Practice makes perfect storm
General Practice has gained greater recognition, but the specialty faces many challenges among the opportunities
Fast facts
- The number of GPs in Australia grew by 2,533 over five years to 39,449 in 2023 – but the growth was not sufficient to meet patient demand.
- Most recent snapshot of national GP workforce indicates the health system is already 1,290 doctors short to meet patient demand – and that shortfall is predicted to more than triple to 4,550 by 2033.
- The unmet demand analysis shows that WA is already 1,000 doctors short in 2025 – rising to a shortfall of 1,540 in 2033.
- The average FTE per GP declined from 0.79 in 2018 to 0.74 in 2023, and is expected to drop to 0.72 over the next two decades.
- Eight out of 10 Australians visited a GP in 2021-22, and the majority made multiple visits.
General practitioners (GPs) are the backbone of our health system, as the first port of call for most patients. But systemic neglect and underinvestment by successive governments have seen general practice decline to levels that are unsustainable.
The most recent snapshot of the national GP workforce indicates that the health system is already 1,290 doctors short to meet patient demand, and that shortfall is predicted to more than triple to 4,550 by 2033.
The supply and demand projections for WA from the federal Department of Health and Aged Care show that the State is already short of 160 GPs, and this shortfall will increase to 550 by 2033.
The Department’s report, Supply and Demand Study: General Practitioners in Australia, released in August 2024, states that despite a growth in the overall national GP workforce – which increased over five years by 2,500 more doctors – it was insufficient to meet the healthcare needs of the community, putting a strain on the health system as well as the individual GPs.
“While both supply and demand of the GP workforce are estimated to increase during the projection period, supply is not expected to keep up with demand,” the study says.
The projected shortfall in the number of GPs needed is even worse to cover what the report calls “unmet demand”, meaning the level of demand for GP services that are not fully satisfied.
In WA, this unmet demand analysis shows that the State is already 1,000 doctors short in 2025, rising to a shortfall of 1,540 in 2033.
These latest projections echo the findings of the AMA’s own report – The general practitioner workforce: why the neglect must end – three years ago.
The AMA report pointed out that GPs are the most visited health professional, with eight out of 10 Australians visiting a GP in 2021-22, and most of those patients making multiple visits each year. The report concluded by stating:
“While there is general acknowledgement of the value of primary care and general practice for an efficient and effective healthcare system, the systemic neglect and underinvestment by successive governments, from both major political parties, has seen general practice decline to levels that are unsustainable.
“ The AMA’s analysis demonstrates that a perfect storm has been created, whereby the neglect of general practice has signalled to medical graduates and GP fellows that it is not a specialty worthy of pursuing.
“The AMA’s analysis demonstrates that a perfect storm has been created, whereby the neglect of general practice, through policies such as inadequate Medicare indexation and uncompetitive training and employment conditions, has signalled to medical graduates and GP fellows that general practice is not a specialty worthy of pursuing.
“We are already seeing the impact of the shortfall in GP workforce supply, with growing inequities in healthcare access, poorer patient health outcomes, and increased expenditure on costly hospital services.
“Without immediate action this spiral will continue, and the sustainability of our healthcare system will be at risk.”
The recently released Health of the Nation 2025 report from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) states that WA has only 97 GPs per 100,000 people, well below the national average of 113.
The RACGP’s annual report notes that GPs delivered 172 million health services to 22.6 million Australians last year, yet rising patient complexity, workforce shortages and cost pressures continue to strain the system. In terms of funding, per-person spending on general practice care has barely changed in a decade.