Part-time training is defined as at least 14.5 hours over a minimum of two days per week, of which at least 10.5 hours is face-to-face, rostered, patient consultation time, undertaking general practice activities. Work periods of less than three consecutive hours, or of less than 4 calendar weeks in any one practice will not be considered.

To maintain skills in civilian general practice, an exemption to the part time training requirements may be applied for registrars undertaking GPT3 at a Garrison Health Centre and a civilian general practice concurrently. Permission from the ADF service and a valid secondment agreement is required.

Civilian general practice placements

You must meet the same training and educational requirements as non-ADF registrars while completing your civilian placements, however there are a few points of difference:

• While you complete your civilian placement, you are not employed by the practice. You remain a full-time employee of your ADF service branch (Army, Navy, or Air Force) and must receive acknowledgement from your ADF service that they agree to your civilian placement.

• A secondment agreement must exist between you, the practice and the ADF service. The secondment agreement will outline the pay recovery arrangement, as well as the responsibilities and expectations to be met by you, the practice and the ADF. This involves the practice making a payment in line with the National Terms and Conditions for the Employment of Registrars (NTCER) to the ADF for the standard hours you worked at the practice. The secondment agreement must be in place before the civilian placement starts.

• Ordinary working hours for an ADF registrar are set as below, and include consultation hours, administration, in-practice and out-of-practice teaching hours:
  • Navy and Army: 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday, from 7.00am to 8.00pm.
  • Air Force: 38 hours per week, Monday to Friday, from 7.00am to 8.00pm.

• Work that you complete outside of your usual ADF hours is payable to you by the practice. This requires written permission from your ADF service (i.e. via an approved ‘AE107 Request to undertake civilian employment or voluntary activities in off duty hours’). A separate employment contract for this additional work must also be arranged between you and the practice, and must comply with the NTCER.
• ADF registrars do not receive additional payment or percentages of billings for work undertaken during ordinary working hours.
• At the end of each month in civilian practice, you and the practice manager must complete a placement record to allow the ADF service to raise an invoice to the practice for cost recovery. This will be in alignment with the NTCER rates of pay.
• Civilian practices do not pay sick leave, annual leave, or superannuation to ADF registrars. Cost recovery does not occur while the registrar is away from the practice completing compulsory RACGP training (e.g. workshops) or approved study leave.
• The training location requirements and commitments applicable to non-ADF registrars are met for ADF registrars by their contribution to the Garrison Health service provision.
• The practice diversity requirement (commonly known as the 2-practice requirement) is met by ADF registrars working in a Garrison Health Centre in conjunction with their civilian placement – this means that a single civilian practice can support a registrar throughout training if all parties agree.
• ADF registrars may be placed directly by their RACGP regions, and do not contribute to practice placement distribution training caps, as per the Placement Process – Guide for practices.