After a 14 month inquiry, 45 recommendations to improve transparency, efficiency and accountability in the registration system for international medical graduates have been made to the federal government.

Last week, Steve Georgamas MP – Chair of the House of Representatives Health and Ageing Committee, tabled his committee’s report into registration and support processes for international medical graduates (IMGs).

During the inquiry, the committee heard evidence from 146 witnesses across every state and territory in Australia, in an effort to hear what steps could be taken to cut unnecessary red tape in the registration process for IMGs while ensuring that Australia’s high clinical standards are maintained.

“We’ve travelled round the country to every major city and regional area. We found that sometimes up to 70 per cent of doctors in regional areas are overseas-trained doctors, so they fill an enormous gap in our shortage of medical practitioners.”

“The lack of a clear pathway to registration, opaque decision making, and a high degree of duplication are some of the key challenges facing IMGs trying to register in Australia,” Mr Georganas told Neos Kosmos.

“One example was a UK trained specialist who told us he was forced to sit a basic exam again, only to find he was the author of the prescribed textbook”.

The MP for Hindmarsh added that it was clear that parts of the current registration system neither contributed to better outcomes for IMGs, or the communities they serve.

“We have to find ways of streamlining the process. It’s not about cutting corners, it’s about holding their hand through the process which at the moment is a bit like snakes and ladders. At the moment they really have nowhere to turn to when something goes wrong.

“We need good doctors to be able to get on with the job they came here to do – not stuck doing paperwork for months on end.”

The key recommendations of the inquiry include: establishing a one-stop-shop to assist IMGs in navigating the accreditation and registration processes; reviewing the moratorium requiring IMGs to work in a District of Workforce Shortage for up to ten years to be eligible for a Medicare Provider Number; increasing the validity period for English language test results when applying for certain forms of medical registration, and establishing a central document repository for IMG paperwork to reduce inefficiency.

The government has six months to respond to the recommendations. Mr Georganas said that he was optimistic that the proposals would result in new legislation and an easier pathway for overseas trained doctors to come to Australia by 2013.