President’s message

The past year has seen much discussion about the role of general practice as the front door of Australia’s healthcare system, and increasing recognition of the need for all Australians to have access to high-quality affordable care from their GP.

We have seen major Medicare reforms, unprecedented commitments by the Federal Government of increased investment into general practice and our future workforce, and a slowly growing understanding of our critical role in enabling ongoing holistic, person-centred, accessible and affordable care.

This significant period of change comes with challenges, including potential impacts on practice viability, risks to GPs’ scope of practice and the growing complexity of care we are managing. At the same time many of us are adopting new technologies and adapting to new business models in order to maintain financial sustainability. 

This year’s Health of the Nation report shows some encouraging signs and points towards the potential of a strengthened general practice workforce and GPs working to their full scope providing the care our communities need.

GPs remain highly accessible – providing services to patients across Australia from our major cities to regional towns, rural and remote areas, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We provide comprehensive and holistic care and play a key role in bridging gaps across the health system.

The report tells us that patients continue to rate highly the care they receive from their GP, and that GPs are spending longer with patients than ever. At the same time, complexity of care is increasing. This is the number one challenge identified by GPs, as we witness growing rates of chronic disease, high rates of mental health presentations and an ageing growing population. Mental health continues to be a key theme throughout the report – consistent since the first Health of the Nation survey in 2017.

The themes of this year’s survey around multidisciplinary care and preventive care are cornerstones of general practice. The survey findings confirm that many GPs already work within multidisciplinary care teams and are enthusiastic to participate in more of these models of care. While the value of being part of a multidisciplinary care team is recognised, workforce shortages and gaps in funding and infrastructure remain. GPs are central for these models of care to function effectively.

Furthermore, while the report provides an important snapshot of the increasingly complex care provided by GPs, it also shines a light on the ongoing disparities within our health system. For example, while per person funding for general practice has remained relatively unchanged in the decade up to 2023–24, hospital funding has increased by one third.

For the first time, the 2025 report collected information about experiences with racism, finding that it remains a key challenge in the healthcare environment. Nearly one third of GPs have observed racism towards patients in the health system, with some GPs not feeling confident in addressing racism. These results highlight the need to identify and eliminate racism in the healthcare system.

Despite the many challenges the general practice workforce faces, being a GP remains rewarding, fulfilling and exciting, and GP training has never been more popular with a record number of junior doctors entering the Australian General Practice Training Program in recent years.

There is increasing evidence that properly funded access to high-quality general practice is the solution to many of our current healthcare challenges.

I’d like to thank all the RACGP members who contributed to the survey and this report, and particularly thank the RACGP Advocacy team and RACGP Expert Committee – Funding and Health System Reform for their leadership.

This report shows us that there is no substitute for the quality care you get from a GP who knows you and your history. 

Dr Michael Wright
RACGP President