SYDNEY - They are often regarded with scepticism, and now even with suspicion, but without foreign-trained doctors Australia's health system would fall over.
One in three doctors in our hospitals and GP clinics came from another country to supplement the workforce and care for sick Australians.
But the job they do has been called into question in light of the foiled UK car bomb plot allegedly involving many foreign doctors, including a young Indian registrar from the Gold Coast.
A second Gold Coast Hospital doctor, Mohammed Asif Ali, was questioned but released, and more doctors in WA and NSW have been caught up in investigations into the plot.
It has also been revealed that two doctors arrested in Britain, Khalid and Sabeel Ahmed, applied for work in Australia last year but were rejected.
The association representing Australia's 20,000 foreign-trained medics says the terrorism allegations will hurt a group already feeling undervalued and persecuted by racism within the medical ranks.
These fears have prompted a flurry of support from politicians, police and senior medical officials who are urging the public not to stigmatise the group.
Prime Minister John Howard talked about how valuable they are, Queensland Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson stressed their "outstanding work" and the State's Premier, Peter Beattie, even went so far as to say "without them we wouldn't have a health system".
But how did Australia come to be so reliant on an imported medical workforce?
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) puts the blame squarely on the failure to increase the number of training places over several decades.
Up until four years ago, medical student numbers had remained static despite the ever-growing demand for their skills.
"We had the same number of graduates coming out in the face of an increasing population and an ageing population of people living longer and needing more healthcare," said AMA president Dr Rosanna Capolingua.
"On top of that, there is increasing chronic disease, increasing awareness of health and an explosion in treatment options, all lifting demand.
"It's really not surprising then that we ended up with a serious shortage," she said.
Overseas-trained graduates stepped in to fill the widening gap.
These skilled migrants once came predominantly from the UK and Western Europe, but in recent years an increasing number have arrived from India, China, Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
Statistics show that foreign-trained doctors now make up 30 per cent of the 58,000 in the medical workforce, and up to 50 per cent in rural and regional areas.
In particular, there are about 5,000 doctors - seven per cent - on temporary 457 visas designed to help prop up professions with a homegrown shortfall.
The AMA has heavily criticised the recruitment process and visa system, and called for uniform standards between industry and government bodies bringing foreign doctors into the country.
But the primary differences are in police checks rather than medical qualification and experience verification, which are uniformly stringent.
Andrew Schwartz, president of the Australian Doctors Trained Overseas Association, said despite this, and the role they play here, foreign doctors are often made to feel their skills are substandard and inadequate by their peers.
"I'm not talking scepticism, I mean outright racism," Dr Schwartz said.
"The medical profession here believe that anyone from a non English-speaking country in particular can't be any good.
"It's assumed that they're incompetent, and that's enough to make many not want to be here."
While most of the criticism came from within, Mr Schwartz said he was worried the latest arrests would spark wider unrest on the scale caused by rogue surgeon Jayant Patel.
"With Patel things went mad for us, and we can only hope it won't be the same this time," he said.
Dr Capolingua said any such linking would be "deeply unfair", especially given all the workforce had done for Australians.
Reliance on new foreign doctors is expected to drop off significantly over the next 10 years, as new medical placements announced since the last election start translating into staff increases.
Graduate numbers will get the first significant boost in 2009 and by 2012 the total number will be doubled.
"So our own workforce is coming," Dr Capolingua said.
Over time the dependence will plateau out and perhaps even decrease, helping to ease the international doctors' shortage.
"We've done very well to have them here to help us," she said.
"They've been essential and very important.
"But solving our problem will allow them to stay in their own country where they are very much needed."