Here’s what medical leaders will be paying attention to in the year to come.
Just 12 months ago, there was no hint of an expanded tripled bulk billing incentive or a PIP for universal bulk billers; today, those policies are in full swing.
The point is, a lot can change in year.
Here’s what the leadership at the AMA, RACGP and ACRRM are predicting for 2026.
Dr Michael Wright, RACGP president
The crystal ball shows: potential for real reform.
RACGP president Dr Michael Wright told The Medical Republic that, on a policy level, he anticipated hearing back from the many, many reviews commissioned over the last three years.
“There are still a lot of reviews which we haven’t seen the government response to, some of which went out before the election,” he said.
“There’s still a lot of potential reform ahead there, whether that’s scope of practice or after hours or PHNs.
“In terms of pharmacy, there’s the pharmacy board consultation into pharmacist prescribing that’s going to come early in the new year.
“That’s a really serious consultation, and it’ll be really important for GPs and general practice to make sure that that consultation takes regard for the potential risks to patient safety and to our health system.”
While there will be challenges, Dr Wright also spies some opportunities in the pipeline.
“There’s more work to be done in reviewing the MBS to better support patients who need more time with their GPs, and to support the GPs who are providing that care,” he said.
“We know [that the GPs doing longer consults] are more likely to be female GPs, and as the research from Professors Louise Stone and Karen Price show, that really is having an impact on burnout and the experience of being a GP.
“That’s really important, and I know that MSAC is currently looking at those item numbers, so that’s something which is also potentially a major reform next year.”
Dr Rod Martin, ACRRM president
The tea leaves predict: rural generalisttraining numbers continue rocketing upward.
For the last three years running, the rural college has been oversubscribed for places on its Rural Generalist Training Scheme.
ACRRM president Dr Rod Martin says that while the numbers are still being finalised, 2026 will likely prove to be the fourth.
“We know what our applications look like, and if we do the modelling, then we’ll be substantially oversubscribed, yet again,” he told TMR.
“And we will have to do the same thing [as in previous years], where we have to work out how we fund it, because we can’t see that it’s reasonable – when the need is so great – to be turning away too many people.”
In the past, the Commonwealth has allowed the college to accept significantly more registrars than its 250 allocated yearly places would allow; in 2024, it was oversubscribed by 90%.
“We’ll be back, cap in hand, saying ‘Minister, we need to have more numbers’,” Dr Martin said.
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“The need isn’t decreasing, and we know that we’ve got programs that will work and get the right skill sets.”
As part of an election promise, there will be 200 additional GP training places added in 2026, followed by 300 in 2027 and 400 in 2028. The majority of these will go to the AGPT program, rather than the RGTS program, however.
Associate Professor Julian Rait, AMA vice president
The stars say: scrutiny may be coming to non-GP specialist fees.
Health Minister Mark Butler has made no secret of the fact that he plans to tackle what he sees as “completely out of control” non-GP specialist fees sometime in the near future.
But while costs are certainly rising, the AMA argues that blaming doctors would be the wrong move.
“We need to look at the private health system authority to better regulate and implement reforms in the private sector,” AMA vice president Associate Professor Julian Rait told TMR.
“And that might include looking at how out-of-pocket costs could be better managed.
“We would contend that both the MBS and the private health insurance rebates have been falling in relative terms … and that’s obviously been adding pressure to out-of-pocket costs, particularly as doctors’ costs are rising like everybody else’s.”
Ultimately, Professor Rait said, clinics and doctors should be able to make up their own mind about how they run their business.
“We see a disturbing narrative coming from the government and others, that somehow [rising costs are] the profession’s fault, and that out-of-pocket costs are our problem, even though the reimbursement of those costs has been falling in real terms,” he said.
“While we would fully support greater fee transparency and informed financial consent and moderate fees, people have to make up their own mind about how they run their business and how they can best support themselves and their families.”
