**17. Workforce**

From its commencement in 1987, the AIHW collated health workforce data from state registration authorities, with a focus on the medical and nursing workforce. At registration (then administered at the state level), individual practitioners were asked to provide demographic and employment information about themselves. The resulting statistics formed a valuable basis for workforce planning, highlighting urban/rural disparities in the medical workforce and the ageing of the nursing workforce.

In 2010, national health workforce registration was introduced through the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme, and responsibility for statistical reports remained with AIHW. In 2016, responsibility for workforce statistics was passed to the Australian Department of Health [44].

The AIHW produced comprehensive reports on the health and community services workforces after the 1996, 2001, and 2006 population censuses [49].
