August 2025

Welcome to the latest edition of the 2025 On the Horizon newsletter from the Future Workforce Unit (FWU). On the Horizon provides a snapshot of the key trends and developments that have the potential to shape and impact our future workforce, workplace and ways of working.

On the Horizon is part of the Focus on the Future Workforce Initiative, which aims to support the health system to ensure a resilient and digitally enabled workforce that can adapt to the changes in the system caused by technology and other disruptions. By focusing on not just the now, but also the future, NSW Health can ensure that we meet the needs of the community now and into the future.

Please note that the opinions shared in On the Horizon are those of the respective authors, and may not reflect the views of FWU or NSW Health.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the articles may contain images of people who have passed away.

Empowered consumers, engaged communities The expectations, preferences and behaviours of health consumers and carers continue to evolve, and they are more than ever central to the design and delivery of integrated, person-centred healthcare. These shifts mean that consumers and carers can play a more informed and proactive role in their health. With increasing access to health information and data, there are emerging opportunities to further expand consumers’ access, use and control around how their health data are shared. - Beyond tomorrow

Many of you may have noticed we did not publish the On The Horizons newsletter in June or July. We apologise for the unplanned break, but we’re back now.

We wanted to pause and give teams the space to focus where it was needed most. Now that things have settled, we’re excited to reconnect and share what’s ahead.

There is an increasing appetite across the NSW Health workforce and leadership to understand and engage with megatrends and the many scenarios that these inspire. In recent months the Future Workforce Unit have been active in visiting several different workplaces in our system. They’ve been facilitating Future Musters and Scenario Planning workshops, all with the intent of informing and educating our people in the art of future thinking and getting ready for the future.

We've heard from the many workforce groups we’ve met with, that they are already seeing signs and shifts in community engagement (megatrend 2), in service expectations, health care design, public policy and strategy. These shifts are noticed through increased activity in lobbying, public rallies and social media. This is democracy. But what do these shifts tell us about the way public sector services will be delivered in the future? And how will this trend influence the way health care will be delivered?

Our Beyond tomorrow report discusses the six megatrends and in this edition of the newsletter, were thinking about Empowered Consumers and Engaged communities as a shaping influence or a lever for the future of health care.

We've been thinking about this a lot recently and finding some interesting links to how the future is here now, and how we might want to think about work, the workplace and the future workforce.

- Tamara Lee 

Director, Future Workforce

UNICEF in its Foresight for Children’s Futures 2025 report called on engaging all sections of the community to participate in Futures Thinking. Children’s involvement and participation in foresight work, as part of their right to express their views and to be heard, has a positive impact on the quality and outcomes of any foresight exercise. Additionally, youth-led foresight, where young adults design and undertake their own foresight studies on topics that are important to them has been shown to demonstrate positive results.

We are  always keen to take up new opportunities in the Future Workforce Unit, and recently launched The Future Health Worldbuilding Competition, a bold, creative initiative inviting the young people of NSW in Years 7-10 to imagine and design the future of healthcare. This competition has been designed in collaboration with the Department of Education and has sought input from various youth councils across NSW.

The competition encourages students to think creatively and critically about the future of care. Their visions will be used to inform future planning initiatives showing young people that their voices matter and that their creativity can have real-world impact

Did you know that the existence of a user experience mentality could be traced back to China in approximately 4000 BC? The philosophy of Feng Shui was invented around this time, and is all about optimizing a space so it provides a great user experience.  

Obviously the theory and science/art of user experience has continued to evolve. The experience-based co-design (EBCD) approach brings healthcare staff and consumers together to improve care. By using EBCD principles, large health organisations can better choose and manage digital health projects that improve public health. Consumer involvement means making decisions with or by consumers.

Consumers are now increasingly treating healthcare like a retail experience; convenience drives this shift towards “retail-isation of healthcare”. They are actively comparing providers based on convenience, cost, and reviews, and are increasingly seeking flexible options like telehealth. This shift is driven by permanent changes from COVID-19, which have created a more unpredictable consumer with rising expectations for streamlined customer or shopping journey. “Patient-consumer pioneers” are mostly younger consumers focused on preventative care through technology.

Healthcare on demand is being described as a consumer driven demand for real time health care. Forbes published an article in 2022, outlining three forces impacting on the consumerisation of health care. These included:

Forbes suggested that “going forward, two things will determine how fast the consumerisation of healthcare comes to fruition: A. The ability of technology to deliver a superior healthcare interaction and B. Resolution of outstanding privacy concerns”.

In a world where consumers are choosing healthcare like they choose their retail experiences, these two factors will influence the choice of health care experience consumers will be choosing.

Additionally, a Kings Fund article earlier this year, speaks to 5 key things that might improve the consumer experience in digital service design.  Avoiding the tick-box engagement strategy, and make it more meaningful. Balance the power dynamics, and ensure staff have the right support to make engagement work. The article also notes that “time and funding are major constraints in the health care system, making user involvement challenging. However, during our work, we heard how good engagement is still possible within these constraints. Sometimes, though, these constraints mean that engagement work must be limited to what is feasible rather than what is ideal.” Our take away, a call for more accelerated change management support and engagement cycles.

How are we engaging with consumers to design their health care experiences? Do we understand what quality the health care interaction consumers are getting? Are health care service providers answering the right questions about privacy and confidentiality? 

Read more on this trend:

For anyone on LinkedIn, or any other social medial platforms, or on the conference circuit, AI is one of the hottest topics. How will AI impact on the work we do in health care, the workforce of the future, and the workplace?

Recently many of the workforce planning team and representatives from local health districts had the opportunity to attend the Strategic Workforce Planning Conference in Sydney.

With a strong theme, “Driving the Future of Work through Strategic Workforce Planning”, the conference brought together forward-thinking professionals and business leaders to lead and shape conversations, challenge, and advance Strategic Workforce Planning in a rapidly changing world of work. The experience was two dynamic days of learning, insight, and connection.

NSW Health had over 50 representatives in the audience from clinical disciplines, human resources teams, operations managers, and pillars and ministry branches.

Artificial Intelligence was represented in many of the streams and sessions, but noticeably, there was a lot less ‘conjecture’ of the possibilities, and more certitude as to where AI is presently and will be showing up in our workforce.  Vendors and employers alike, can now see where AI can and will produce productivity gains and efficiencies. They are speaking about reviewing the tasks and skills, and the distribution across the workforce. It doesn’t matter what industry, all workforce planning needs to factor in the changing nature of work, and the redistribution of skills and tasks.

At a broader level, we heard at the SWP conference, that vendors and employers alike, were shifting their interest. In previous years there was a strong desire to more to a skills-based planning approach, however it appears the shift is towards, skills based planning where skills are the differentiator. In planning for some workforce groups, alternative approaches will be needed. We heard from the SA Health department, that reducing regulatory burdens for recruitment and attraction of workforce was an effective strategy in shifting the dial. 

The Future Health Podcast features thought-provoking discussions with subject matter experts and thought leaders about current and emerging trends in healthcare and the future of work for the NSW Health workforce and beyond.

In Series 7 of the Future Health Podcast, we shine a spotlight on How do we get to the future? driving progress and redefining the Australian healthcare landscape. Our host, Dr Louise Messara is joined by a line-up of innovators, visionaries, and disruptors who are shaping the future of healthcare. 

Join us as we uncover how these change makers are navigating uncertainty, leveraging emerging trends, and breaking new ground to enhance healthcare for all. From leadership strategies and generational shifts to climate impacts and technological marvels, this season is a journey through the dynamic intersection of innovation and care.

This month, we're putting the spotlight on our conversation with Professor Georgina Long AO.  When you’re already at the cutting edge how do you know when to push even further? What is the interplay between creativity and evidence when lives are on the line? When your goal is changing the world, what’s important and what’s not? 

Listen to our conversation with Professor Long here.

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While every effort is taken to validate the currency and accuracy of the content presented in the newsletter, NSW Health does not make any representations and  warranties with respect to the accuracy and completeness of the information contained herein. The content is represented as information only and readers should undertake their own research and enquires with respect to the specific details and information contained in this newsletter.

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