The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons' (RACS) Activities Report provides valuable insights to support workforce planning, surgical education and equitable access to care. At a time when healthcare systems across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand face growing demand, workforce shortages and changing community expectations, the latest report offers an important snapshot of the surgical profession and highlights encouraging progress across the workforce.

Key findings from the latest report, compared to 10 years ago, include:
• a 15.9 per cent increase in active Fellows, growing from 6247 in 2015 to 7240 in 2025
• a 28.9 per cent increase in new Fellows admitted through SET and SIMG pathways, rising from 249 in 2015 to 321 in 2025
• a 12.2 per cent increase in active SET Trainees, from 1177 in 2015 to 1321 in 2025.

The report also highlights continued progress towards a more diverse and representative profession. Women now comprise almost 35 per cent of all surgical Trainees, while 41 per cent of successful SET applicants in 2025 were women. Women account for 27 per cent of Fellows under 49 years of age, up from 17 per cent a decade ago.

More than a collection of statistics, the report provides a valuable snapshot of the surgical profession across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. The data helps inform long-term workforce planning and policy decisions, supporting efforts to ensure patients continue to have access to high-quality surgical care in the years ahead.

"While these are positive signs, they also remind us that building the surgical workforce is a long-term endeavour. Today's Trainees and new Fellows will shape the delivery of surgical care for decades to come, and the decisions we make now must be informed by robust evidence," says RACS president, Dr Phil Morreau.

Growing uptake of flexible training pathways is also supporting a more inclusive and sustainable approach to surgical education.
Together, these insights can help inform evidence-based decisions that shape a sustainable future surgical workforce and support equitable access to care across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.