February 2023

Payroll tax: A huge win, but the fight's not over
After months of hard work, regular meetings with the Queensland Revenue Office and the Treasurer’s office, and a high-profile public campaign with friends at the AMA, the RACGP was called to a meeting with the Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick on 2 February. We put our case for relaxation of the payroll tax directly to the Treasurer for over an hour. At the end of the meeting, the Treasurer thanked us for our explanation of this difficult issue and said he had a better understanding. He reaffirmed that ‘nothing is off the table.’ 

The following morning, the Treasurer announced an amnesty for general practices on payroll tax for five years up, until 30 June 2025. Although this is a huge win, it’s not the end of the payroll tax battle in Queensland or any other states/territories. It gives us time to continue to work with government to resolve the issue. 

I personally will continue to fight payroll tax hard knowing I have the backing of the whole RACGP. Our President, Dr Nicole Higgins, and CEO, Paul Wappett, have both been involved in this fight. Because the application of payroll tax is synchronised across the states and territories, this issue must be addressed across the country synchronously.

In the meantime, I continue to work on behalf of practices who’ve been audited and not yet had to pay the additional payroll tax. I’m confident of a satisfactory outcome.

We can’t afford to be complacent either, with practice preparations or with keeping the pressure on the state/territory governments.

QScript: Letter to the QLD Director-General of Health
Friday 3 February was an up-and-down day. I arrived home like the vast majority of doctors to an email saying that on one or more occasions I’d failed to consult QScript, which surprised me because I try to be very diligent. I believe QScript is an important tool. We know that more Australians die from prescription overdoses than motor vehicle accidents. (I can’t help but wonder what effect pharmacy prescribers will have on those statistics.) 

However, QScript needs to be more usable. I do a remote clinic, and it’s often impossible to log onto QScript in this location.

GPs are constantly being asked to do more and more for less and less. Queensland Health needs to realise that the more red tape inflicted on GPs when we’re trying to do routine things like refer patients or write a prescription, the more patients will have to pay to see a GP.As a profession, we can’t continue to absorb these additional costs.

The RACGP is standing up for QLD GPs. I’ve written to the Director-General of Health on behalf of QLD GPs, requesting usability improvements to QScript and pointing out the distress the ‘nudge letters’ caused so many of my colleagues.

Strengthening Medicare
The RACGP, led by Dr Nicole Higgins, continues to fortify our messaging on strengthening Medicare.

• Patients need fee relief, rebates must rise and the Federal Government must continue with realistic rebate rises in the future.

• The government is committed to team-based care and an increased role for other health professionals. The Albanese government is absolutely committed to this. We must make a strong case for other health professionals to work in our general practices rather than contributing to fragmentation of care. Teams must be based in general practices. The alternative will certainly result in fragmentation, duplication, confusion and waste. Open Medicare access to nurse practitioners and pharmacists and others will inevitably lead to poorer outcomes and NDIS-type cost blow-outs. 

The Productivity Commission released its report last week saying that 3.6% of patients delayed treatment because of cost. But the Pharmacy Guild’s website indicates that 20% of patients are delaying filling prescriptions because of cost. Reducing pharmaceutical costs and restrictive markets needs to be the highest priority.

Now is the time to open pharmacy to competition, increase access and decrease prices for patients. The RACGP is calling for the implementation of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommendations of 2018 and for pack sizes to be increased for chronic, stable conditions from one month to three months – again, reducing costs and increasing convenience for our patients.

Cheers,
Dr Bruce Willett
Chair RACGP Queensland and RACGP Vice President

The RACGP Queensland 63rd Clinical Update celebrates the journey GPs have been on, acknowledging your flexibility and adaptability over the last two years!

The conference will include practical clinical skills workshops, roundtable discussions and presentations from notable speakers from different industries covering a wide range of topics relevant to current general practice. Get your tickets now!

The weekend also is an opportunity for you to connect with peers with canapés and drinks at our networking function, where we’ll run a sweepstakes competition. You could win two great getaway prizes!

Discounted tickets for rural QLD GPs
If you’re a Queensland GP living or working within MMM2–7, we’re pleased to offer $50 tickets thanks to the Graeme ‘Bruce’ Roberts Bequest. Email us to register for a $400 discount and take advantage of this offer that supports ongoing education for QLD rural GPs.

Speak at the conference
A speaking slot is up for grabs at the Research in General Practice session. Submit an abstract of your general practice research and apply on the Clinical Update website now.

Register now

Alongside the Clinical Update weekend and other educational events happening this year, RACGP Queensland and its Education Committee looks forward to bringing you a series of webinars to meet your educational needs and CPD requirements.

The first session will focus on clinical audits in a practice setting and how to earn hours in the Measuring Outcomes CPD category. Find out how regular clinical audits can improve patient care and outcomes, and learn the importance of reviewing patient outcomes to ensure best practice across the board. We’ll also cover more details of how clinical audits review performance against predetermined criteria, along with implementing changes when results show standards aren’t being met.

More information    |    Register now

The RACGP Queensland New Fellows Committee invites you to attend a new webinar series that showcases the diverse pursuits of RACGP Fellows, including a Q&A with presenters.

Anecdotally, many New Fellows report settling into their practice and thinking, ‘What next?’ Many paths and opportunities open when you obtain your FRACGP, but as a New Fellow it can be hard to know where to start.

This series will showcase the pursuits of some RACGP Fellows and inspire you to think about how you can diversify your own GP career and maximise your job satisfaction and professional fulfilment. The Q&A format will allow you to ask questions you might not be able to find answers to in other forums.

More information    |    Register now

If you attained Fellowship of the RACGP, Fellowship of Advanced Rural General Practice (FARGP) or Rural Generalist Fellowship between 10 January and 24 February 2023, you’ll receive an email invitation this month to our next Fellowship ceremony in Townsville on 16 March 2023.

If you’ve already received your invitation, please be aware that RSVPs close on 5 March 2023.

RACGP Queensland New Fellows private Facebook group

The RACGP Queensland New Fellows private Facebook group is a place to connect with New Fellows across Queensland.

You’ll find information about meet-ups (also called ‘GPs café gatherings’), the webinar series ‘Creative careers in general practice’ and other local GP events you might want to join in your area.

Join now

RACGP Queensland members Facebook group – open to all RACGP members

The RACGP Queensland faculty members Facebook group is a place for all our members across the college to share news stories and challenges with peers across QLD.

You’ll receive updates about faculty events, links to new resources and important news from key sources.

Join now

RACGP Queensland is pleased to be offering heavily discounted places for Queensland GPs in MMM2–7 to complete: 

• emergency medicine for rural GPs online workshops 

• introduction to point-of-care ultrasound for rural GPs face-to-face workshops

• focussed psychological strategies CPD case-based discussions online.  

Each Bruce Roberts Bequest scholarship will reduce your course registration fee to $50 to complete the course with RACGP Rural. You will be required to register and pay the full amount. Once the course or workshop has been completed and you receive your certificate of attainment, you will be refunded the amount of your course or workshop minus $50.

This program is funded by the generosity of the Dr Graeme ‘Bruce’ Roberts Bequest, donated to RACGP Queensland to develop and support ongoing education initiatives for GPs living and working in regional, rural and remote Queensland communities.   

Places are limited, so please express your interest today on the RACGP website for the course or workshop you want to attend. For further assistance, please email the Queensland Faculty Staff at qld.bequest@racgp.org.au

RACGP Queensland congratulates the following GPs who attained Fellowship of the RACGP last month:

Congratulations on achieving Fellowship of the RACGP! We recognise all the sacrifice and hard work that has gone into your GP journey.

Transitioning from a being a GP in training to an independent, practising GP is a major career-changing (and life-changing) milestone. The RACGP Next Five Program extends support to New Fellows as they navigate their first few years of unsupervised practice.

If you weren’t able to attend last week’s information webinar about tenant GPs and payroll tax, you can now catch up at your leisure. Hear from RACGP CEO Paul Wappett, President Dr Nicole Higgins, Vice-President Dr Bruce Willett and representatives from accounting firm William Buck on the implications of recent changes and what they mean for practices across Australia.

And don't forget, we’ve put together some resources to help you and your patients lobby your local MP, including posters, letter templates and social media material.

Watch the webinar

The RACGP is proud to be joining the Sydney WorldPride parade on 25 February with the inaugural Pride in Medicine float!

The RACGP and other medical colleges have partnered to bring together 60 LGBTQI+ identifying doctors and allies to ride on the float. It’ll be the first ever combined medical colleges float in the Mardi Gras parade, and the significance of our collaboration for WorldPride can’t be understated.  

Tune in to the action on our social media channels on the day of the parade to see our CEO Paul Wappett join three RACGP members representing the college. Or if you’ll be in Sydney for WorldPride, come and cheer the Pride in Medicine float along Oxford Street from 6.00 pm (AEDT).

We’re making CPD simpler and more connected to your everyday practice with solutions that help you meet your 50 hours – all included in your RACGP membership. 

Your new CPD dashboard is up and running! It’s time to start your Professional Development Plan, and your myCPD home makes it easy to navigate and quick to complete. 

Visit myCPD home