newy.com.au – The Federal Government will fund 50 additional Commonwealth-supported medical places across eight universities, including the University of Newcastle, in a bid to strengthen the GP workforce.
The places will become available from 2028 as part of a $30 million investment targeting GP shortages in rural communities and underserved metropolitan areas.
Universities were selected through a competitive grants process and were required to demonstrate a focus on primary care training, including increased rotations in general practice.
Along with the University of Newcastle, places have been allocated to the Australian National University, University of Queensland, Macquarie University, University of Notre Dame Australia, University of New South Wales, Queensland University of Technology and University of Western Australia. The number allocated to each institution has not been specified.
Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler said the Albanese Government wanted to ensure GPs were available where they were most needed.
“More training places will ensure more young doctors work in primary care and in every corner of the country,” Mr Butler said.
“Since 2022, the government has announced funding for an additional 358 commencing places for medical students, to bolster care in rural and regional Australia and underserved urban areas.”
Once those places are fully rolled out, the Federal Government says an additional 1800 people will be studying medicine each year.
The government has also entered five-year grant agreements worth $1 billion with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. It says a record 2100 doctors have begun government-funded training to become GPs under its investment in the workforce.
Education Minister Jason Clare said the additional university places would create more opportunities for students and help communities facing doctor shortages.
“We want more young Australians to become doctors, and more of them to become GPs,” Mr Clare said.
“More places mean more opportunity for young people and more doctors for communities that need them.”
The expansion follows legislation that began this year guaranteeing Commonwealth-supported places for Indigenous medical students who meet university entry requirements.
The Federal Government is also investing $1.36 billion over five years in the Rural Health Multidisciplinary Training Program, which supports medical, nursing, midwifery, dentistry and allied health students to train and work in rural, regional and remote communities. Applications have opened for the next phase of the program, which will begin in January 2027.
