The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has urged leaders at all levels of government to ensure no rural Tasmanian communities miss out on vital general practice care.
It comes after RACGP Tasmania Chair, Dr Toby Gardner, the College's Rural Chair, Associate Professor Michael Clements, and Tasmanian Rural Programs Manager, Judah Morris, visited the RACGP award winning Beaconsfield Family Practice and the Launceston Clinical School to meet with medical students. Associate Professor Clements and Mr. Morris also visited the Patrick Street Clinic in Ulverston, the Umina Park Nursing Home in Shorewell Park, and the Burnie Clinical School. It comes ahead of the RACGP-sponsored Tasmanian Rural Health Conference 2025 where GPs from across the state will share insights and learn more about how to boost healthcare in the bush.
Dr Gardner said boosting the state's rural, regional and remote workforce must be a priority.
"All patients no matter their postcode or income, deserve access to timely, high-quality care from a regular GP who knows them, and their history. No community should be left behind," he said.
"This can only happen if we continue boosting the rural GP workforce, so let's build on recent promising announcements. Last month, we threw our support behind the Albanese Government's commitment to train more doctors in Launceston to deliver end-to-end medical training at the University of Tasmania from 2026 for five years. This commitment will mean an additional 100 medical students training in Launceston, and the Government promised that the new medical places will emphasise primary care to encourage more medical graduates to choose the general practice path.
"The College's 2025 intake data reveal that UTAS is fourth in the nation for producing GPs, and the first in the nation for producing rural GPs. So, let's lock those training numbers in for many more years to come."
The RACGP Tasmania Chair said more could be done to boost rural and remote GP training numbers.
"We need more GPs in training in the bush. GPs are more likely to live and work in a region if they have done their training there, and we're making headway," Dr Gardner said.
"Between 2021 and 2025, UTAS graduates comprised 40% of the total RACGP Australian General Practice Training [AGPT] cohort in Tasmania, demonstrating once again the benefits of local medical training. The College warmly welcomed the Albanese Government's commitment to train more GPs and incentivise more junior doctors to choose the GP path. The College has successfully placed 177 GPs in training in rural communities that had not had a registrar in years. There are currently 20 Tasmanian practices benefiting from these incentivised placements, including a registrar in Beaconsfield and two in Burnie.
"We're also supporting 123 AGPT registrars in Tasmania, in addition to 37 registrars in the Fellowship Support Program training pathway, and another eight in the Practice Experience Program Specialist program, which is designed for international medical graduates. This is positive news, and we're working hard to expand the number of RACGP-accredited practices across the state."
Associate Professor Michael Clements backed Dr Gardner's call to action.
"There is more we can do to boost rural general practice care across Australia, including Tasmania," he said.
"This includes measures to ensure medical students can continue training regionally as they move into their postgraduate years. We urge state and local governments to work together and offer incentives such as a helping hand on childcare, housing, and spousal employment to boost rural GP numbers.
"We also call on federal and state governments to provide additional support to rural practices taking on GPs in training. This could include not only support for new or improved infrastructure, but even financial incentive payments to practices taking on registrars. The time to secure the future of rural general practice care is now. Additionally, we call for continued funding for the GPs with Special Interest pilot program, which has successfully reduced wait times in outpatient clinics."
