In short:
Victorian public hospital doctors are set to stop work from 1.30pm to 5.30pm on 1 October as enterprise agreement negotiations continue. Doctors are seeking safer workloads, adequate rest and payment for all hours worked.
Half-Day Of Industrial Action Planned
Victorian public hospital doctors are set to stop work for four hours on 1 October amid an ongoing enterprise bargaining dispute.
The industrial action will run from 1.30pm to 5.30pm, with doctors also called to attend a rally at Parliament House in Melbourne from 3.30pm.
The Australian Medical Association Victoria and Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation Victoria say negotiations for a new enterprise agreement have been underway since July 2025.
Doctors are seeking changes including safer workloads, adequate rest and payment for all hours worked.
Enterprise agreements set employment conditions for workers covered by them, including matters such as pay, hours and other workplace entitlements. Bargaining involves employers and employee representatives negotiating the terms that will apply under a new agreement.
According to the joint bargaining campaign, doctors at 33 Victorian health services have voted in favour of protected industrial action, with stoppages already held at individual hospitals.
A planned 24-hour statewide stoppage on 15 September was withdrawn following legal intervention involving the Victorian Hospitals’ Industrial Association and the Victorian Government.
The Fair Work Commission later extended the period in which protected industrial action could be taken.
Protected industrial action can be taken during enterprise bargaining when requirements under federal workplace laws have been met.
The four-hour stoppage was confirmed by the campaign on 24 September.
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