Many junior doctors in Western Australia are lacking sleep, experiencing growing levels of burnout and dealing with errors in their pay.
These were some of the issues highlighted in the 2026 AMA (WA) Hospital Health Check.
The report, based on a survey of more than 1300 doctors in training across the state, revealed persistent wellbeing, safety and fairness issues, despite showing some areas of improvement.
The annual survey assesses experiences of workplace culture, wellbeing, access to leave, training quality, job security and compliance with employment entitlements across WA’s public and private health services.
Burnout rates have increased with more than half (56%) of all respondents reported moderate to high burnout, compared to 52% in 2025.
Unsafe fatigue was also a key issue, with almost half (48%) of those undertaking overnight teleconsultation on-call reporting getting just 3-5 hours’ sleep before working the next day. Some 50% said they felt unsafe returning to work after overnight on-call.
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AMA (WA) President Dr Kyle Hoath said this showed too many junior doctors were working excessive hours, losing sleep while on call, and then being expected to perform safely the next day.
“Fatigue is a patient safety issue – not a lifestyle choice,” he said.
Poor behaviour
While bullying and harassment was on the decline from last year, unacceptable behaviour – especially from patients and family members – was still an issue and was often under-reported. Bullying within healthcare staff was also not uncomment.
One North Metropolitan Health Service respondent said: “Bullying from nursing staff towards medical staff is often accepted as normal. Cultural safety for Aboriginal individuals remains poor amongst teams. Debriefs are often not done and can be difficult to navigate as a junior.”
One in three junior doctors (34%) feared negative consequences if they spoke up about or reported poor behaviour, unchanged from last year.
While overall wellbeing scores across the nine health service providers showed marginal improvement, results remained poor, with grades of C for all except the Women and Newborn Health Service, which was given a D.
Workplace entitlements and flexibility was scored Cs and Ds for all workplaces other than St John of God, which was given a B.
Unpaid work and job security
Compliance with employment entitlements remains one of the poorest performing areas in the health system.
Almost two thirds (65%) of those surveyed reported experiencing pay errors while 38% cited systemic or cultural pressure as the main barrier to claiming overtime.
Dr Hoath said when payroll errors were this widespread it was not a one-off mistake but a “system problem” that undermined trust, morale and retention.
“There remains a deeply entrenched culture in parts of the system that treats unpaid work as normal and overtime as something to be discouraged,” he said.
“That is unacceptable and must change. Doctors have bills to pay and mouths to feed — it is simply wrong to pay them incorrectly.”
But more positively, terms, rosters and workload across all providers were scored As and Bs, as with access to leave and morale and culture.
Teaching and training within Child and Adolescent Health Service, East Metropolitan Health Service, North Metropolitan Health Service and South Metropolitan Health Service lagged behind others, with a C grade reported in this area.
The fragility of job security was also highlighted in the report, particularly for doctors accessing parental leave.
Only 54% believed their job was secure when accessing parental leave, with actual or perceived negative impact upon career progression (26%) or on training requirements (22%) the biggest issues when accessing or taking parental leave.
AMA (WA) Vice President and doctor in training Dr Natalie Ferrington said doctors should not have to choose between starting a family and progressing their careers.
“Nor should international medical graduates feel disposable or unsupported in our health system,” she said.
The survey revealed higher rates of discrimination within IMGs, along with inadequate onboarding and visa support.
The AMA (WA) called for urgent system-wide reforms to address the issues raised through the survey.
“Junior doctors are the future of our workforce,” AMA (WA) Doctors in Training Practice Group Co-Chair Dr Nicole Burger said.
“Listening to them – and acting on what they are telling us – is essential to improving patient care and retaining doctors in Western Australia.”
A WA Health spokesperson said the department would continue to focus on improving fatigue management, rostering practices, and overall support for staff wellbeing.
Health Minister Meredith Hammat did not address the specific reforms put forward but said junior doctors played a pivotal role in the WA Health system and their wellbeing and safety continued to be a top priority.
“There is always more to be done, and we’ll continue to work with our Health Service Providers, and unions like the AMA, to ensure our health system continues to attract junior doctors to our workforce,” Ms Hammat said.
The system reforms AMA (WA) is calling for:
- System‑wide, consistent overtime claiming processes developed with AMA (WA)
- Rosters that accurately reflect all hours worked and comply with industrial agreements
- Improved fatigue management practices, including safer on‑call and recall arrangements
- Introduction of training‑length employment contracts for DiTs by January 2027
- Stronger action on racism, bullying and discrimination, supported by transparent reporting systems
- Better support for parents, flexible work arrangements and breastfeeding facilities
- Enhanced cultural safety and onboarding programs for international medical graduates
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