The Albanese Government is providing 50 additional Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) for medical students to help train the next generation of doctors.
The 50 additional places are part of a $30 million investment to boost the GP workforce and strengthen Medicare.
The CSPs are spread across eight universities that demonstrated through a competitive grant process, they would focus on primary care training with greater rotations in general practice to help address GP shortages in rural and underserved metropolitan areas.
Beginning in 2028, the new round of 50 CSPs have been allocated to the following universities:
- The Australian National University
- The University of Queensland
- The University of Newcastle
- Macquarie University
- The University of Notre Dame Australia
- The University of New South Wales
- Queensland University of Technology
- The University of Western Australia
Since coming to Government, the Albanese Labor Government has announced an additional 358 new commencing medical Commonwealth supported places each year.
When fully rolled out it will mean an extra 1,800 people studying medicine each year.
The Albanese Government's investment in the future GP workforce has delivered a record 2,100 doctors commencing government-funded training to become a GP, through the historic $1 billion five-year grant agreements with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).
The grants work to foster a positive primary care culture and influence the uptake of primary care careers among graduates. This will strengthen the primary care workforce for Australians now and in the future.
Legislation which guarantees CSPs for Indigenous medical students who meet entry requirements also commenced this year to increase the number of Indigenous doctors in Australia.
The Albanese Government is also investing $1.36 billion over five years in the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program (RHMT) to support the next generation of doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists and allied health professionals to train, live and work in rural, regional and remote Australia.
Grant applications have now opened to universities to apply for the RHMT funding, with the next phase of the program to commence in January 2027.
In 2025, RHMT funded universities facilitated nearly 24,000 rural clinical placements across the country.
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
"The Albanese Government is committed to ensuring our health system has the right number and distribution of GPs to meet community needs.
"More training places will ensure more young doctors work in primary care and in every corner of the country.
"Since 2022, the government has announced funding for an additional 358 commencing places for medical students, to bolster care in rural and regional Australia and underserved urban areas."
Quotes attributable to Minister Clare:
"We want more young Australians to become doctors, and more of them to become GPs.
"That's why we are expanding the number of Australians studying medicine with these additional places spread across the country.
"More places mean more opportunity for young people and more doctors for communities that need them."
