- Queensland’s health workforce has grown by more than 10,000 workers in the first 20 months of the Crisafulli Government.
- 7,200 of the 10,000 workers are frontline doctors, nurses and allied health workers, working across Queensland hospital and health services.
- The milestone marks a major step toward the Crisafulli Government’s election commitment of an additional 46,000 health workers by 2032.
- With reduced ramping, stabilised elective surgery waitlist and more frontline workers, the Crisafulli Government is healing Labor’s Health Crisis, delivering health services when Queensland need them and more free healthcare than ever before.
The Crisafulli Government has grown Queensland’s health workforce by an additional 10,000 health workers in its 20 months, helping to rebuild the health frontline and deliver health services when Queenslanders need them most.
It is a major milestone towards the Crisafulli Government’s election commitment of an additional 46,000 health workers by 2032, after the former Labor Government let the health frontline workforce collapse which led to skyrocketing ambulance ramping rates and ballooning elective surgery waitlists.
More than 7,000 of the 10,000-plus new recruits are nurses, midwives, paramedics, doctors and allied health professionals, helping heal Labor’s Health Crisis
Importantly, the workforce uplift also includes more than 2,800 staff in non-clinical or clinical support roles, who are critical to making the delivery of high-quality health services possible from Currumbin to the Cape and beyond.
Under the former Labor Government, recruitment was lagging, with Queensland Health’s frontline workforce growing by only 25,000 over ten years and attrition rates of those leaving the workforce peaked.
Despite having a decade to take appropriate action, the former Labor Government failed to deliver the health workforce Queenslanders need, leaving a 21% gap in doctors across rural and remote communities.
The 10,000 additional health workers is the result of record recruitment under the Crisafulli Government and lower attrition.
The Crisafulli Government is delivering more free healthcare than ever before and health services when Queenslanders need them, with the fully-funded Hospital Rescue Plan to deliver three new and ten expanded hospitals after Labor’s failed Capacity Expansion Program left Queensland’s health system on life support.
The latest health data shows Queensland’s ambulance ramping rate fell to 35.5 per cent in May 2026, which comes after the former Labor Government allowed the ramping rate to skyrocket due to multiple failed Health Ministers, reaching 45.5 per cent during their last year in office.
Premier David Crisafulli said the milestone showed the Government was rebuilding the frontline to deliver health services when Queenslanders need them.
“This is more nurses and midwives, more paramedics and more doctors on the front line to ensure Queenslanders can access care when they need it,” Premier Crisafulli said.
“We made a promise to rebuild the health frontline, and with more than 10,000 frontline workers already delivered, that’s exactly what we’re doing.
“We will continue to reduce ramping and stabilise the elective surgery waitlist by delivering more hospital beds and building the frontline workforce to ensure Queenslanders can access the health services when and where they need them.”
Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls said the Crisafulli Government’s record $35.5 billion Health Budget was helping heal Labor’s Health Crisis.
“Employing more health professionals is just one part of the solution and we will be doing all we can to attract and retain doctors, nurses, midwives, ambulance officers, allied health workers and other health workers to Queensland Health, especially to the areas they are needed most,” Minister Nicholls said.
“This milestone marks a significant step toward the Crisafulli Government delivering the 46,000 additional health workers needed by 2032, to meet the needs of Queensland’s growing and ageing population.
“Only with our Hospital Rescue Plan and a stronger health workforce will we heal Labor’s Health Crisis.”
