WA’s most recent GP closure suggests that universal bulk billing remains unsustainable in rural general practice.
The closure of Kalbarri Doctors Surgery in rural WA, scheduled for 26 June, will leave 1500 residents without a local GP within a 100km radius.
Unable to stay afloat after adopting a fully bulk-billed model, it is now the region’s second clinic closure, following Northampton’s temporary loss of its doctor’s surgery last July due to severe staff recruitment and financial struggles.
As an MM6 location, patients in Kalbarri draw a Medicare bulk billing incentive that is 180% higher than those in metro locations, but clinic director Christopher Hamilton said the practice was no longer financially viable.
“We are deeply saddened that we have reached this point,” Mr Hamilton said in a community statement.
“We have explored funding opportunities, support pathways and potential buyers, but unfortunately, none have provided a sustainable future for the practice,” he said.
The closure occurs as Medicare funding, indexed at 2.6%, lags behind a 4.2% rise in CPI.
Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA) CEO Peta Rutherford said rural general practices are often small, family-owned businesses under immense pressure to remain operational and avoid leaving their communities without a GP.
“It’s not a fully government-funded venture,” she told The Medical Republic.
The pressure to entirely bulk-bill leaves general practices without enough revenue to cover their operational costs, Ms Rutherford said.
Related
Mr Hamilton and his wife, GP Dr Tara Hamilton, even invested their own funds to sustain the practice.
“The current Fee-for-service (FFS) rewards shorter consultations,” Ms Rutherford said.
Longer consultations pay doctors less per minute than shorter visits, which are often unsuitable for regional and remote communities, where GPs manage patients’ comprehensive healthcare, she said.
Once-a-month trips to see a GP are the reality for many rural WA patients – patients Ms Rutherford said carry “much more complex healthcare needs.”
The nearest GP clinics to Kalbarri are in Geraldton, roughly 130 km south – an almost two-hour drive.
The closure will also deprive the region of its few training posts for rural GPs.
“[Registrars] need really good quality training to support them, and we want to provide that, so that they’re inclined to stay and continue working in these regional communities,” Ms Rutherford said.
RACGP WA Chair Dr Ramya Raman said Medicare rebates have not kept pace with the cost of delivering quality care and running a practice, a gap she said is now forcing entirely foreseeable closures.
Rather than injecting $25 million into opening additional bulk billing practices in NSW, Dr Raman said the money should be redirected to rural communities like Kalbarri in WA to maintain access to their GP.
In rural and regional areas, she said alternative funding options, including state funding and support from PHNs and state hospitals, should also be explored.
Good general practice cannot be replaced and neither can Medicare, she said.
“Long term, not having strong primary care is going to compromise the health system,” Dr Raman said.
The clinic had been on a Federal critical closure list since June 2025.
