RACGP secures landmark AGPT agreement

In a historic milestone for GP training, the Federal Government has awarded the RACGP a five-year Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Grant agreement.
 
Announced alongside the Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler on Friday, the new 2026–30 agreement is the largest and longest AGPT agreement ever awarded to a medical college.
 
The landmark funding will see the RACGP receive $751.3 million and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) receive $331.7 million to deliver the program.
 
The announcement comes as around 2100 doctors begin their GP training this year, with at least half of that training undertaken in rural and regional areas.
 
The RACGP says this long-term funding strengthens its ability to deliver a consistent, high-quality training environment and is delivered in partnership with governments and stakeholders.
 
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright described the announcement as ‘great news for general practice and for all Australians’.
 
‘This is fantastic news and a real milestone for Australian general practice training,’ he said.
 
‘It’s really going to give GP trainees and the college confidence that the future of general practice is strong and give us the capacity to grow the GP workforce.
 
‘This initiative … is really making a career in general practice more attractive to the best and brightest medical students, and we’re seeing that that’s already getting results.’
 
Minister Butler said the Federal Government is working to grow the GP workforce in areas that need them most.
 
‘This investment backs more doctors to train, stay and practise in communities that have long needed them,’ he said.
 
It comes as a record 1772 doctors joined the AGPT program in 2026 – an almost 19% increase on 2025’s record-breaking AGPT cohort of 1507 future GPs.
 
Of those in the 2026 cohort, 841 doctors on the rural training pathway will spend all three years of their training in regional, rural, or remote communities, which is a 44.2% increase on 2025.
 
A further 293 doctors will train as Rural Generalists.
 

The historic announcement was made at Elizabeth Family Health Care in Adelaide.

ACRRM President Dr Rod Martin said the five-year agreement gives confidence in the future, and allows the colleges to continue to invest and build the Rural Generalist and GP workforce.
 
‘Expanding training places under a five-year contract sends a clear signal that rural, remote and First Nations communities matter,’ he said.
 
‘We know that doctors who train rurally are more likely to stay rurally, and this investment directly strengthens the pipeline needed to deliver fairer health outcomes, regardless of postcode.’
 
The announcement comes as the Medical Board of Australia’s 2025 Medical Training Survey reveals 85% of the RACGP’s GPs in training would recommend their current training position to other doctors.
 
Additionally, 89% said the quality of their clinical supervision was ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, and 86% would recommend their current workplace as a place to train.
 
It follows an announcement in this year’s Federal Budget that a GP Training Incentive Payment is available – an initiative aimed at attracting more GPs to the profession.
 
‘We heard a clear message from junior doctors that the salary difference between being a GP registrar and a hospital registrar was a real disincentive for taking on GP training,’ Minister Butler said.
 
‘So, this year will be the first year where GP registrars also receive a salary incentive that we announced in the election campaign last year of $30,000 a year to close that salary gap.
 
‘We’re going in the right direction here – we need more junior doctors training as GPs to fill that pipeline, to replace retiring GPs into the system, and ensure that primary care retains its place as the crucial backbone of a well-functioning healthcare system.’
 
The RACGP said it will continue to ensure registrars have choice in their education and opportunities to develop skills in diverse areas of national priority including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health services, urgent care clinics, and remote, rural and regional practices. 
 
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AGPT Australian General Practice Training Medical Board of Australia Medical Training Survey