can't recruit our way out of this. The fix isn't more agencies chasing the same small pool of doctors. It is removing the friction and the cost between a rural service that needs cover and a doctor who is ready to work. That's the entire reason StatDoctor exists.
Priority locations
Using a methodology incorporating more than 50 external health indicators, Census data and stakeholder input, RWAV identified 25 locations under significant workforce pressure and selected 16 Priority Locations for focused action during 2026-2027:
Mildura, Robinvale, Swan Hill, Kerang, Corryong, Nhill, Hamilton, St Arnaud, Stawell, Ararat, Portland, Omeo, Orbost, Churchill, Yarram and Moe.
StatDoctor launched in Victoria in January 2025 and now supports more than 500 doctors and over 60 hospitals nationally, with hospitals posting rates directly and doctors retaining 100% of the contracted fee. The company estimates it has saved health services more than $200,000 in agency fees to date.
"Rural services are being asked to compete for staff with one hand tied behind their back," Dr Ganugapati said. "Give a small health service the same rate transparency and the same speed a metropolitan hospital takes for granted, and a lot of these shifts fill themselves."
StatDoctor said it welcomed the opportunity to work with RWAV, health services and regional partners to translate the Census findings into practical staffing outcomes across rural and regional Victoria.
The full Victorian Rural Health Workforce Census 2025-2026 report is available from RWAV at www.rwav.com.au.
About StatDoctor
StatDoctor is Australia's locum doctor marketplace, connecting doctors directly with hospitals and health services without a recruitment agency in the middle. Founded by Brisbane emergency physician Dr Anu Ganugapati after years of navigating the locum booking system from both sides, StatDoctor lets health services post shifts and rates directly, and lets doctors keep 100% of the contracted fee, with no commission, no markup and no hidden charges. Doctors can go from download to first shift in under 24 hours, with payment within 48 hours of a completed shift.
Learn more at statdoctor.app.
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Dr Anu Ganugapati
Founder, StatDoctor
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