Victorian doctors to strike for first time in 20 years as fears over patients' safety grow

Thousands of doctors will briefly hang up their scrubs later this week in a bid to win momentum for stalled government negotiations over pay and conditions.

For the first time in 20 years, doctors across Victoria’s public hospital system will walk off the job for four hours on Thursday in an escalation of their months-long stoush for better pay and safer workloads.

Emergency departments will be exempt from the strike and emergency surgeries will also go ahead, with hospitals to be staffed above Saturday levels.

Alongside increased remuneration, doctors are demanding 12.5-hour shift limits and at least three guaranteed days off every fortnight to support proper rest and recovery.

‘’The Victorian hospital system is in crisis, and everyday patient safety is under threat,” the federation’s Victorian president Roderick McRae said.

The union has not received a single written offer from the state government since 2026 EBA negotiations began 14 months ago, despite nearly 60 meetings in that period, AMA Victoria president Simon Judkins said.

The government has repeatedly promised doctors an offer was imminent, including during their most recent communication three weeks ago, according to the union.

In a statement, Victorian Health Minister Ingrid Stitt said the government was continuing to work through union demands in good faith.

“Patient care remains the priority, and hospitals are ready to manage any disruption,” Ms Stitt said of the strike.

It’s the union’s second attempt at a statewide strike, after plans for a 24-hour stop work action on September 15 were scuttled by an 11th-hour government application to the Fair Work Commission citing patient safety concerns.

“They’re telling us doctors are too important to strike but not important enough to be adequately rested and adequately paid,” the federation’s Victorian secretary Kevin Shi said.

“Doctors know what they want, hospitals know what will keep patients safe, but the government isn’t willing to write the offer that will make that happen.”

Dr Shi, a paediatric doctor at a Melbourne public hospital, told reporters on Tuesday morning he had worked 50 hours since Friday and would work another 62.5 hours across the next week, along with potential overtime.

“Unfortunately we know that under our current conditions this is not an illegal roster [but] it certainly is, in many ways, an unsafe roster,” he said.

Research shows impairment after being awake for 17 hours, which many doctors reach towards the end of their 12 to 14-hour shifts, results in judgements similar to that of someone with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 per cent.

The union is also bargaining to cap night shifts from a maximum seven in a row to four.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier rejected claims the government was acting in good faith, claiming it was prioritising “their mates in the Big Build” over frontline workers.