RACGP sets out "accessible, affordable" GP care plan

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is urging political parties to support its plan to help ensure access to affordable GP care for all Australians. According to RACGP, independently verified analysis has shown the plan to:

• halve out-of-pocket costs, from $59 to $25 on average for consultations longer than 20 minutes — saving a collective $268 million annually for people seeing their GP;
• get the bulk billing rate back to 85% for those who need it most — creating 6.2 million more bulk-billed appointments per year;
• increase growth in the GP workforce — generating 5.2 million additional consults per year; and
• save nearly $500 million per year by reducing hospitalisations and emergency visits and improving health.
   

“The 2025 federal election is critical — people across Australia need urgent cost-of-living relief, including for essential health care,” RACGP President Michael Wright said. “Despite Australia’s world-class health system, many people are missing out on essential care. Medicare has been underfunded for decades, including a 10-year funding freeze, so patients are paying more out-of-pocket and it’s harder for specialist GPs to bulk bill.”

Wright said that while GP numbers are increasing, these numbers are not keeping pace with the need for care across Australia. “Our population is growing and aging, and there’s an epidemic of chronic illnesses. Compounding the issue, our GP workforce is aging, with a third of doctors planning to retire in the next five years,” Wright said.

“The RACGP has a comprehensive plan that will deliver more GPs [and] lower patient fees, and increase bulk billing for Australia. Two initiatives are key: we need significant investment in Medicare to lower fees and increase bulk billing, and we need to train more GPs, so everyone can get the care they need, when and where they need it.

“We’re calling on all parties to support our plan and the 19 initiatives within it. This includes increasing funding for longer consults by 40%, and mental health consults by 25%, and extending tripled bulk-billing incentives to those aged 34 and under — we know young people are doing it especially tough and are more likely to have delayed care due to costs.

“The RACGP trains 90% of Australia’s GPs. With more funding we can train more. We’re calling for an extra 1500 training places over the next five years, which will immediately get more registrars into communities across Australia. We’re also calling for funding to remove the barriers to specialist GP training, so registrars get equal pay and work entitlements as hospital-based doctors.

“There’s no substitute for the care you get from a GP who knows you and your history. This high-quality health care is essential and everyone deserves affordable access,” Wright said. “If our plan is implemented, it will immediately improve access to affordable GP care and ease cost-of-living pressures. Long term, it will improve health and wellbeing and reduce the number of people who end up in hospital with preventable illnesses, saving the health system nearly half a billion every year.”

‘Our plan for accessible, affordable general practice care for all Australia’ is available to read here, via RACGP’s website.

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