Medical Administrator

A medical administrator, sometimes called a director of medical services, is responsible for the medical and clinical services of a hospital or other health service. The job is to set goals and policies for those services, decide how staff, money and equipment are used, and check that care meets the expected standard. A medical administrator also leads the medical workforce, makes sure it has the right skills, and helps plan future health services. Many people in this job are doctors who have moved from clinical work into management, and medical administration is a recognised medical specialty in Australia.

Set goals, strategies and policies for the medical and clinical services of a hospital or health service. Direct and manage those services so patients receive safe and efficient care. Approve the staff, money and equipment needed to put medical policies in place. Check how each clinical service is performing against its goals. Prepare reports, budgets and forecasts for the medical and clinical services. Lead the medical workforce and make sure doctors have the right skills and supervision. Review serious clinical incidents and concerns about the standard of medical care. Work with other health service leaders to plan for future health needs.

The standard entry pathway requires a bachelor degree or higher (ABS Skill Level 1). Specific qualification requirements vary by employer and state. Some employers may accept equivalent experience. Check yourcareer.gov.au for available courses and dewr.gov.au/skills-reform/free-tafe for subsidised training options.

This is a senior job that people usually reach only after many years in medicine or health management, so it is not a direct step from admin or customer service work. The role carries heavy responsibility for patient safety, budgets and hard decisions about staff. Pressure from government, hospital boards and the public can be constant, and serious incidents can land on your desk at any hour.

Jobs are in public and private hospitals, larger health services and health departments. Most are in capital cities and large regional centres, where the bigger hospitals are. The work is mostly on site, because the job involves leading clinical staff.

Published for ANZSCO unit group 1342, the wider group this job sits in, not for this job on its own.

This is the median for full-time employees who are not managers and are paid at the adult rate, before tax and salary sacrifice. It is a guide to what the work pays, not a wage rate.

Source: ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.

• Appointment Schedulingcore
• Confidentiality and Privacy Compliancecore
• Health Record Administrationcore
• Health Terminology Literacycore
• Medicare and DVA Billingcore
• Medicare Compliance Knowledgecore
• Policy and Procedure Adherencecore
• Practice Management Software (e.g., Best Practice, MedicalDirector)core
• Process Improvement Identificationcore
• Record Managementcore
• Referral Coordinationcore
• Regulatory and Legislative Awarenesscore
• Report Writingcore
• Stakeholder Communicationcore
• Workflow Prioritisationcore
• Electronic Document Management
• Escalation Management
• HICAPS and Medicare Claiming Systems
• Incident Reporting
• Invoicing and Billing Administration
• Quality Assurance Monitoring
• Risk Identification
• Rostering and Scheduling Support
• Team Collaboration
• Telehealth Administration

• ABS OSCA 2024, occupation definition and task statements
• ABS Survey of Employee Earnings and Hours, May 2025, customised report.
• ABS, 2021 Census of Population and Housing based on usual place of residence (Custom Report). OSCA Experimental Estimates.

Role data is drawn from official Australian Government sources, and each figure names where it comes from. Where a role is not in the ABS classification, the page shows no government figures for it. Data may not reflect every local variation.

Where our numbers come from.

What Medical Administrator workers move into, from ten years of tax records.

Last updated: 10 October 2026