The survey that inspires reform for GP registrars is now open

With one of the largest cohorts of doctors undertaking GP training in Australia’s history, this year’s annual survey is expected to provide a wealth of information to improve training experiences and ultimately health care for Australians.

The General Practice National Registrar Survey is conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing.

Findings on the experiences of registrars (trainee GPs) in Commonwealth-funded GP training contribute to the Department’s assessment and national benchmarking of training quality.  They also inform plans to maintain a pipeline of GPs in metropolitan and rural communities.

This year, the survey will provide the Department with vital feedback from registrars  about a Commonwealth initiative intended to tackle a major challenge in Australia – the recruitment and retention of GPs in rural and remote areas.

Trials of a Single Employer Model – where registrars are employed by one employer for the duration of their training – are operating in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, and will run until December 2028.

The model aims to remove barriers that often discourage doctors from entering GP training by ensuring consistent salaries, access to leave entitlements, retention of accrued benefits and increased continuity from hospital to GP training.

Another anticipated outcome of the trials is enabling trainees to remain in one region and create closer connections with their communities and patients.

Registrar views lead to policy change

Reforms designed to remove barriers to attracting the next generation of GPs are now being put in place, based on responses to previous surveys.

For example, the Department will introduce GP Training Incentives Payments from 2026 for those in a Commonwealth-funded training pathway under the Australian General Practice Training Program or Remote Vocational Training Scheme.

Payments will cover study leave and parental leave, in response to findings in the 2023 survey that 91% of respondents thought study leave would be beneficial and 69% felt the same way about parental leave.

ACER works with stakeholders to ensure the annual survey remains relevant, and provides data to drive policy changes and continual improvement to training programs.

In 2024, a new set of questions on personal and household income of GP registrars provided up-to-date information that has also influenced change.

The National Report on the 2024 GP National Registrar Survey identified that a significant number of registrars – 57% of female and 52% of male registrars – were earning less than in their last year of prevocational hospital training.

The GP Training Incentives Payments, which include a $30,000 incentive for doctors as they enter GP training and begin training in community-based primary care, are expected to make employment conditions similar to those in hospital-based training programs.

More insights from the 2024 survey

Findings from 2024 show high levels of satisfaction with training provided through the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM), the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) or the Remote Vocational Training Scheme (RVTS).

Almost all (96%) were satisfied with clinical work, the number and diversity of patients and presentation, and their level of workplace responsibility.

There was a significant jump in the number of registrars who reported participating in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural safety or cultural awareness training – rising 13 percentage points from the previous year to 88%.

Of the registrars who didn’t participate in cultural education training, 46% responded that they hadn’t been offered it, 26% were booked in and 15% had a personal or other circumstance that prevented them from completing it.

Looking at career plans 5 years ahead, there was a slight increase between the 2023 and 2024 survey results in the proportion who wanted to work in Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Health (from 12.7 % to 13.8%), own a practice (from 13% to 16.4%), and work in a rural or remote location (from 21.6% to 26.4%).

An opportunity for further change

Current registrars have until 18 August to take advantage of this valuable opportunity to contribute to change.