Concern over a controversial clause in the Australian GP Training program agreement appears to have blown over.
Both GP colleges say that government direction to prioritise registrar placements in universal bulk billing clinics won’t come at the cost of quality training and registrar preference, despite initial fears.
In July last year, The Medical Republic revealed that the Australian GP Training program grant opportunity guideline contained the terms that “placements in accredited bulk-billing medical practices (participating in the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program) must be prioritised over placements in other medical practices”.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing later clarified that it would not require prioritisation of particular placement setting types at the expense of quality training outcomes or distribution in underserved areas.
The AGPT contract is now signed, sealed and delivered, and it appears the department has kept its word.
“We want to reassure all of our existing training practices, like mine, that aren’t a [universal] bulk billing practice that registrars won’t be directed to a [non-training accredited bulk billing] practice,” ACRRM president Dr Rod Martin told The Medical Republic.
Training suitability and standards come first, he said, followed by registrar needs and preferences. Both will trump practice billing model.
“Registrars potentially also will vote with their feet, as they should, because they’ll be looking at the reputation associated with practices,” Dr Martin, a rural generalist in Armidale, said.
RACGP president Dr Michael Wright also assured TMR that the college had “clearly established” principles for training placement that applied to every training setting.
“Registrars are placed according to community need, registrar choice and quality of the training environment,” he said.
“These principles do not change with the billing policies of a practice and are fundamental to the program’s ongoing success.
“The new contract has an extensive list of KPIs, tasks and priorities, from boosting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctor recruitment to meeting rural training targets.
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“Within that broader context, the government would like us to prioritise bulk‑billing.”
This “absolutely does not mean”, the Sydney-based GP said, that registrars will be “forced” into bulk billing practices at the expense of communities in need.
“If bulk billing were the only KPI that would be of major concern for registrars and the colleges alike,” Dr Wright said. ‑billing were the only KPI that would be of major concern for registrars and the colleges alike
Technically, the 2026 training year is the busiest on record for the RACGP, which has taken on 1772 new registrars, a 20% increase on the year before.
Close to half have chosen the rural GP training pathway, and a further 16% of the cohort are training to become rural generalists.
These doctors will train almost entirely in regional, rural and remote Australia.
The remainder must spend between six and 12 months working in an outer metropolitan or rural region.
