Supporting collaborative primary care workforce planning

The fourth Annual National Health Workforce Summit brought together leading voices and fresh ideas to address one of the biggest challenges facing Australia’s healthcare system – our workforce.

The summit explored innovative solutions and strategies to enhance the quality, accessibility and sustainability of the healthcare workforce. This aligns closely with the objectives of the General Practice Workforce Planning and Prioritisation (GP WPP) program, which is focused on ensuring our workforce meets the evolving needs of the community.

Paul Wallwork, Lead – Workforce Planning and Prioritisation, attended on behalf of Brisbane North PHN, affording him the opportunity to not only collaborate with colleagues from the Queensland PHN Consortium (pictured below alongside representatives from Brisbane South PHN and Northern Queensland PHN), but also to exchange ideas with PHN staff from the Northern Territory, New South Wales and the ACT. These discussions offered valuable insights into how other catchments are approaching workforce planning.

Reflecting on the event, Paul shared:

Effective healthcare workforce planning requires meaningful and authentic stakeholder engagement, ensuring collaboration and alignment with diverse expectations – and that has always been at the heart of the GP WPP program.

"The WPP team have consistently embedded real-world experience and localised insights from general practice stakeholders within our region to test and validate data, seek feedback, and build trust and consensus," he said.

PHNs are uniquely positioned to support primary care workforce planning through their deep local knowledge, established relationships, and ability to engage meaningfully with health professionals and communities. Events like the Health Workforce Summit provide important opportunities to strengthen this role and share strategies to build a sustainable general practice workforce.