End-to-end GP training has arrived on the banks of the Victorian Murray River as the region confronts a shortage of local doctors.
A new special admission scheme pathway launched by the Monash Mildura GP Academy aims to keep 10 GPs training and, eventually, working in the region they call home, each year.
The four-year graduate-entry medical degree, offered through Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP), welcomed its inaugural cohort in February this year following its initial announcement in December 2025.
But the academy announced it would also support a community of practice for rural generalists, GPs, and junior doctors to advance their professional development, in the hope of increasing retention in the region.
Monash Rural Health head of school Professor Shane Bullock said the academy would address shortages of GPs and RGs in some of Australia’s most underserved regions, including Sunraysia, the Riverland, and Far West NSW.
“But we also know how important it is to continue supporting junior doctors once they have entered the workforce, and that’s why our model includes a community of practice with ongoing professional development and research opportunities,” Professor Bullock said.
Applicants must be graduate students who had lived either in Mildura or another rural area for at least five years – or 10 years non-consecutively – and must have completed an eligible health or science first degree within the past 10 years.
That would change in 2027, when a further cohort of students became eligible to apply if they had completed further tertiary study or worked in a clinical, scientific, or health-related role.
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In collaboration with local health partners, students would undertake a range of primary care placements, including placements in First Nations Health Services, to better address the unique health needs of Indigenous, rural, and regional communities.
Domestic students from rural backgrounds were more than four times as likely to work in rural towns or remote communities according to the 2025 Medical Schools Outcomes Database report.
It was the latest in a string of recent boosts to the rural medical workforce.
Earlier this month, the federal government announced 50 additional CSPs for aspiring doctors prioritising primary care training, with more rotations in rural and underserved practices – although rural graduate powerhouse James Cook University was once again omitted from the list.
The Medical Board of Australia also announced last week that doctors holding an ACCRM fellowship or a RACGP rural fellowship were eligible for the RG subspecialist title. The next step was to determine the mechanics of obtaining the recognition on the document.
Canberra rebooted its $1.36 billion Rural Health Training Program, with grant applications closing on 24 August and commencing in 2027.
Applications for the 2027 Mildura Academy cohort opened on 1 August and close on 31 August. The program will commence in February 2027.
