Reforms to funding and workplace arrangements could support the expansion of safe, effective and team-based care by nurses in general practice, improving access to healthcare across the country.
In a position statement released today , the Australian Medical Association says nurses already play a vital role in patient care in practices across the country, but current funding and policy settings prevent GP clinics from maximising their skills.
AMA President Dr Danielle McMullen said improved access to GP coordinated multi-disciplinary care from nurses in general practices would support better patient outcomes and reduce pressure on hospitals.
“Governments regularly talk about multidisciplinary care, workforce shortages and hospital congestion, but policy settings do not match the rhetoric,” Dr McMullen said.
“Medicare does not properly support the greater use of nurses in practices, and inadequate Workforce Incentive Program funding makes it difficult for some practices to employ and retain nurses. This means care that could be happening in GP clinics is delayed and patients are ending up in hospitals.”
Dr McMullen said evidence shows that team‑based care in general practice improves access, continuity of care and patient outcomes, particularly for chronic and complex conditions, with nurses playing a key role in chronic disease management, education and preventive care.
“The issue in getting more nurses into practices is policy settings and current funding, not general practice willingness.
“Rather than looking at initiatives that open more doors to the healthcare system and further fragment care, governments should be looking at what they can do to improve access by bringing teams together. When care is delayed or fragmented, conditions deteriorate and patients end up in emergency departments unnecessarily.”
Through both its position statement and 2026–27 workforce budget submission the AMA is calling on the government to:
- strengthen and expand the Workforce Incentive Program, including uncapping and indexing payments
- Modernise Medicare to enable practice nurses to better support patient care, including by developing of specific MBS items for care delivered by nurses under GP oversight and expanding the circumstances where time spent by nurses with patients counts toward a time-tiered GP attendance item
- fund GP clinical governance and care-team leadership
- support career pathways for nurses in general practice.
With rates of vaccination on the decline, this policy provides an ideal platform to help the government to turn this situation around by strengthening the role of practice nurses in this area as part of a high quality and safe model of GP led team-based care.
Read the AMA’s Position Statement on Enhancing the Role of Practice Nurses in GP-led Team-based Care
