The RACGP Practice Owners Conference 2025 in Melbourne this week will also tackle Medicare reform, AI in healthcare, and clinic sustainability.
General practice leaders from across Australia will gather in Melbourne this week for the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Practice Owners Conference 2025, where the future of primary care will take centre stage.
Held from 24–25 May at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, the national event offers GPs an opportunity to learn, collaborate, and address the increasing pressures facing clinics nationwide.
The college’s popular pre-conference masterclasses return this year with an expanded program of practical workshops and professional development sessions.
RACGP president Dr Michael Wright urged practice owners to join the conference.
“This year’s conference has an outstanding array of events,” he said.
“We will have sessions covering artificial intelligence including how ‘AI scribes’ can lead to more time with patients and less on admin, groundbreaking new technologies, how to shorten wait times, practice sustainability, complying with Medicare, and much more.”
Keynote speakers will include Professor Stephen Duckett AM discussing the future of primary care; Dr Floyd Gomes outlining why integrating health and social care is a key part of future healthcare; and Dr Rob Grenfell talking all things clinical governance.
Dr John Deery, CEO of YourGP and chair of the Australian GP Alliance (AGPA) will also be speaking at a session on Saturday morning. He will be sharing his lessons from a 13-year practice ownership journey, which he embarked on with his wife Mel.
Together they have expanded from a single clinic in Canberra to three thriving practices staffed by 40 GPs and 55 other staff members. They are currently developing a new 20-room facility in the Canberra suburb of Amaroo.
Dr Deery was instrumental in the establishment of AGPA in 2016, which advocates for practice owners and provides education.
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He told The Medical Republic the conference was a great opportunity to connect with other practice owners, and also to look at new technology and meet vendors.
“It’s a really great place to just meet other people and share the journey as well,” he said.
“There’ll be practice owners there, from 100 practices down to those who have just started [running their own practice] last week.
“I’m giving a talk just to try and hopefully help people to avoid some of the pain that we went through, especially in the early days, and what we’ve done to make it better.”
When asked about the single greatest lesson he has learned, Dr Deery offers a quote from US author, speaker and leadership expert John C Maxwell.
“He says ‘how well you lead determines how well you would succeed’,” said Deery.
“There’s a lot of the personal journey in terms of leading a business and the lesson there is just invest in yourself and spend some time, and then the other lessons, get help.”
Taking breaks and self-care were also important.
“Unfortunately, in my career, I’ve seen one doctor die by suicide, who was a practice owner, and another guy, who was really struggling with his practice, and he got really sick and died from cancer,” said Dr Deery.
Burnout was another big risk to avoid, not only for practice owners, he said.
“I think being a GP is about a six or a seven out of 10 hard,” he said.
“Being a GP practice owner, I think, is at nine or a 10. You get to deal with all the GP stuff, plus also, you know, put all this leadership and people management and coaching to do on top.”
Despite the challenges, Dr Deery said he found great satisfaction in being a practice owner.
“It’s good to see people that you have taken from reception to become team leads and practice managers,” he said.
“And it’s always fun leading our GPS and enjoying time with them as well.”
Dr Wright will also join a panel alongside college vice-president Dr Ramya Raman and Cubiko CEO Chris Smeed discussing what the 2025 election means for general practice care.
Dr Wright said the conference was also an opportunity to shine a light on the challenges facing practices in communities nationwide.
“Running a practice is a complex job and we know that practice owners, GPs, and practice teams are under increasing pressure,” he said.
“The good news is that the Albanese Government has made an $8.5 billion commitment to boost Medicare funding and grow the GP workforce. Investing in general practice is the most cost-effective way to improve the health and wellbeing of all Australian communities.
“We look forward to working with a government that made healthcare their top priority during the election campaign to train more specialist GPs and to restore Medicare funding after years of underinvestment.”
Learn more about the conference program and how to register here.
