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‘Be bold and brave’: RACGP President reflects
As her two-year tenure draws to a close, Dr Nicole Higgins writes about the progress that has been achieved, and the hard work yet to come.
RACGP President Dr Nicole Higgins shares some of her favourite moments with members, staff and politicians, from the last two years.
Over the last two years serving the profession of general practice as RACGP President, there has never been a dull moment.
While I won’t miss those 5.00 am media calls, there are many things I’m proud of that we have achieved together. I leave the college with a bigger voice and more influence.
One of my biggest endeavours as President was to bring the RACGP back to its members, to rebuild it, both within the college and externally in the profession.
When I reflect on my time, I am particularly proud of the cultural and financial transformation of the RACGP. This includes embedding general practice training into the fabric of the college and growing its voice and influence.
General practice is facing unique challenges unlike any other time in our history – but with challenge comes opportunity.
GPs are the advocates for our patients and profession, and as your representative, the RACGP has never been more visible or had more influence among policymakers.
Over the past few years, we’ve increasingly shown how powerful general practice can be, with its place now further cemented as the engine room of the healthcare system.
And our reach is steadily growing, clearly evident in last year’s Federal Budget, which delivered one of the largest investments into general practice in Australian history after decades of neglect. Many of these funding initiatives came directly off the back of the RACGP’s key advocacy asks.
The success of these reforms is proof that funding gets results, and our continued efforts have helped that push. The RACGP has established strong relationships with State and Federal Governments – policymakers listen to us on what is needed to secure the future of general practice.
We now have a permanent seat at the table.

The RACGP’s advocacy efforts continue to ramp up, with our presence an almost-constant fixture in mainstream and medical media.
Our spokespeople are in high demand for print, radio, and TV, featuring in thousands of news stories over the last year.
And our presence at high-level meetings with key decision-makers and politicians, namely the Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC), is showing no signs of slowing down.
Just this week I was in Canberra for Friends of Immunisation, and Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler accepted my invitation to attend GP24.
I’ve seen the college come such a long way, and I’m so proud of the achievements we’ve made.
We’ve seen the biggest investment in general practice in decades in the 2023–24 Federal Budget, including the tripling of bulk-billing incentives.
We’ve had state payroll tax wins, including the first full exemption in Queensland, my home state, and progress across other impacted states.
Sixty-day dispensing was introduced, demonstrating the influence of joint advocacy of initiatives that put patients first, and we secured extension of chronic disease management funding until next year.
We advocated for reforms cracking down on vaping, importantly getting vapes out of kids’ hands and keeping them safe, and we negotiated with the DoHAC to get digital assignment of benefit forms for bulk-billed telehealth consultations.
We developed productive working relationships with DoHAC’s Benefits Integrity Division and the Professional Services Review, responsible for Medicare compliance. This has seen a greater focus on education and a shift away from more punitive compliance measures, reflecting the recommendations of the Philip Review that providers need more support to navigate a complex system.
We are continuing to actively shape the digital health reform agenda, such as driving healthcare interoperability.
Today, more people want to train to be a GP than we have places, and we have secured funding for extra training places after the 2025.1 intake was oversubscribed.

We’ve seen a cultural transformation of the RACGP and our membership – GPs are now more likely to recommend general practice as a career, and we’ve seen record membership.
We’re also celebrating a financial turnaround, enabling the RACGP to reach the endpoint of its three-year recovery plan one year ahead of schedule, as shown in this year’s annual report.
The RACGP has also continued to support our members, by delivering:
In the last year, the Federal Government’s
Scope of Practice Review undertakings have accounted for a huge slice of the advocacy pie.
We promoted the breadth, depth and skill of highly trained GPs, and the benefits of us working at the top of our scope, as part of ongoing consultations in the lead up to the landmark review’s release. We ensured decisionmakers knew that primary care is more than just a setting or entry point to the healthcare system – it is first contact access, long-term person-focused, comprehensive and coordinated care.
We shared concerns that general practice is being oversimplified to the detriment of patient safety, health outcomes and the future of the GP workforce
We did this because we know GPs are the experts in managing uncertainty and complexity and all multidisciplinary teams in primary care must include a GP.
Earlier this month we also
welcomed Federal Government data showing a boost to the GP workforce and a shift in the ‘doctor shortage’ narrative, further cementing general practice’s position at the centre of our healthcare system.
These outcomes are all part of those green shoots of recovery popping up I’ve spoken about before, and these are growing thanks to the voice and influence of GPs.
We now have our first
Advocacy Plan with representatives building across the country, and the
GP Advocate Network is up and running. Being a trusted advisor in health has been an important enabler for the college, and this is informed by you, the members.
Our message is amplified when we all work together, and this has been a team effort. I would encourage you all to get involved and expand our advocacy reach by joining our GP Advocate Network.
Everybody deserves a GP, and I thank all of you for all that you do.
It’s been a joy and honour to serve the profession of general practice and to welcome the next generation of GPs at many of our Fellowship ceremonies in various cities.
The RACGP represents all GPs and communities – Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, rural, regional, remote and metro.
I officially pass over the baton to your new President
Dr Michael Wright at the RACGP’s Annual General Meeting this week, and, having worked closely with Michael, I know he will continue to lead the college with strategic vision and tireless advocacy.
Thank you for your support and loyalty, and for allowing me to represent you.
Keep fighting the good fight to ensure a strong future for our profession.
Be bold and brave.
The RACGP’s s 67th AGM is this Thursday 21 November at the GP24 conference in Perth, with a Zoom livestream also available for those who cannot attend in person.
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