First 100 SA GPs complete ADHD training

One hundred South Australian GPs are now fully qualified to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after completing training on Friday.
 
From 28 February, the specially trained GPs will see their scope of practice expand, allowing them to diagnose, treat and prescribe medication for patients aged eight years and older.
 
The cohort travelled to Adelaide for the full-day in-person training course, run by the RACGP, with 60 travelling from the city and a further 40 from regional areas.
 
The first GPs to complete the course were specifically selected to ensure coverage across SA, based on geographical distribution, practice locations, and areas with less availability of services.
 
RACGP Board and SA Chair Dr Siân Goodson said GPs have long been managing patients with ADHD post-diagnosis, and this next step is a ‘natural progression’. 
 
‘We know that long wait times and limited access to non-GP specialists have created real barriers to care, particularly outside metropolitan Adelaide,’ she said.
 
‘Equipping GPs with the skills to diagnose and manage ADHD, will ease pressure on other specialists and ensure patients can receive timely, locally delivered support.
 
‘GPs are ideally placed to provide holistic, ongoing care, and this training ensures they can do so with confidence and up-to-date expertise – this is an excellent example of working collaboratively to strengthen the health system.’
 
The newly qualified GPs have already completed two initial RACGP online training modules and additional peer-group learning sessions will help them with further education.



The SA Government announced on Friday that it will commit $350,000 to train a further 100 GPs to manage ADHD, if it is elected at the state’s 21 March election.
 
SA Health Minister Chris Picton, who attended the RACGP training session on Friday, said this second group of 100 GPs will also be ‘strategically selected’ to further expand coverage across the state.
 
‘Allowing specially trained GPs to assess, diagnose and treat ADHD in their patients from start to finish will improve the lives of children and adults across the state,’ he said.
 
‘It’s going to save South Australian families and individuals so much time and money and importantly will provide greater access to vital healthcare.
 
‘People’s access to this important healthcare should not be determined by their postcode or their bank balance. And likewise, we should allow our specialist GPs to practise at the top of their scope.’
 
With the SA election now just three weeks away, the RACGP is also urging the next State Government to establish a South Australian Centre of Excellence in Neurodiversity.
 
As part of the college’s 2026 SA election policy platform, it says the first-of-its-kind initiative would bring together GPs, paediatricians, psychiatrists, and allied health professionals under one roof to deliver coordinated care.
 
The RACGP is calling for a $20 million commitment to establish the centre, which would provide assessment, diagnosis, management and ongoing support.
 
‘This is an investment that will change lives,’ said Dr Goodson.
 
‘It will reduce pressure on hospitals, improve early intervention, and ensure every neurodiverse person, regardless of their circumstance, can access high-quality, holistic support.’
 
The RACGP is also calling for a targeted support package for international medical graduates (IMGs), including $800,000 to develop peer support and relocation programs, and $2.8 million per year for GP attraction grants to encourage IMGs to live and work in SA.
 
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ADHD attention deficit hyperactivity disorder scope of practice South Australia