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Future GPs to train in areas of greatest need
From the Northern Territory to Murrumbidgee, 161 future GPs will spend time training in regions most in need of a healthcare boost.
A record-breaking 1772 doctors are beginning their general practice training with the RACGP in 2026.
More than 160 future GPs will be trained in regions in greatest need of healthcare as part of this year’s Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program.
Of the record-breaking 1772 doctors beginning their general practice training in 2026, 161 will complete at least six months of training in the Northern Territory, North West Queensland, New England, Murrumbidgee, or Western New South Wales.
On Friday, the RACGP also revealed a further 1110 eligible doctors had applied for this year’s AGPT Program, with the college saying this highlights that with more training places and support for GP supervisors, it can train more GPs.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said the growth in rural training aligns with the college’s priority to train GPs in the communities that need them.
‘We’ve worked with the Federal Government and health department to fill all available Australian GP training program places for the second year in a row,’ he said.
‘The astounding 44% growth in future specialist GPs training on a rural pathway confirms what we’ve said consistently – investment in general practice leads to real outcomes.
‘That’s no accident. We repeatedly opened more rural training places. We worked with these future GPs to secure a spot in one of their preferred training regions, and our teams also showed future GPs the great opportunities in rural GP training.’
The college also revealed that first preferences for its rural training regions increased by 45% in 2026, and 125% since 2024.
Dr Wright said moving forward, continued growth is ‘possible and necessary’.
‘We called for an ambitious number of extra GP training places, and the Government beat it,’ he said.
‘It backed that up with major investments to provide GPs in training with incentives, paid parental leave, and study leave to give them equal earnings and entitlements to non-GP specialists training in our hospitals.
‘But we shouldn’t stop there. It takes 10 years to train a GP. Workforce planning must align with this cycle to reduce reliance on overseas-trained doctors.’
The new data comes one week after the RACGP announced it had been awarded a $751.3 million, five-year AGPT Grant agreement to train future GPs until at least 2030.
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