The inaugural SA Future GP Forum, held today (1 February) in McLaren Vale, has delivered targeted solutions to attract more future doctors into general practice and help deliver quality healthcare to regional and rural communities across Australia.

Hosted by General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA) in collaboration with Federal Member for Mayo Rebekha Sharkie MP, the forum brought together an expert panel, including:

• South Australian Minister for Health and Wellbeing, The Hon. Chris Picton MP
• GPRA President Dr Chris Dickie
• General Practice Students Network (GPSN) National Chair Ms Kei Hsieh
• SA-based pre-vocational doctor and future GP Dr Rohan Nitchingham, and
• MC and SA-based GP Dr Kim Omond.

The Future GP panel discussed current barriers stopping future doctors wanting to train and stay in general practice, and identified key solutions in this critical primary health issue affecting regional communities.

GPSN Club members from 21 universities across Australia – the nation’s future GPs – were also in attendance and led the forum’s discussions on the future of general practice.

“I came to the Future GP Forum today to listen to the next generation of general practitioners,” said Ms Sharkie.

“It was vital for me to hear their views on what needs to change to make it more viable for an emerging doctor to choose general practice – particularly in regional communities.

“Today’s forum has produced real, practical solutions which will directly tackle the challenges preventing doctors from choosing general practice in regional areas.

“Previously, around 50% of medical students entered a GP pathway. Now this number is down to 10%, leaving us with a forecast shortage of 10,000 GPs across Australia.

“My takeaways from listening to the future GP pathway today are that we need to urgently:

• lift the decade-long freeze on Commonwealth Supported Places for medicine
• return funding for GP clinics to take on junior doctors and general practice students as previously existed under the PGPPP, and
• make general practice more sustainable by increasing the Medicare rebate.

“My constituents tell me they can’t get on the books to see a GP in their local area, and if they can it takes weeks to get an appointment.

“If we want to build and strengthen our rural GP workforce, we need to move quickly to put these new initiatives in place.

“I’m committed to working alongside GPRA and the Federal Government to make these solutions a reality. Indeed, with an election imminent, I will be lobbying both major parties for serious systemic change to future-proof general practice.”

Key solutions from the Forum included:

1. Establishment of a National Employment Support Fund for GP Registrars – A national fund to provide financial stability for GP registrars entering GP training in the first years, covering parental leave, study leave, and a base wage supplement for first-year registrars so they have base rate parity with their other hospital based speciality registrars. This initiative aims to ease financial pressures and make general practice a more attractive career path – across the nation – to stop the jurisdictional hunger games.
2. Early exposure and peer-to-peer support – Increased and well-supported placements for medical students in general practice earlier in a medical student’s undergraduate study, and funding for piloting holiday placements for medical students and GP practices,. Also, new funding to support a Future GP Peer Initiative to strengthen mentorship and professional connections early in a doctor’s career so a peer to peer chain can encourage more students to pursue GP training.
3. Flexible employment models – Ensuring the Single Employer Model works in areas of specific workforce need while maintaining diverse training pathways, offering more employment security without limiting innovation in workforce planning.
4. Empowering local GPs with flexible funding – More autonomy for local GPs to create training placements tailored to community needs, ensuring funding is available outside rigid formal structures to increase system capacity and workforce sustainability.

GPRA President Dr Chris Dickie welcomed the forum’s outcomes, emphasising the importance of immediate action.

“We need to once and for all address the obvious national structural barrier – the lack of hospital base rate wage parity for a first-year GP in training. On average, they face a $31,000 drop in base salary,” said Dr Dickie.

“The National Employment Support Fund and Future GP Peer Initiative put forward as solutions today are vital to supporting the next generation of GPs, and would make a real difference in attracting and retaining GPs in communities.

“We must also ensure local GPs have the flexibility and funding to design placements that meet their communities’ unique needs.

“Today’s forum has been an important opportunity for our future GPs to have a voice alongside those who have been shaping the system over a longer period.

“By focusing on employment security, early exposure, and funding flexibility, the forum has laid the groundwork for practical reforms that will improve GP recruitment and retention – not only in regional South Australia, but across the nation.”

Dr Dickie said GPRA will now work with government and industry stakeholders to advocate for action to implement the forum’s proposed solutions to address GP shortages in regional Australia.

ENDS