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RACGP embarks on NT road trip
From Darwin to Katherine, the college President visited practices, a local hospital, and welcomed the next generation of GPs.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright touring general practices in Darwin and the Katherine Hospital.
RACGP leaders have embarked on a tour of the Northern Territory – getting on the ground to spotlight the crucial role of supervisors and training practices in growing the GP workforce, as well as welcoming the next generation of GPs to the profession.
In Darwin, college President Dr Michael Wright met practice leaders, supervisors and GP registrars at Territory Medical in Nightcliff and at the Palmerston GP Super Clinic, showcasing the impact of the RACGP’s new GPT1 Supervisor Capacity Incentive.
The incentive supports practices and supervisors to take on first-term GP registrars to strengthen training capacity and support across MM 2–7 areas, Aboriginal Medical Services, and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations.
The pilot AGPT GPT1 Supervisor Capacity Incentive was introduced from Semester 2 2026 to the end of 2027, supported through the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, with the first payments to eligible supervisors being made by the end of October.
Territory Medical Group Medical Director and GP Supervisor Dr Dimitri Andropov said the support is an investment into the NT’s future.
‘GP supervisors play a critical role in helping registrars develop the clinical judgement, skills and confidence they need to become specialist GPs,’ he said.
‘Programs that help practices train more registrars create more opportunities for doctors to undertake general practice training and help build a stronger, more sustainable GP workforce for Territory communities.’
The visit coincided with the RACGP NT Fellowship and Awards Ceremony at Parliament House, with 23 doctors welcomed to the profession.
The RACGP NT Fellowship and Awards Ceremony welcomed 23 doctors to the profession.
RACGP NT Chair Dr Sam Heard said every doctor who chooses to train, work and build a career in the Territory strengthens its health system and improves access to care for communities.
‘It is great to see more young doctors interested in training and building their careers in the NT, and brilliant to see this next generation of talented and committed specialist GPs coming through.
‘We are so proud of them all and congratulate each and every one of them on achieving RACGP Fellowship.
‘We are seeing impressive retention rates among GPs who have embraced the unique opportunities of training in our rural and remote communities and decided to stay. It is a terrific reflection on the hard work being done to strengthen the GP workforce in the Territory.’
Dr Wright said the NT offers ‘some of the most rewarding and diverse training experiences in the country’, with doctors gaining invaluable experience caring for patients across rural, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
‘I got to visit multiple practices and really got to see that general practice is not just the front door of the health system, it literally is the whole health system for many of the Territory communities,’ he told newsGP.
‘It was particularly heartwarming at the Fellowship ceremony to hear from the Health Minister, see the Chief Health Officer and several other dignitaries really recognising the critical role that GPs and general practices have in keeping the Territory well.’
Dr Wright’s road trip also saw him taking a 300-kilometre drive south of Darwin to Katherine, where he visited the local hospital and met with many of the GPs working there.
‘It’s a really important example of, when you properly fund GPs and RGs, you're able to give patients the full range of care that they need,’ he said.
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