Distribution and work patterns of PhD-qualified professionals across urban and rural Australia: Spatial mapping using Australian census data

BackgroundRural Australians experience poorer health outcomes due to complex intersecting factors. Addressing these challenges requires skilled researchers embedded in rural communities. However, the distribution, work patterns, and demographics of PhD-qualified professionals in rural Australia remains largely unknown.ObjectiveTo examine the distribution of Australian PhD-qualified workforce across levels of remoteness to identify the current state of rural/urban research workforce distribution and characteristics.MethodsUsing 2021 Australian Census data, we analysed individuals whose highest qualification was a doctoral degree (PhD), excluding professional doctorates. Data were examined by Modified Monash Model (MM) levels of remoteness and included variable such as location, sex, age, industry, sector (private/public), income, and weekly hours worked.Results85% of PhD-qualified persons were based in cities (MM1) with decreasing representation across more remote MM levels. While the public sector (including universities) was the overall dominant employer, its presence decreased with remoteness, with the private sector becoming predominant medium rural towns onwards (MM4-7). The workforce was male dominated in more urbanised areas (MM1-3), reached gender parity at small rural towns (MM5), and became female dominated remote areas (MM6-7). Rural PhD holders (MM3-5) tended to be older than urban (MM1) and remote (MM6-7) counterparts. Income tended to decrease with remoteness, and hours skewed toward part-time or excessive workloads.ConclusionsImproving rural health outcomes may require greater investment in the PhD-qualified workforce in rural and remote places. This includes addressing precarious employment conditions, lower income, and underrepresentation in the public sector.