British doctors hoping to move to Australia to work because of the ongoing battle over pay and conditions could have their dreams dashed by tightened visa regulations.

The Australian government wants to remove a range of medical occupations from an approved list of professions eligible for applying for work and permanent residency.

Roles at risk of exclusion include:

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said the country has enough locally trained doctors to fill roles following a boom in training which has doubled the number of medical graduates over the last 12 years.

AMA president Dr Michael Gannon said: "Because of the growth in medical workforce numbers in Australia, a number of medical occupations are proposed for removal from the skilled occupations list.

"We do not expect that this will have a big impact as there will still be other visa options available. However, it is the first sign that we are overcoming medical workforce shortages and are less reliant on international recruitment."

Dr Gannon added that while doctor numbers are "in balance", the distribution of medical professionals across the country means some specialities are in short supply.

"International medical graduates looking to come to Australia need to know that job opportunities are limited, often confined to short-term roles or areas of medical workforce shortage like rural locations," he said.

The General Medical Council has already issued 5,494 certificates this year showing fitness to practise for doctors wanting to work abroad. Around 1,829 certificates were issued to those wanting to work in Australia.

Around 7,528 British doctors were working in Australia in 2014 - up from 6,721 in 2013.

Last month, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt pledged to end the NHS's reliance on foreign doctors by increasing numbers trained in medical schools by 25%.

He also announced a requirement for new doctors to work for the NHS for a minimum of four years after graduation.