News

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Fresh funding for research to shape general practice

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GP-led research is being strengthened through $1.1 million of grants designed to improve patient care, as the Australian General Practice Research Foundation opens its latest round of funding – the 2026 Large and General Grants.
 
Grants are open to GPs, registrars and GP‑led research teams investigating ideas that transform everyday practice, including patient care, medicine safety, chronic disease management, preventive health, access to care, mental health, and workforce challenges.
 
The Foundation’s 2026 Large and General Grants round is now open until 22 June, with funding available from $1000 to $100,000 for research projects to translate into, and strengthen, general practice.
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright told newsGP the grants provide solid support for ideas to be translated into real-world impact, with ongoing benefits.
 
‘The Australian General Practice Research Foundation was established almost 70 years ago by RACGP members who understood that better research leads to better care,’ he said.
 
‘That commitment has never been more important than it is today.
 
‘We are proud of what we have built alongside our partners, and this record grant round is a clear statement of intent.
 
‘We are backing GPs with ideas that can improve care for patients and communities right across the country, and we are committed to growing that investment even further.’
 
The Large and General Grants round launches off the back of the Foundation’s Major Grants round, which also recently opened and received a strong number of applications.
 
In previous years, projects supported through the Foundation, the RACGP’s philanthropic arm, have had measurable impacts on clinical practice, health policy and patient health outcomes.
 
In 2026 the Foundation is offering a more diverse range of grants, including a national diabetes scoping opportunity to identify current and emerging challenges.
 
Another of those is the Therapeutic Guidelines Limited (TGL) Quality Use of Medicines Research Grant, allocating $100,000 for early to mid-career GP researchers investigating the quality use of medicines in general practice.
 
Specifically, the grant will support ‘rigorous research’ into how clinical guidelines are implemented into everyday practice, including clinical decision-making, prescribing quality, and patient safety.
 
It comes as various initiatives are underway to ensure the safe and quality use of medicines, including one RACGP-backed project aiming to address high rates of aged care residents exposed to potentially inappropriate medicines.
 
With a funding period of 18 months, the Foundation/TGL grant will support research relevant to general practice and aligned with the overarching aim of ‘improving the quality use of medicines, including the use, implementation or translation of evidence-based clinical guidance’.
 
The research could explore how evidence, guidelines or therapeutic recommendations are interpreted and applied in general practice, as well as:

• factors that influence prescribing decisions and medicine use in real-world primary care settings
• strategies to support evidence-informed clinical decision-making or reduce evidence-practice gaps
• opportunities to improve translation of research or guideline-informed care into everyday practice.

Dr Taryn Elliott is the RACGP’s Research and Foundation Manager. She said the college’s partnership with TGL is a sound example of what supported research could achieve to improve health outcomes.
 
‘This grant addresses two real challenges at once – it builds research capacity among early-career GPs and generates practical evidence that can improve prescribing quality and patient outcomes across Australian general practice,’ she said.
 
‘That is exactly the kind of investment the Foundation exists to support.’
 
As the Foundation continues to expand investment in GP‑led research, Dr Wright is calling on the Federal Government to match the commitment with dedicated funding – highlighting that only a small percentage of national health and medical research funding goes into general practice.
 
‘General practice is where most people experience the health system, and it deserves a research investment that reflects that reality,’ he said.
 
‘The RACGP is urging government to establish dedicated funding streams for GP‑led research that reflect the true scale and value of general practice within the Australian health system.
 
‘The Foundation’s record grant round demonstrates what is possible. Federal investment would transform it.’
 
Dr Wright encourages RACGP members to consider applying for the Foundation grants to bring forward research ideas that could shape general practice.
 
For more information or to apply for the Large and General Grants round, visit the Foundation website.
 
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general practice research GP-led research quality use of medicines RACGP Foundation research funding research grants

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