By Brand Tasmania

Along with the rest of the world, Tasmania faces critical shortages of skilled workers across the healthcare sector. The impact of these shortages is dire, with increased patient wait times and escalating ‘quick-fix’ costs. The Department of Health’s (DoH) reliance on temporary health workers costs the Tasmanian Government approximately $500,000 per day, which is likely to worsen if global healthcare worker shortages continue.

Of the 11 registered health professions within Tasmania’s public health service, only five can be studied locally. Recruitment from elsewhere is essential. Most jurisdictions in Australia use advertisements on seek.com.au or LinkedIn that look the same as any other. Their offering at job fairs is indistinguishable from that of other places. While financial incentives are a key recruitment tool for other Australian states, Tasmania faces constraints in matching these offers. Existing recruitment efforts from DoH were generic: not bespoke to Tasmania, nor aligned to the Tasmanian brand or values.