‘More than ever’: Boost to NSW GP training numbers

A total of 530 aspiring GPs started training on the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) program in New South Wales in 2026, a 27% rise from the previous year.
 
Almost half of them (255) are on the AGPT rural training pathway, an 88.8% increase from 2025, meaning they will spend all three years of their training in regional, rural, or remote areas.
 
RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said more GPs are being trained than ever before but called for more intervention to allow greater numbers to be trained in areas of need.
 
‘New South Wales can and should be training more specialist GPs,’ she said.
 
‘We were able to make a specialist GP training offer to a junior doctor at every training post, but not every offer was accepted.
 
‘What that shows us is that more training incentives could get more GPs where they are needed.’
 
It comes as recent research shows 30% of GPs remain where they did their training, describing GP incentives as ‘a long-term investment in our rural communities’.
 
Of this year’s cohort in NSW, 203 will train in metropolitan areas but will spend at least 12 months in an outer metropolitan, rural, non-capital city, or an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health training post.
 
A composite pathway means 72 would-be GPs will train for at least six months in an area of need such as Western NSW, New England, or Murrumbidgee.
 
Among the overall cohort in NSW, 102 will train as rural generalists.
 
It comes at a time when record numbers have signed up to GP training across the country, with 1772 accepted onto the AGPT program nationally this year.
 
That represents a rise of almost 18% on the 1507 who started in 2025, which was itself a record.
 
In 2026, 841 doctors have set out on the rural training pathway across Australia, with 293 doctors accepted to train as rural generalists.
 
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AGPT GP training