‘Well overdue’: General practice funding increases to new level

Federal Government spending on general practice increased to a new level in 2024–25 – a boost the RACGP President says comes after a ‘decade of stagnation and underfunding’.
 
That is according to the Productivity Commission’s 2026 Report on Government Services (RoGS), which shows overall spending on general practice rose to $13.4 billion in the last financial year, up from $12.7 billion in 2023–24.
 
The sums for previous years are adjusted to the most recent ‘real’ dollar value to allow for a year-by-year comparison, with the latest RoGS the second consecutive report showing a significant rise.
 
It follows a sharp decline from 2021–22 to 2022–23.
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright welcomed the new figures, saying he is pleased to see the growing funding for general practice services.
 
‘It is critical that we make this an ongoing trend,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘This is well overdue after nearly a decade of stagnation and underfunding.
 
‘This hopefully shows that the role of GPs in delivering holistic, person-centred, accessible, and good value care is being recognised more widely by policymakers.’
 
While the overall sum may be higher, the latest spending on general practice per person ($488.9) sits below an historic high recorded in 2020–21 during the early stages of the pandemic when it hit $511.6 per person.
 
In the meantime, there were positive signs for the workforce, with available GPs working in Australia standing at 40,375 in 2024, the first time the figure has exceeded 40,000 and a leap of more than 900 from the previous year (39,449).
 
The number of full-time service equivalent GPs also went up from 29,215 in 2023 to 29,975 for 2024, including 17,079 males, and 12,893 females, the equivalent of 110.2 per 100,000 people.
 
‘It is also good news to see not only the number of GPs increasing, but the number of full-time equivalent GPs,’ Dr Wright said.
 
‘Again, that trend is certainly heading in the right direction – but there is still some way to go.
 
‘There are still fewer GPs per 100,000 people than there was pre-COVID, but with more doctors now choosing to train as GPs, there is room for optimism – this is not just for the short-term.’ 
 
This latest data shows there was an average of 6.4 GP-type services per person, slightly up on last year (6.3).
 
While the latest RoGS figures reflect the impact of the initial tripled bulk-billing incentives for concession card holders, which came into place in 2023, they do not incorporate the effect of the expanded program which started on 1 November last year.
 
The funding figure takes into account Government spending on non-referred GP MBS items as well as other MBS items used by GPs in more remote areas, practice incentive payments, and funding for Primary Health Networks (PHNs). 
 
It does not include data from GPs for their salaried work in community health centres, emergency departments and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
 
The Productivity Commission confirmed the figures do not include any funding PHNs receive to deliver specific programs such as urgent care centres.
 
It was unable to provide disaggregated data for PHN spending for the latest year but previously published documents show it standing at $1.838 billion for 2023–24.
 
Meanwhile, publicly available data shows the Government spent $9.7 billion on MBS benefits for non-referred GP attendances in the latest financial year compared to $9.1 billion the previous year.
 
The RoGS also recorded significant funding increases in other health areas.
 
Notably, spending on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme stood at $19 billion in 2024–25, also at a historic high, going up from $18.4 billion in 2023–24, although the number of scripts dispensed remained relatively stable.
 
While data only goes up to 2024 for public hospital spending, making it hard to compare trends in primary care investment, the RoGS did outline the most recent statistics on the number of potentially avoidable GP-type presentations to emergency departments.
 
This went down to 2,733,201 in the last financial year, a fall of almost 100,000 from the 2,831,049 recorded in the previous 12 months and a substantial reduction from a high of 3,168,446 in 2020–21.
 
It is a detail that also caught Dr Wright’s eye.
 
‘General practice, when it is well supported, delivers better outcomes for everyone,’ he said.
 
‘When you invest in GPs, it has benefits across the whole health system.’
 

Productivity Commission Report on Government Services RoGS