Health systems and environmental

The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) reaffirms our commitment to The Uluru Statement from the Heart

The RACGP is a member of the National Council of Primary Care Doctors, which is a collaboration of Australia's peak organisations for primary care doctors. This is a joint statement regarding the 2025 Federal election and calling on all government's to continue investing in primary health.

The most common minimum age of criminal responsibility internationally is 14 years. The need for trauma informed, coordinated and integrated services for vulnerable children is stark - ethically, empirically and economically.

The RACGP does not accept any form of racism and strongly supports action to challenge and address racism within general practice and the broader healthcare system.

The RACGP believes that every person requires safe, stable and secure housing to reach and maintain optimal health.

The RACGP actively contributes to and advocates for comprehensive strategies to secure and maintain a robust general practitioner workforce in Australia.

A broad application of payroll tax on independent practitioners by state and territory governments will adversely impact patient access to quality general practice care and will have national implications on the significant investment the Commonwealth Government has put into general practice.

Care and support for people with disability

People from refugee backgrounds often have higher rates of long-term physical and mental health issues compared with other migrants.

As specialist generalists, general practitioners are trained to treat a patient as a whole person, not a specific illness or issue in isolation

There is an opportunity for private health insurance to support patient access to the model of general practice care described in the Vision

The RACGP supports free access to rapid antigen tests through multiple distribution points targeting those most at risk of severe COVID-19 disease and most likely to spread COVID in the community

The RACGP considers that high-quality care for older people requires general practitioner (GP)-led multidisciplinary care

The RACGP believes that GP-led multidisciplinary teams are well placed to provide whole-patient, comprehensive, coordinated, continuing primary healthcare to individuals, families and communities

After-hours primary healthcare is defined as accessible and effective care for people whose health condition is urgent and cannot wait for treatment until regular services are next available

Australia’s first national Principles on the role of general practitioners (GPs) in supporting work participation has been developed following extensive stakeholder consultation with GPs

The current process of prescribing medicinal cannabis products in Australia is highly bureaucratic, time consuming and expensive

The RACGP recognises the importance of general practice research and is committed to its advancement

The RACGP supports marriage equality and recognises the polarisation of communities and significant distress that a public vote on marriage equality has caused lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer RACGP members and patients

The RACGP considers that any future accreditation model must retain the GP peer surveyor model as this is paramount to fostering genuine collaboration and sharing of experience amongst peers

The RACGP acknowledges the importance of protecting children from sexual exploitation and harm

The RACGP NRF strongly opposes the use of Geographic Provider Numbers as a solution to general practice workforce maldistribution

The RACGP agrees that comprehensive, coordinated and effective surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use is a national priority and that a unified and strategic approach to addressing the problem is necessary 

Despite strong rural GP participation across all settings, the frequency of service results showed a clear under utilisation of the local GP workforce, with limited patient reach in each setting outside of the practice

RACGP Rural is committed to ensuring GP-led community palliative care is prioritised in policy so that our members are well-placed and supported in meeting patient needs

The RACGP advocates for a more collaborative Council of Australian Governments (COAG) dialogue which places increased value on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector input

The RACGP advocates for Fee-for-service to remain the foundation of general practice funding, supplemented by innovative, blended funding models.

The RACGP recognises that early diagnosis of ADHD is essential for improved health outcomes to people with ADHD.