The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) welcomes the Federal Government’s move to permanently abolish the proposed $2 000 cap on work-related self-education expenses.
Proposed by the Labor Government in April this year, the cap received widespread criticism from the general practice profession and the RACGP, as a founding member of the Scrap the Cap Alliance, has been lobbying hard to reverse the proposed cap since.
Dr Liz Marles, RACGP President, said the Government has once again demonstrated it understands the importance of general practice in Australian communities.
"General practice is at the forefront of providing quality healthcare and the investment that the Government has made today into improving clinical knowledge and skill base will ensure Australian communities continue to have access to world class healthcare.
"We know that the true costs involved in participating in high quality continuing professional development (CPD) exceed the $2 000 cap.
"By choosing to scrap the cap, the Government has shown it understands the realistic costs that GPs experience in participating in continuing education designed to meet both individual learning needs and legislative requirements," said Dr Marles.
Had the cap been introduced, rural and remote GPs would have been considerably disadvantaged by limiting their ability to attend training and offering vital services to these at need communities.
"Rural and remote general practice presents its own unique challenges, and by placing a cap on self-education expenses would have greatly affected the general practice professions ability to attract and sustain our rural general practice workforce.
"Training, education and ongoing CPD are fundamental components to ensuring Australia continues to lead the world in delivering the best health outcomes for all Australians," said Dr Marles.
As a founding member, the RACGP, alongside over 70 member organisations in the Scrap the Cap Alliance, represented more than 1.6 million professionals including nurses, allied health professionals, universities, engineers, accountants, lawyers, veterinarians, and small business operators.