News

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Practice viability: Grants, commissioning and extra funding

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From state-specific grants to Federal Government funding, incentive payments, and commissioning opportunities – it can be a daunting process applying for extra practice funding.
 
‘Applying for grants can be a little bit onerous,’ as Dr Ken McCroary puts it.
 
But with a suite of additional funding sources available to practice owners, GPs are encouraged to make the most of these opportunities.
 
In a bid to simplify the process and the abundance of information available, the RACGP has collated a long list of all extra income sources available as part of its online practice toolkit.
 
Dr McCroary, a GP in south-west Sydney and RACGP Business Viability Working Group member, is encouraging his colleagues to make the most of these resources.
 
‘The outcome is worth it in the long run, and down the track you will be pleased that you took that time to apply and to fulfill the criteria to get a grant,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘You can surround yourself with people who can give advice, and take advice from people who have an understanding and expertise of the college and the college’s assistant tools.
 
‘If you get the opportunity, take advantage of it – it’s well worth it.’
 
The toolkit covers alternative funding sources for general practice, listing and linking exactly what funding is available for general practice and GPs at both the federal and state and territory level.
 
It walks GPs though how to access the following funding opportunities:

• Workforce Incentive Program
• Practice Incentive Program
• Department of Veterans’ Affairs healthcare
• Workers’ compensation authorities
• Transport accident/insurance commissions
• Medical Research Future Fund
• Other medical practitioners programs
• Grants and commissioning opportunities

Dr Michael Bonning, Chair of the RACGP’s Business Viability Working Group, told newsGP these tools are especially valuable as they ‘make you reflective on your practice’.
 
‘The college is an education provider, and one of those areas of education is in viability,’ he said.
 
‘There’s lots of foundational strategies to ensure the viability of your practice and lots of times, the things that are seen as being very difficult, very complex, that’s window dressing on top foundational underpinning strategies of, how do I value my time?’
 
The RACGP also details the general practice grants and commissioning on offer.
 
This includes access to opportunities through each state and territory governments, as well as funding through the:
 

• Department of Health and Aged Care
• Medical Research Future Fund
• National Health and Medical Research Council
• other government grants
• RACGP grants
• grant application resources
• other sources of funding.

This collation of resources comes at a time when many practices are struggling to remain viable, with many owners forced to close their doors or move to other clinics.
 
‘There are practices that have been selling up or making decisions about what they do, but in actual fact, there are lots of practices out there that are doing well,’ says Dr Bonning.
 
‘There are very few practices I would truly describe as thriving, but there are practices that are doing well.
 
‘Part of that is because they’ve made good decisions about what it is worth to receive the excellent service that they can provide.’
 
For those seeking further information on practice viability, the RACGP Practice Owners Conference 2025 will take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 24–25 May. Register online.
 
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billing Medicare Practice Owners conference practice viability

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