Australia’s Healthcare System Cannot Keep Asking General Practice to do More With Less.

General practice is expected to solve more health problems than ever before. Yet year after year, governments have shifted funding away from primary care while increasing investment elsewhere in the health system.

At the same time, GPs are increasingly criticised for problems created by policy decisions outside our control. That isn’t fair to the profession and ultimately it isn’t good for patients.

Funding Has Shifted Away From General Practice

The evidence tells a concerning story:

• Successive governments have taken general practice funding from 8% of the health budget in 2003 down to 5.5% in 2026.
• Government spending on hospitals increased by around 30% per person between 2014 and 2023, while spending on general practice remained essentially flat.
• This year, general practice received just a 2.6% Medicare indexation increase while practice costs have risen by around 5%.

General practice continues to deliver accessible, comprehensive and cost-effective care, yet its share of health funding continues to shrink.

“General Practice cannot continue to carry more responsibility while receiving less investment.”

GPs Are Being Blamed for Problems They Didn’t Create

Instead of addressing years of underinvestment, governments increasingly point to general practice as though it is failing patients.

Last year, the Federal Government removed Medicare mental health item numbers from general practice while simultaneously funding alternative services delivered outside traditional GP care.

At the same time, expectations placed on GPs continue to grow, despite funding failing to keep pace with inflation, workforce pressures and the increasing complexity of patient care.

When policy decisions make it harder for GPs to deliver care, it is unreasonable to blame the profession for the consequences.

The Answer Isn’t Replacing GPs

Rather than strengthening general practice, governments have increasingly expanded prescribing roles for pharmacists, nurses and paramedics without first addressing the underlying funding and workforce challenges facing primary care.

Every member of the healthcare workforce has an important role to play.

But fragmenting care is not a substitute for investing in the clinicians who provide comprehensive, continuous and coordinated care across a patient’s lifetime.

Patients deserve healthcare reforms that are guided by evidence, safety and quality, not by short-term political solutions.

“Stop Blaming GPs for Policy Failures. Start Investing in the Part of Healthcare That Delivers the Greatest Value.”

Invest in the Care That Delivers Better Outcomes

Strong general practice keeps people healthier, reduces unnecessary hospital admissions and provides continuity of care that no other part of the health system can replicate.

If governments genuinely want a more sustainable healthcare system, they must stop treating general practice as a cost to be managed and start recognising it as the foundation of Australia’s healthcare system.

Australia should also learn from overseas health systems where decades of underinvestment in primary care have contributed to increased hospital demand, longer waiting times and poorer patient access. We should avoid repeating those mistakes.

General practice is not the problem.

It is one of the most important solutions.