AGPT transition to college-led model

Applications have opened for the new AGPT program 2023 which will be administered by the RACGP and ACRRM from February.

GPRA continues to represent and hear from our members during the transition. The GP speciality sector awaits the contracts for the AGPT program to be agreed between the Federal Government and both GP Specialty Colleges so we can finally understand what College-led training will look like and communicate this to members.

Thanks to all GPRA members who have provided feedback. Following is a snapshot of the issues members have discussed with GPRA to date:

1. Administration of placements for 2023 – what this looks like, who will undertake this in the changeover between RTOs and Colleges for Semester One 2023 and what level of support will trainees continue to receive.
2. Impact of the new workforce prioritisation/geographical placement initiative – GPRA will monitor the impact of this new workforce prioritisation initiative and what it means for placements. Our view is no registrar, supervisor or practice should be left disadvantaged under this system.
3. Payments to support registrars in training – this continues to be one of the significant concerns of our members, especially in relation to the level of support registrars will continue to access.
4. Ongoing support for AGPT part-time trainees – during the transition GPRA will continue to liaise with each College regarding what supports they intend to put in place for our part-time trainee members.

If you have any questions or concerns about the transition to College-led training, please contact GPRA via the Feedback Mailbag, and you can also join our next Q&A webinar on April 28 at 7.30pm.

Finally, the Federal Budget, which was announced on March 29, offered some gains for health care but overall, it did little to address our biggest concerns for general practice and GPs in training. While $632.8 million was announced in new funding to support the Primary Health Care 10 Year Plan, this is significantly less than what is needed to fund key aspects of the plan. Disappointingly, despite improvements to the national paid parental leave scheme being announced parental leave remains inaccessible to most GPs in training. This is something we will continue to advocate for.

Primary health care has suffered the impacts of inadequate funding and service innovation for too long. A stronger commitment to primary care and structural reform is urgently needed – this is critical if we are going to continue to attract doctors to GP Specialty training.