What work-life balance is really like for junior doctors in Australia

After finishing work at Liverpool Hospital at 10:00pm one evening, neurosurgery registrar Dr Tom Morrison was called in to work from 11:00pm to 3:00am before starting his next shift at 7:00 that morning.

This was not an isolated incident, with many doctors working more than their rostered hours, says the Junior Vice President of the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation (ASMOF), who now works at The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Junior doctors are often on call while juggling study, research and career progression, making work-life balance difficult — especially for those with family commitments, he says.

Postgraduate medical trainees score worse than average across three domains used to measure burnout, recent research shows.

So, is junior doctor burnout inevitable, or can you have a life as well?

Long working hours are common for junior doctors in Australia

Registrars in New South Wales (NSW) average 54.8 hours per week, with 17.3% clocking up 70 hours or more, an ASMOF survey found. In South Australia, 24% of doctors in training work over 50 hours per week, and half report heavy or very heavy workloads.

Similarly, 45% of respondents in Ahpra’s 2025 Medical Training Survey, which attracted responses from over 18,000 trainees, said their workload was heavy or very heavy. 

Dr Emma Hodge, a Queensland doctor completing specialist training in medical administration, says the demands on junior doctors can be intense.

“For many, work often extends beyond rostered hours, whether that’s finishing clinical tasks, preparing for the next rotation or studying after a long day,” says Dr Hodge, who led statewide research on doctor wellbeing, burnout and professional fulfilment.

Shift work, overtime and the emotional responsibility of caring for patients can displace everything else, she adds.

“During particularly busy periods, it was easy for me to unintentionally stop doing many activities which normally help me recharge, like exercising and catching up with friends.”

A culture of unpaid overtime

With all this work, you’d think junior doctors would be making great money. But many are not being fully remunerated, data suggests. 

12% of doctors in Ahpra’s training survey said they never get paid for unrostered overtime, and 19% never claim it.

In NSW, where doctors in training earn the least, only 45% of ASMOF’s survey respondents had claimed all their overtime — with many citing a strong cultural pressure against doing so.

In Queensland, 19% of residents reported being explicitly advised not to claim overtime payments, while 38% of over 1300 junior doctors in Western Australia said systemic or cultural pressure was the main thing stopping them claiming overtime.

Why work-life balance is difficult for hospital doctors in Australia

Junior doctors are balancing rigorous professional expectations with the realities of life, Dr Hodge notes.

“Many are relocating for training opportunities, reapplying for jobs each year, studying for specialist examinations and making significant life decisions — such as buying a first home or starting a family — all while working physically and emotionally demanding jobs.” 

It can be hard to switch off, she says, especially while you’re still developing clinical confidence, adapting to shift work, and making key career decisions.

“It’s common to revisit your workday while driving home, wondering whether you did everything right. While this reflects the commitment many doctors have to providing safe, quality patient care, it can also make it challenging to maintain clear boundaries between work and personal life.”

Systemic change needed to mitigate risk of junior doctor burnout

Dr Morrison says the onus to change rests on the system driving the problem, not individual doctors working within it.

He says the conversation should focus on ways to better ensure safety for both patients and doctors, stressing that current fatigue provisions — which don’t account for on-call or overtime requirements — are inadequate.

“If you’re a bus driver in New South Wales, you’re not allowed to work if you don't have a 10-hour break between shifts. I don't think there should be an exception for people who are making life and death medical decisions.”

“You can't leave it to the individual doctor to self-police their fatigue because patients will always need care. And unless the system is set up to adequately care for the doctor and the patient, there will be errors related to fatigue.”

Many departments need higher doctor-patient ratios because doctors will often absorb extra work until it becomes unsustainable, he adds.

Dr Hodge says that to support retention, workplace conditions that prompt doctors to leave must be addressed — and tokenistic efforts won’t suffice.

“Medical wellbeing cannot become a tick-box exercise; it must be reflected in the way we design work. This includes ensuring adequate staffing, designing sustainable rosters, reducing unnecessary administrative burdens, providing effective supervision and creating psychologically safe workplaces.”

Tips for finding work-life balance as a junior doctor

Dr Shaun Prentice, a psychologist in private practice and researcher with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, says both systemic and individual strategies can help combat junior doctor burnout.

“I’ve been seeing a bit of a mantra that burnout is an 80-20 problem — that it's 80% systems and 20% individuals,” he says. “There's actually no data to support that. It's much more nuanced.”

It can also breed a sense of helplessness, “which is not the message we need to be giving doctors right now.”

He says helpful things individuals can do include:

• treating time as a clinical resource (eg scheduling breaks and an end‑of‑day reset);
• noticing when “normal busy” crosses into over-commitment and taking steps to manage it;
• working with peers on major projects and exam preparation;
• being aware of unhelpful narratives (eg “good doctors don’t need help”) and exploring alternatives;
• developing a few safe relationships where you can honestly discuss how you’re going;
• treating self‑care and help‑seeking as responsibilities, not luxuries.

Dr Hodge agrees self-care is essential for building a sustainable career and providing safe, quality patient care.

She recommends:

• prioritising sleep where possible;
• staying connected with your support systems;
• asking for help early rather than waiting until you’re struggling;
• having a regular GP;
• creating a ‘third space’ beyond work and home where you can unwind (e.g. a walk, the gym, listening to a podcast or seeing friends).

Work must come first at times, but it’s best to avoid predicating your identity on your profession, she adds.

“Being a good doctor doesn’t mean saying yes to everything or putting your own wellbeing last.”

Key takeaways:

• Long hours are the norm for junior doctors in Australia, with many also studying and pursuing specialist training.
• Unpaid overtime is widespread in some hospitals, with cultural and systemic barriers preventing many junior doctors from claiming all the hours they work.
• Work-life balance is challenging because doctors juggle demanding clinical work with career progression and major life milestones.
• Systemic issues including staff shortages and unsustainable rostering practices can drive junior doctor burnout and fatigue.
• Both organisational reform and individual wellbeing strategies are needed to support a sustainable medical career.