The ninth edition of the General practice: Health of the Nation report provides the opportunity to examine the current state of general practice and track changes over the short and medium terms. This survey is an important opportunity to forecast possible longer-term trends in general practice and consider the implications for patients, GPs and the broader healthcare sector.
Survey
This report draws directly from the reflections and experiences of GPs and GPs in training via the RACGP Health of the Nation survey. The survey spans nine years and has historically involved RACGP Fellows from all parts of Australia.
The 2025 online survey, undertaken by The Navigators in close collaboration with the RACGP, ran from 8 April to 4 May, with respondents covering a wide range of demographics across the GP community. The 2025 survey included:
- RACGP Fellows
- Vocationally registered RACGP members
- Continuing Professional Development (CPD)-only RACGP members
- GPs in training.
Responses received were split into practising GPs, non-practising GPs and GPs in training. Demographics of the 2416 practising GPs were as follows:
- 59% female, 40% male, 1% identifying as non-binary, or using a different form
- 6% aged <35 years, 22% aged 35–44 years, 27% aged 45–54 years, 28% aged 55–64 years, 18% aged ≥65 years
- 11% Western Australia, 2% Northern Territory, 9% South Australia, 21% Queensland, 27% New South Wales, 2% Australian Capital Territory, 24% Victoria, 3% Tasmania
- 62% in major cities, 22% in inner-regional, 12% in outer-regional, 4% in remote and very remote
Demographics of the 180 non-practising GPs were as follows:
- 51% female, 42% male, 7% identifying as non-binary, or using a different form
- 7% aged <35 years, 11% aged 35–44 years, 11% aged 45–54 years, 24% aged 55–64 years, 48% aged ≥65 years
Demographics of the 315 GPs in training were as follows:
- 56% female, 40% male, 4% identifying as non-binary, or using a different form
- 40% aged <35 years, 42% aged 35–44 years, 11% aged 45–54 years, 7% aged 55–64 years, 0% aged ≥65 years
- 14% Western Australia, 1% Northern Territory, 9% South Australia, 25% Queensland, 26% New South Wales, 1% Australian Capital Territory, 22% Victoria, 2% Tasmania
- 32% in major cities, 34% in inner-regional, 26% in outer-regional, 8% in remote and very remote
This report also draws on data collected in previous editions of the RACGP’s Health of the Nation survey which was undertaken by EY Sweeny from 2017 to 2021.
Other data sources
This report collates data from various sources to provide a unique overview of the general practice sector, including:
- Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
- Productivity Commission
- Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand
- Cubiko Touchstone report.