The Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) survey is a longitudinal panel survey of medical practitioners in Australia, with a particular focus on work–life balance issues. The dynamic nature of medical labour markets makes the use of longitudinal panel data especially important. MABEL was designed to focus on labour supply (workforce participation), career choices, and rural medical workforce distribution.

There are national data on aggregate trends in the medical workforce, but these do not enable the analysis of individual decisions. Other outcomes relate to aspects of access to medical care, such as waiting times and fees charged; and the well-being of doctors, such as health status, job and life satisfaction. MABEL seeks to describe and understand key determinants of these outcomes, including working conditions, job satisfaction, family circumstances and financial and non-financial incentives.

In response to the critical lack of data, the Medicine in Australia: Balancing Employment and Life (MABEL) study was developed by researchers at the Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research at The University of Melbourne and the School of Rural Health at Monash University.

More information on the use of the MABEL data, access to the data, and requesting analysis of the data is available at https://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/mabel/for-researchers/data.

For data-related queries, Melbourne Institute: Applied Economic & Social Research can be contacted at mabel-admin@unimelb.edu.au.