Turns out that Aussie GPs have it rather good, actually.
The RACGP’s Health of the Nation report may have identified administrative burden as a leading cause of burnout in the GP workforce, but a recent US-led survey heralds Australia as a shining light when it comes to reducing administrative work.
Released in November 2025, the Commonwealth Fund’s Causes and Impacts of Burnout Among Primary Care Physicians in 10 Countries report contained survey results from roughly 11,000 general practitioners in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In terms of general burnout, Australia’s docs came in at the middle of the pack.
One in three Australian GPs reported feelings of burnout, similar to rates recorded in the UK and Sweden.
Dutch doctors came in at the least burnt out at just 11%, with the US taking the dubious crown of most burnt out primary care workforce at 43%.
When it came to the reasons for that burnout, 65% of the primary care practitioners of Switzerland nominated administrative burden as the primary cause, followed by 50% of German GPs, 45% of Canadian GPs and 44% of US GPs.
Australia had the lowest proportion of GPs who indicated that the primary reason for their burnout was related to the amount of time spent on administrative tasks, at 21%.
These results are somewhat surprising given that the 2025 Health of the Nation report compiled by the RACGP indicated that nearly 70% of Australian GPs were experiencing at least some symptoms of burnout.
Health of the Nation 2025 also found that nearly eight in 10 GPs were dissatisfied with the amount of administration associated with their work.
The Commonwealth Fund report, though, lauded Australia as having essentially half the rate of administrative-related burnout in its GPs compared to the US.
“Through the Provider Connect Australia System, the country has reduced the burden of administrative tasks like billing and communication for clinicians and practices,” it said.
Related
“Unlike the US, which has a fragmented reporting system that is often unique to each payer and practice, Australia has a centralized platform for billing, documentation, and messaging, allowing seamless communication across providers, practices, and businesses.*
“Australia’s government has also passed legislation to enable simplified, electronic billing.”
This last sentence was in reference to the Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Assignment of Medicare Benefits) Bill 2024, the piece of law which will allow patients to more easily consent to being bulk billed.
One thing is for certain: if what Australian GPs are currently dealing with is actually a modest amount of paperwork-related burden, one does not want to find out what they’re doing to those poor doctors over in Switzerland.
*Call us if you find this.
