The Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation has released the damning results of a national survey of more than 700 hospital doctors. See what it found.
A national survey has revealed a “deeply disturbing picture of dysfunction in the working relationships between administrators of Australia’s public hospitals and the doctors who work in them”.
The results of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation’s 2025 National Doctor’s Survey highlighted critical issues that threaten patient safety, workforce sustainability, and the integrity of healthcare delivery, the union said.
The survey of more than 700 Australian frontline doctors found just 25% reported being treated with respect by hospital administrators, with specialty trainees – the future of the medical workforce – experiencing the highest levels of disrespect.
More than two-thirds of respondents felt hospital administrators “lacked understanding of doctors’ frontline clinical work, including burnout, long shifts, and the mental toll of their roles”, while only 5% of doctors believed hospital budgets were managed in line with clinical needs, with many reporting chronic underfunding and misaligned resource allocation.
“A staggering 75% of doctors felt uncomfortable reporting safety or workplace concerns due to fears of retribution, including bullying, intimidation, and punitive actions such as unfavourable shifts or lower performance evaluations,” ASMOF said in a statement.
The survey responses were analysed by Professor Steve Robson at the Australian National University’s National Centre for Health Workforce Studies.
“The results of the 2025 ASMOF National Doctors’ Survey present a deeply disturbing picture of dysfunction in the working relationships between administrators of Australia’s public hospitals and the doctors who work in them,” Professor Robson wrote in the executive summary.
“At a time when our public hospitals must be functioning to the highest possible standard these findings are alarming and should prompt urgent action by state Health Departments.”
He went on to say that “the findings of this national survey are deeply concerning and suggest patient risk as well as revealing a picture of workplace dysfunction that threatens our public hospital system at a time where demand for care has never been higher – and will only increase”.
The survey report also included sample responses from respondents that added to the worrying picture. When asked to describe their “personal experience of treatment by administrators”, one respondent said:
“Administration has weaponised the complaint process and cherry picks which directions it applies. There is a considerable power imbalance tilted towards administration who can receive unlimited expensive legal support. There appears to be no avenue independent scrutiny.”
Another said: “Administrators have made my job incrementally harder every day I turn up for work for the last 23 years. It is now immeasurably more difficult to do simple things and perform my job as it should be done to the detriment of the patients. They rarely listen to suggestions for improvement and if they do listen they don’t display any understanding of the fundamental issues causing the problems they try to solve with increasingly ridiculous and expensive money wasting programs.”
When asked to describe how they “perceive the level of understanding by administrators of doctors’ frontline clinical work”, one respondent said:
“I feel that they do not understand burnout, the impact of long shifts and after hours on-call and the mental and physical weariness that comes with our work. It’s easy to forget these things when they sit at a desk all day and click on emails.”
Another said: “No understanding at all. We are simply a body on the roster and that is all they care about.”
Respondents were also asked to describe in more detail their own experience of “retribution” from administrators, and one said:
“I was discouraged from reporting [the] unprofessional behaviour I witnessed in ———, and consequently my theatre lists were removed.”
Another said: “Social isolation, management soliciting for targeted complaints, being targeted by management over fabricated issues, being subjected to performance management processes when clinical performance deemed excellent, denial that performance management processed being enacted, wage theft, lack of access to leave entitlements, reputational damage, exclusion from clinical work.”
When asked “if you have any specific insights into your or your colleagues’ experiences of raising concerns with hospital managers or administrators, please detail here”, one respondent said:
“Colleagues who have spoken up regarding workplace culture and safety have been targeted by management. They have resigned due to the psychological stress. This had led to loss of clinically experienced staff, poor staff retention and recruitment. It has also deterred others from raising concerns.”
And another said: “Broadly speaking, most people are unwilling to speak up about anything and the prevailing attitude is to suffer in silence, keep your head down, finish and try to leave the *** health system as quickly and painlessly as possible.”
ASMOF federal president Dr Tony Sara said the findings painted “a deeply concerning picture of a healthcare system in crisis”.
“Doctors are overworked, underpaid, and undervalued, while patient safety is at risk due to chronic understaffing and mismanagement,” he said.
“ASMOF urges state and federal governments to act on these findings and recommendations to ensure Australia’s public hospitals can meet the growing healthcare demands of an aging and increasingly co-morbid population.
“Without immediate intervention, the healthcare system risks collapse, leaving patients and healthcare workers to bear the brunt of inaction.”
Key Recommendations from ASMOF’s survey include:
• State and territory health departments must ensure doctors can report workplace hazards and patient safety concerns without fear of victimization or retribution;
• Specialty trainees must be treated as a precious resource, with workplace pressures and hazards addressed expeditiously;
• Doctors must be involved in decisions regarding resource allocation to ensure efficiency and focus on patient care;
• Hospital administrators must engage with clinicians to evaluate and improve workplace conditions; and
• Regular surveys and evaluations should ensure positive change and accountability.
Read the full survey report here.
