More GP training places – but who will train them?

Some 2100 training places will be offered in 2028, up from the 2000 offered in 2027.

The federal government said doctor registrations have jumped to more than 10,300 in 2025/26.

Commonwealth-supported GP training places are delivered with the RACGP and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), providing three to four years full-time training for registrars to gain registration as a specialist GP or rural generalist.

In the 2028 round, at least 50% of new GPs will be training as rural GPs and rural generalists.

While ACRRM Past President Dr Rod Martin welcomed the investment, he warned that without enough senior doctors to provide training and supervision the health system would be facing another challenge.

“If we don’t get enough people into the system now, the people who would be their supervisors in their training phase and be their mentors once they’ve done their fellowship, they will be gone from the system and we’ll have another challenge,” he told Medical Forum.

“It’s the supervising doctors to student ratios that are now a secondary issue. We need to get more supervisors and senior doctors wherever we can and, while we still can, get them in teaching, mentoring and supervising roles.”

There was also concern about burnout and the additional workload faced by rural doctors if they take on more training and supervisory roles.

““The more senior doctors, they’ve already got a substantial teaching, supervision and mentoring load. That’s set to continue to grow,” Dr Martin said.

“The pressure on an individual doctor to work out how they are going to apportion their time, and the mental load of having to be teaching at the same time as they’re still supposed to be seeing patients, is a challenge.”

It was also not known if the additional numbers of GPs in training would be enough to plug the gaps left by those who are leaving the workforce or retiring.

Dr Martin said it was unlikely there was enough future GPs in the pipeline, but without a proper workforce analysis it was hard to plan for.

“The one big challenge that we have is there’s not a proper workforce agency or workforce assessment unit that can say, ‘this is the demand and these are the numbers that you’re going to need’.

“The money is there to spend on training because it’s certainly not being spent on clinical care – there’s a $9 billion underspend – but we don’t have workforce figures to say what are the rural numbers that we need and where do we need them geographically.”

In addition to the training places, the federal government has funded an additional 100 medical training places at eight universities in 2026, increasing to 150 from 2028. Among the universities were UWA and the University of Notre Dame.

It has also introduced incentive payments from September 1, including $30,000 salary incentives, and payments to support eligible registrars to take study and parental leave.

RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said the College was training record numbers of future specialist GPs and demand for training was places stronger than ever.

“Every Australian deserves access to high-quality care from a GP who knows them and their medical history," he said.

“We’re particularly delighted to see more rural training places. Growing our specialist GP and rural generalist workforce means more Australians, no matter where they live, can access care that helps them live longer, healthier lives.”