According to the 2025 Healthcare Leadership Trends Survey by B.E. Smith, a staggering 46% of healthcare executives across hospitals, aged care, and community health settings plan to leave their roles within the next 12 months. In a system already under strain, this level of leadership attrition could have long-term implications for governance, workforce morale, and patient care.

Why Are Leaders Leaving?

The factors driving this trend are both predictable and deeply entrenched:

• Persistent burnout, intensified by years of pandemic-driven disruption
• Increased public and political scrutiny of executive decisions
• Complexity of post-COVID reform mandates, from workforce redesign to digital transformation
• Growing disconnect between board expectations and frontline operational realities

Executives are feeling stretched—both emotionally and professionally. Many are managing multiple crises at once: navigating industrial action, addressing workforce shortages, overseeing major capital projects, and responding to public expectations for innovation and transparency.

The emotional toll of leading through prolonged crisis is taking its toll. And with the job market still buoyant for skilled leaders, especially those with experience in transformation, many are choosing to step back or pivot to roles that offer better work-life balance.

What This Means for Australian Healthcare

High turnover at the executive level doesn’t just disrupt the C-suite. It has ripple effects across the organisation:

• Delays in strategic implementation
• Erosion of institutional knowledge and culture
• Disruption to frontline leadership pipelines
• Increased recruitment costs and onboarding pressures

For Australian health services—particularly in rural or regional WA, NSW, and QLD—the departure of a single senior leader can leave gaps that take months to fill. In already stretched environments, this can amplify operational risk.

Stability Requires Proactive Succession Planning

Succession planning in healthcare has long been discussed, but the urgency has never been greater. Boards and CEOs need to:

• Identify emerging leaders early and invest in their development
• Create clear leadership pathways for clinical professionals transitioning into executive roles
• Offer flexible executive arrangements that prioritise well-being and sustainability
• Re-express EVP (Employee Value Proposition) at the leadership level, not just for frontline staff

Simply put, replacing departing executives is not enough. The goal must be to create leadership environments where experienced professionals want to stay.

A Shift in Leadership Expectations

Today’s healthcare leaders are expected to be visionaries, operators, clinicians, and communicators all at once. They are required to lead change without alienating staff, deliver innovation without increasing cost, and drive reform without losing sight of patient care.

Given these demands, organisations that support their leaders holistically—not just through KPIs and performance plans—are more likely to retain them.

Final Thoughts

The next 12 months will be a critical period for Australian healthcare organisations navigating leadership transitions. The data is clear: nearly half of current executives are ready to walk. The question is—are we ready to respond?

Proactive talent strategies, leadership support frameworks, and targeted succession planning must move from boardroom conversation to boardroom action.

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📊 Source: B.E. Smith 2025 Healthcare Leadership Trends Survey