AMA Victoria

14/10/2026

Victorian doctors are calling for urgent investment in hospital capacity and care beyond hospital, following a report warning that Australia’s health system is unprepared for its ageing population.

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine’s State of Emergency 2026 report projects a staggering 411 per cent increase in emergency department arrivals among people aged 85 and over by 2050.

AMA Victoria President Dr Simon Judkins said the report was hugely concerning, with Victorian patients already experiencing dangerous delays.

12/10/2026

A great opportunity over the weekend to attend and present at Monash University Medical Students' Society: MUMUS's event for final year students, 'Life in the Real World': preparing students for life as an intern in 2027.

Our team enjoyed interacting with the 120 students in attendance, answering their burning questions about the current industrial action and how AMA Victoria supports them in their junior doctor years.

12/10/2026

General practice is at a crossroads, and the decisions made over the next few years will shape the future of the profession for decades to come.

On Thursday 22 October, join fellow GPs from across Victoria for an interactive evening of candid discussion, practical problem-solving and advocacy planning. Facilitated by Dr Mukesh Haikerwal AC, this is an opportunity to move beyond the challenges and focus on what can actually be done.

If you've ever found yourself frustrated by the direction of general practice, this is your opportunity to be part of the conversation and help influence the solutions:

Moving beyond the challenges to identify practical solutions and meaningful advocacy priorities for general practice.

09/10/2026

The Victorian Government is extending a fundamentally flawed program to more conditions, despite serious concerns about patient safety, fragmented care, and conflicts of interest. AMA Victoria remains firmly opposed to pharmacist prescribing in retail pharmacies.

The conflict of interest is inherent in the model: the same business deciding whether a patient needs medication also profits from supplying it. Each expansion places more medical decisions in that setting and risks further fragmenting patients’ care.

Common reflux medications, including some proton pump inhibitors, are already available over the counter, so we question why this expansion is required. Further to this, the use of PPI medications needs monitoring as prolonged us , in itself, can cause significant side effects. Ongoing monitoring and decisions about further investigations should sit with a doctor; risks of significant reflux oesophagitis and gastric cancers need be to be understood and require an ongoing , patient-focussed holistic approach to care, not fractured, episodic treatments.

Menopausal hormone therapy is likewise not a simple tick and flick process. It requires treatment tailored to the individual and regular medical reviews to monitor side effects, reassess risks, and adjust medication as needed. Even a one month resupply requires a decision about whether treatment remains safe and appropriate. To suggest a community pharmacy is a suitable setting for that medical assessment is misguided. Womens' healthcare requires a long-term therapeutic relationship and should not be fractured or commercialised. The health outcomes are significant, the screening is vital and the failure to recognise the risks involved in this approach by government is gravely concerning.

The Government should reverse this expansion, abolish Chemist Care Now, and strengthen access to GP-led care.

Before dispensing medication, pharmacists must undertake a thorough consultation in a private room and outline any risks.

08/10/2026

Victorian doctors have overwhelmingly rejected the Carroll government’s pay offer, with 89 per cent voting no and hospital strikes now looming during the election campaign. > https://bit.ly/4ATaQxp

08/10/2026

Doctors have overwhelmingly voted to reject a pay deal put forward by the Carroll Labor Government that would fail to keep doctors in Victoria or address the core issues of unsustainable working hours, fatigue and patient safety.

After state-wide industrial action last Thursday 1 October, the Victorian government put forward a 12-month pay deal which included a lump sum payment and a 10 per cent pay increase for doctors in training.

Subsequently, more than half of ASMOF’s 10,500 members participated in a ballot on the offer which returned an 89 per cent ‘no’ vote. The ballot opened on Monday 5 October and closed at 7pm, Wednesday 7 October.

ASMOF Victoria President Dr Roderick McRae said doctors wanted comprehensive, long-term solutions to the workplace pressures affecting both staff and patients across Victorian hospitals.

“Our doctors are focused on achieving long-term health reform for the people of Victoria, not short-term sugar hits for themselves.
“While we welcome the fact that, after 16 months of negotiations, the Carroll Labor Government has finally put an offer on the table, that offer will not keep doctors in Victoria or address the key workplace issues our doctors and their patients face on a daily basis.

“Fatigue is a major issue for doctors and a serious threat to patient safety. Tackling it means fixing chronic understaffing, and that starts with providing base rates of pay that attract and retain doctors in Victoria.

“We need a committed and robust solution to both pay and unsustainable working hours, fatigue and understaffing across Victorian hospitals.

“Addressing these issues is critical in protecting patient safety and ensuring we can provide the healthcare the people of Victoria deserve.”

AMA Victoria President Dr Simon Judkins said that doctors understood that the future of public healthcare across Victoria was at stake.

“Every day our doctors struggle against the inadequacies of the Victorian health system, often at great personal cost.

“Relentless pressure, chronic fatigue and the constant risk of burnout take an enormous toll on doctors who are still expected to make critical decisions and provide the highest standard of care for their patients.

“In these negotiations, our doctors are focused on ensuring we achieve long-term reforms which actually fix excessive hours of work, fatigue and systemic understaffing so that we can protect the patients under our care.

“We are deeply committed to ensuring our hospitals are better resourced, with doctors who are properly supported to provide the quality standard of healthcare the people of Victoria need.

“We look forward to further discussions with the government.”

02/10/2026

Some more of the extensive media coverage of yesterday's doctors' strike.

Thank you to those that attended, those who stopped work in other ways, and those who stayed behind at their workplace to keep our hospitals safe for patients.

02/10/2026

Victoria’s doctors are calling for greater accountability from OpenAI and clear answers from both the Victorian and Federal governments about how they will protect sensitive patient health information after it was recently disclosed that Medicare was breached in June of this year.

AMA Victoria President Dr Simon Judkins said the incident raised serious questions for both doctors and patients.

“While no personal patient data appears to have been accessed, the obvious question is what happens next time if an AI agent gains access to a system containing sensitive clinical information?"

“Patients and doctors need confidence that unauthorised access will be detected quickly and reported immediately.”

01/10/2026

Victorian doctors rallied outside the Victorian Parliament this afternoon to call on the Carroll Labor Government to urgently address unsustainable working hours, fatigue and the threat to patient safety.

01/10/2026

Victorian doctors rallying outside the Victorian Parliament this afternoon calling on the Carroll Labor Government to urgently address unsustainable working hours, fatigue and the threat to patient safety.