Hospitals have slashed the recruitment of nurses on 457 visas over the past three years, as the health sector ramps up its workforce renewal.
Australia will need an extra 123,000 nurses by 2030, according to the government's 2014 Australia’s Future Health Workforce report.
Despite this, the use of the skilled worker 457 visa to recruit nurses from overseas has halved in the past three years.
A spokesperson for the NSW Department of Health said the dramatic fall in the use of 457 visas was due to improved workforce planning, and cited an increase in intern positions from 133 in 2012 to 983 in 2016.
A statement provided to SBS News said: “Self sufficiency of the health workforce is a long term benefit to the population of NSW but there will be skill gaps due to many factors in the future, which may be filled by temporary skilled workers".
There were 1879 registered nurses in Australia on 457 visas in September last year, the lowest since 2009 when current record-keeping began.
From 2011, nurse-to-patient ratios were implemented for NSW nurses in the public health system, meaning the government needed more nurses. A large proportion of those recruited in the following two years were 457 visa holders.
Following a spike linked to the new nurse-to-patient ratios, 457 grants have dramatically declined, and the decline in 457s in NSW is not an isolated trend.
