Doctors in South Australia have been offered a new prescription. This time, it’s not about medicine or patient care, but a substantial real wage increase that could reshape how the state recruits and retains its medical workforce.
The Malinauskas Government has put forward a pay deal that seeks to balance economic caution with a clear message: the state values its doctors and is willing to prove it with more than words.
At the heart of the proposal is a guaranteed 10 per cent pay increase across three years, outstripping current inflation rates and giving SA doctors a better shot at national pay parity. But it’s the targeted extras for junior and regional doctors that have sparked the most chatter in the sector.
For the 953 junior doctors in their first three years of clinical practice, the offer includes a $4,050 base wage hike, which means an 8.6 per cent boost for first-year interns. That would take the base salary for an intern to $88,869, placing them just behind their colleagues in the best-paying mainland state.
The State Government says this is part of a broader push to ensure that young medical professionals don’t just start in South Australia, but stay. Health Minister Chris Picton was direct: “Our doctors work hard to care for South Australians and they deserve a fair and reasonable pay rise. A pay rise of at least 10 per cent over three years will ensure our doctors’ pay is nationally competitive.”
That’s not all. Emergency Department consultants, the senior doctors working the frontlines of SA’s hospitals, stand to earn more than $600,000 a year under the new deal. The figure includes remote call allowances and funding for professional development. It’s a striking number, particularly as other sectors tighten belts or tread cautiously amid broader economic uncertainty.
The package also includes a raft of structural changes to work conditions. One of the most welcomed provisions by staff advocates is the increase in minimum breaks between shifts, moving from eight hours to ten. It’s a nod to growing concerns about burnout, particularly in hospitals still feeling the aftershocks of the COVID era.
Consultants will also have a guaranteed 20 per cent of their time protected for non-clinical duties. That means more time for teaching, quality improvement and research—a long-standing ask from senior staff who often find themselves squeezed between clinical workloads and system pressures.
Then there’s the push to support doctors outside the metropolitan bubble. Regional doctors, especially Rural Generalists, have often spoken of being overworked, under-resourced and underpaid. This proposal lifts their attraction and retention allowance from 30 per cent to 45 per cent. Add to that the possibility of up to $39,493 in additional incentives, and the package aims to make working in regional SA a more viable and appealing career path.
Kyam Maher, the state’s Industrial Relations Minister, described the negotiations as “good faith bargaining” and framed the offer as both responsible and generous. “With this offer, the Government is once again showing our commitment to supporting our health workers in the vital work of helping the South Australian community,” he said.
The deal also includes more flexibility in rostering. Senior doctors could be rostered on any day of the week, reflecting the reality of public hospitals that never close. Fixing ordinary working hours at 37.5 hours per week, rather than leaving them undefined, is another move designed to bring clarity and fairness to contracts that have traditionally relied on professional goodwill to fill roster gaps.
There’s a sense of momentum too. Just a day earlier, the Health Services Union gave in-principle support to a separate enterprise agreement for Allied Health Professionals. That wave of agreement-making is no accident. The Government is clearly trying to lock in goodwill from healthcare workers while also delivering on its bigger promise: rebuilding a stretched health system.
The numbers are telling. Since taking office, the Malinauskas Government says it has recruited 2,700 additional health workers beyond attrition, including 646 doctors. That’s six times the original promise of 100. At the start of the year, 313 new medical interns—the largest South Australian intake on record—began work in public hospitals. These new recruits are now being presented with a stronger financial incentive to keep their scrubs on in SA.
Whether the union accepts the offer remains to be seen. The SA Salaried Medical Officers Association will take the proposal back to members for detailed consideration. While many elements of the offer are in line with long-standing requests, there will likely be scrutiny over workload expectations, how flexible rostering will be implemented, and whether the pay increases are enough to counter cost-of-living pressures, particularly in Adelaide’s rapidly changing housing market.
But the broad reaction from within the sector has leaned cautiously positive. There’s relief that junior doctors, long expected to carry heavy loads with modest pay, are being directly addressed. There’s also support for clearer work hours and the enshrining of academic time—two moves that bring the public system closer in line with professional standards across other states and even the private sector.
Still, the decision will rest on whether doctors see this offer as a turning point or just a patch. The Government is banking on the former. With national shortages looming in multiple specialties, and inter-state poaching on the rise, no state can afford to treat its doctors like an afterthought.
There’s more than pride at stake here. Getting the workforce settings right means less reliance on costly locums, better continuity of care for patients, and fewer burnt-out clinicians leaving the system entirely.
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💰#SouthAustralia offers #doctors 10% pay rise over 3 years, with interns' base salary rising to $88,869. 🏥ED consultants could earn $600K+, regional docs get 45% retention allowance. ⏳Longer breaks & protected research time included. #TheIndianSun
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