The overall grade may be better than 2024, but almost half of Queensland DITs don’t feel safe, almost a quarter have seen or been harassed, and 65% don’t see the point in reporting it.
For all the thousands of words written and spoken about improving hospital culture over recent years, almost half of Queensland’s junior doctors still don’t feel safe in the state’s public hospitals, and almost a quarter have witnessed or experienced bullying, discrimination, or sexual harassment.
That’s the alarming news from a new report released today by AMA Queensland, an independent workplace survey of doctors-in-training.
In 2025, a total of 798 doctors across 35 hospitals completed the survey, 4% fewer respondents from a smaller number of hospitals than in 2024 (40 hospitals). Hospitals are graded from A to E across core employment domains, with 24 measures in total. Data from all responses is used to calculate state averages but results for individual hospitals are only reported when there are 20 or more responses unless otherwise indicated.
Many junior doctors use the survey results to determine their hospital preferences for the following year.
While the young doctors surveyed in 2025 gave Queensland Health a “cautionary B-minus grade” – an improvement on last year’s rating of C-plus, many of the results indicate a worsening of hospital culture in the Sunshine State.
- Only 53% of junior doctors were satisfied with the teaching and training they received – admittedly an improvement on 2024’s 37%.
- A worrying 46% remain concerned about making a clinical error due to fatigue from long work hours.
- A total of 42% – up from 29% in 2024 – felt their safety had been compromised at work, and almost half think their hospital is not doing enough for their wellbeing and mental health.
- There was a jump from 13% in 2024 to 21% this year in junior doctors witnessing or experiencing bullying, discrimination or sexual harassment.
- Only 32% thought there was anything they could do about such incidents and only 34% reported it.
- More than half (52%) still thought there could be negative consequences for reporting such incidents – which is at least an improvement from the 81% in 2024.
- Of those who did report such incidents, only 56% felt it was properly addressed – down from 63% in 2024.
- Queensland hospitals scored an A overall for hours of work and overtime but a C grade for career progression and development, and a C plus for wellbeing and culture.
Dr Nick Yim, president of AMAQ, said that although Queensland Health was slowly addressing its “part failures” there was “still a long way to go”.
“For years, doctors in training have reported hours of unpaid overtime, denial of leave, and inadequate teaching, training, and hospital facilities,” he said.
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“This is the bare minimum expected of any employer so even though it’s an improvement on last year’s results, there is still a long way to go.”
When it came to long hours and fears of making an error when fatigued, Dr Yim was clear in his response.
“That is not good for our workforce or the patients they treat,” he said.
“What we need to see urgently is real investment into our medical workforce to staff our hospitals properly, as called for in AMA Queensland’s Workforce Action Plan.”
Just this week the state government released the Queensland Health Workforce Gap Analysis which showed 46,000 more healthcare workers will need to be found by 2032, including, according to Dr Yim, almost 6000 doctors.
“Getting more frontline workers in our hospitals is the only way to improve conditions for all doctors, especially those just starting their careers,” he said.
This year the AMAQ’s Resident Hospital Health Check follows the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission’s certification of Medical Officers Certified Agreement 7, after months of negotiations between the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Queensland and Queensland Health.
Dr Hau Tan, president of ASMOFQ, said the improvements secured under MOCA 7, such as strengthened provisions around workplace health and safety, better rostering practices, and new clauses on workplace behaviour, reflected the union’s sustained efforts to address long-standing issues such as workloads, psychosocial hazards and doctor well-being.
“ASMOFQ will continue to monitor, support and fight for doctors to ensure their workplaces are safe and their working conditions are protected,” he said.
“There is important work ahead, particularly to secure better conditions for junior doctors. Retention must be a central pillar of any workforce plan going forward, and that starts with creating conditions that keep all doctors safe, valued and supported.”
The only hospital in Queensland to receive an A grade in the RHHC was Bundaberg, which was “punching above its weight”, said Dr Yim.
“There is no doubt this is due to its strong focus on junior doctor wellbeing through the establishment of its medical education and wellbeing registrar position.”
Cairns Hospital achieved a B plus, with five others scoring a B and eight, a B minus.
Dr Yim said four hospitals got a grade in the Cs due to poor results on career progression and development and wellbeing and culture.
Read the full Resident Hospital Health Check report here.