General Physician
General physicians diagnose and manage complex adult medical problems in hospitals, where they are the specialists other teams call when an illness does not fit one organ system.
- Median salary*
- $218,400
4.3%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 780
2.5%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +32.8%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 47/wk
+7h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
General physicians are specialist doctors in adult internal medicine, working mainly in public and private hospitals where they run inpatient wards, outpatient clinics and a consultation service for other specialties. They are the people other teams call when a patient has several conditions at once or a diagnosis that does not fit, which separates them from general practitioners, who work in the community. Entry needs a medical degree, a fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and specialist registration with AHPRA.
How much do general physicians earn?
The median full-time salary for a general physician is $218,400 per annum, before tax, up $46,100 since 2018.
Public hospital general physicians are paid under state enterprise agreements for staff specialists, so pay moves with seniority, the state or territory you work in and how much on-call and after-hours work you carry. Private consulting rooms, private hospital sessions and Medicare billing change the mix of income and costs. Subspecialty training and the amount of procedural work you take on also affect what you earn.
What does a general physician do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Assessing hospital inpatients who arrive with undifferentiated or overlapping problems, often before a diagnosis is clear
- Leading daily ward rounds and adjusting treatment as pathology and imaging results come back
- Running outpatient clinics for people with chronic conditions such as heart failure, diabetes or kidney disease
- Taking referrals from surgical, psychiatric and other specialty teams and advising on the medical side of care
- Supervising registrars and residents, and teaching medical students on the wards
What skills do general physicians need?
Employers look for clinical assessment and treatment, patient care and support, medication management, backed by Epic fluency and strong written communication.
Specialist skills
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Patient care and support
- Medication management
- Care planning and coordination
- Health education and advice
Software and tools
- Epic
- Oracle Health (Cerner)
- eMR (NSW Health)
- UpToDate
- PACS
General skills
- Written communication
- Problem solving
- People leadership
Is the job growing?
About 780 people work as general physicians in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 32.8% over the decade to 2035. That's very strong growth. Few roles in Australia are expanding this fast, and it points to solid demand for years to come.
How do you become a general physician?
Here's the path most general physicians take, step by step.
- 1Complete a medical degree
Entry is either direct from school into an undergraduate medical program or through graduate entry after a first degree, and the course runs for four to six years with clinical placements in hospitals from the later years.
- 2Do your internship and residency years
The first hospital year as an intern gives you general registration with AHPRA, and the years that follow as a resident medical officer are spent rotating through specialties, including general medicine, before you apply for specialist training.
- 3Complete RACP Basic Training
Basic Training in adult internal medicine through the Royal Australasian College of Physicians takes about three years, combines hospital terms with written and clinical examinations, and is the point where many doctors find they want the breadth of general medicine rather than a single organ system.
- 4Complete Advanced Training in general medicine
Advanced Training runs for around three years and includes subspecialty terms, outpatient clinic responsibility and increasing independence on the wards. It is also where you can branch into a subspecialty such as haematology if you want one.
- 5Fellowship and specialist registration
Fellowship of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP) plus specialist registration with AHPRA is what allows you to work as a consultant general physician. Most people reach this point more than a decade after starting their medical degree.
Ready to apply as a general physician?
Whether you're working toward becoming a general physician or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a general physician move to?
None of the roles general physicians typically move into pay more than the role itself. Haematologist is the closest match. If a bigger salary is the goal, moving up into a senior or principal position within the role is usually the faster route than moving sideways.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Haematologist General physicians can subspecialise in haematology, applying internal medicine expertise to blood disorders with additional advanced training. | −$10,400 | 89% | requalify |
| General Practitioner General physicians bring broad diagnostic and management skills to general practice, though the move requires vocational training in primary care.Known move | −$91,200 | 81% | requalify |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a general physician?
The typical general physician is 51 years old; 67% are men, 73% work full-time, and full-timers average 47 hours a week.
- 51
- Median age
- 33%
- Female share
- 73%
- Full-time
- +7h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a general physician?
The week is shaped by the hospital: ward rounds early, then outpatient clinics, referrals from other teams and the paperwork that follows, with on-call and weekend cover in the mix. Full-time general physicians average 47 hours a week, which reflects how much of the work sits outside a standard day. It suits doctors who would rather work on an unclear picture across the whole patient than narrow into one organ system.
What people like
- Breadth across adult medicine. You see the patient whose breathlessness could be cardiac, respiratory or something else entirely, and you are the one who has to work it out rather than assume the answer from the referral.
- Being the team other specialties call. Surgeons, psychiatrists and obstetric teams all want a medical opinion before they operate or change treatment, which puts you in the middle of decisions across the hospital.
- Teaching on the wards. Registrars, residents and students follow you on rounds, and explaining your reasoning out loud keeps your own thinking sharp.
- Following a complex case to an answer. Some patients arrive after months of inconclusive tests elsewhere, and putting the pieces together is the part of the job general physicians tend to describe as the reason they chose it.
What people find hard
- The ward never entirely clears. Bed pressure means discharges drive the day as much as admissions do, and a patient who is medically stable but waiting on a placement or a family meeting still needs someone to keep track of them.
- On-call and weekend cover. Taking calls at night, on weekends and on public holidays is part of a hospital specialist post, and it interrupts sleep and family plans in a way the roster does not fully capture.
- A long training runway. Fellowship comes after medical school, internship, residency, Basic Training and Advanced Training, and the exams fall while you are already working full hospital hours.
- Documentation and administrative load. Discharge summaries, clinic letters, referrals and coding sit at the end of most days, and they are the part of the job most likely to follow you home.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ general physicians?
Health Care and Social Assistance employs the largest share of general physicians.
Top employing industries
- 1Health Care and Social Assistance
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Postgraduate | 60% | |
|---|---|---|
| Bachelor degree | 36.4% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 0.6% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 0% |
Will AI replace general physicians?
This is a low-exposure job. AI drafts clinic letters and discharge summaries, flags abnormal results and helps search the literature, which cuts the paperwork but leaves the core work of taking a history, examining a patient and working out what is going on when the picture is unclear. The tools mostly sit either side of that consultation, speeding up the reading and the writing.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Bedside assessment and diagnostic reasoningTaking a history, examining the patient and working out which of several conditions is driving the presentation happens in person, and AI has little to offer at the bedside.35%low
- Ward rounds and multidisciplinary coordinationDecisions at the bedside and the conversations with nursing, pharmacy and allied health about a discharge plan happen in real time and in person.25%low
- Reviewing pathology, imaging and investigation resultsSoftware flags abnormal results and can rank likely findings on imaging, but a general physician still reads them against the patient in front of them.20%moderate
- Clinical documentation, letters and discharge summariesDrafting discharge summaries and clinic letters is the most exposed part of the job, with voice-to-text and language models already cutting the time it takes.20%high
Common questions about becoming a general physician
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do general physicians earn?
General physicians earn a median of $218,400 per year before tax, based on full-time workers in this occupation. Public hospital pay follows state enterprise agreements for staff specialists, so it varies with seniority, on-call load and the state or territory you work in, while private sessions and Medicare billing change the picture again. The figure is a median for the occupation, not a starting salary.
How do you become a general physician?
You complete a medical degree, work through internship and residency years in hospitals, then enter the Royal Australasian College of Physicians training program in adult internal medicine. Basic Training takes about three years and Advanced Training in general medicine around three more, finishing with fellowship (FRACP) and specialist registration with AHPRA. From the start of a medical degree to fellowship is usually more than a decade.
Are general physicians in demand?
General physicians are currently in shortage nationally, and employment in the occupation is projected to grow 32.8% over the decade to 2035. Most openings are specialist posts in public hospitals, private hospitals or private practice, so it is worth checking the picture in the state or territory where you intend to train and work. The occupation is small, which means the number of new positions in any year is small as well.
Will AI replace general physicians?
AI is already useful either side of the consultation: drafting discharge summaries and clinic letters, flagging abnormal results and helping search the literature. It does not take a history, examine a patient or decide what to do when the picture is unclear, and that diagnostic work is the centre of the job. Expect the software to keep shrinking the paperwork rather than the clinical role.
What can a general physician move into?
Subspecialising in haematology builds directly on internal medicine through advanced training in blood disorders, and haematologists come in $10,400 less on median full-time pay. Moving into general practice needs vocational training in primary care, and general practitioners come in $91,200 less. Many general physicians also set up private consulting rooms or work as visiting medical officers alongside a public hospital post, which is often where earnings grow.
Related roles
- General Practitioner
- Haematologist
- General Practitioner
- Resident Medical Officer
- Cardiologist
- Clinical Immunologist and Allergist
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