Almost 300 new GPs welcomed to profession

Almost 300 new GPs were welcomed to the profession on Saturday in one of the largest RACGP Fellowship ceremonies ever held.
 
A total of 276 New Fellows, one Fellow in Advanced Rural Generalism and seven Rural Generalist Fellows were recognised at the New South Wales ceremony.
 
RACGP NSW&ACT Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman congratulated the New Fellows and welcomed them to the next stage of their careers. 
 
‘Becoming a Fellow of the RACGP is an extraordinary achievement and reflects years of hard work, commitment and dedication to patient care,’ she said.
 
‘At a time when access to safe, comprehensive healthcare is more important than ever, it is inspiring to see so many doctors choosing careers in general practice and committing to caring for patients in communities right across our region.
 
‘Many of our New Fellows will go on to practise in rural and regional communities, supervise the next generation of GPs, and take on leadership roles that strengthen our healthcare system for years to come.’
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright also attended the ceremony and said it was ‘spectacular’ to recognise the next generation of RACGP Fellows.
 
‘I was amazed at the diversity of the group and to hear of the locations that they’re working in – everywhere from metropolitan centres, to rural, regional and remote centres, to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘For too long, Australia hasn’t prioritised training GPs and we’ve seen what that has done in terms of worsening patient access, but what I saw over the weekend shows that, well and truly, the tide has turned and GPs are enthusiastic to start their career.
 
‘We just need to make sure that the government support continues so that they can do the job that they need, that they’re trained to do, and that Australians need now more than ever.’
 
A record 1772 doctors joined the Australian General Practice Training program in 2026 – an almost 19% increase on 2025’s record-breaking cohort.
 
Of those joining this year, 841 doctors are on the rural training pathway, a 44.2% increase on 2025. They will spend all three years of their training in regional, rural, or remote communities.
 
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