Queensland Visiting Medical Officers’ landslide vote in favour of new pay deal

• Queensland Visiting Medical Officers have voted to support a new wage agreement with 91.5 per cent of participating employees supporting the new enterprise agreement.
• The agreement includes a wage increase in line with state wage policy, as well as enhanced allowances.
• The Crisafulli Government is backing health workers with pay and conditions, as part of its plan to restore health services when Queenslanders need them most, after Labor’s Health Crisis.

A ballot of Queensland Visiting Medical Officers has found more than 91 per cent of those who voted support an offer by the Crisafulli Government for increased wages and enhanced allowances.

More than 500 Visiting Medical Officers across Queensland will benefit from improved wages and conditions, with a wage increase of 3 per cent, 2.5 per cent, 2.5 per cent over three years, plus cost-of-living adjustments.

These doctors will also receive a suite of other benefits, including a one-off three per cent increase to professional development allowance rates, expansion of the clinical managers and medical managers allowances.

The outcome comes after four months of rigorous and respectful negotiations between Queensland Health, the Australian Salaried Medical Officers’ Federation Queensland and Together Queensland, followed by a staff ballot process.

Visiting Medical Officers enhance Queensland Health’s suite of full-time medical specialist services across metropolitan and regional hospitals, providing easier access to specialist care locally and bridging critical healthcare gaps.

Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Tim Nicholls welcomed the positive outcome and thanked all parties for their constructive approach to negotiations.

“Visiting medical officers make our health system stronger, by improving access to medical expertise, reducing wait times, supporting on-call rosters, and bringing specialist services into regional and metropolitan public hospitals,” Minister Nicholls said.

“This is an exciting milestone, with more than 500 doctors set to benefit from the increased wages and enhanced conditions in this agreement.

“The Crisafulli Government will continue to work in partnership with the unions to deliver improved wages and conditions for Queensland’s valued and dedicated health professionals”

The agreement follows the success of five other enterprise agreements negotiated since Queenslanders voted for a fresh start in 2024, which have achieved pay rises for over 122,000 Queensland Health employees.

This includes nurses and midwives, paramedics, medical officers, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and Queensland Health staff, including administration, operational, professional and technical staff.