General Practitioner
General practitioners are the doctors most Australians see first, diagnosing and treating everyday illness and coordinating care when something turns out to be more complex.
- Median salary
- $127,200
4.5%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 48,700
3.4%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +33%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Moderate
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 45/wk
+5h vs all jobs
- Shortage status
- In shortage
national
General practitioners are medical doctors who provide first-contact care for patients of any age, usually from a community clinic rather than a hospital ward. Unlike a specialist, who focuses on one body system or condition, a general practitioner holds the whole patient history and decides what needs treating now and what needs referring on. Most work in private practice or a corporate medical centre, and many are contractors or practice partners rather than salaried employees, which shapes both their income and their working hours.
How much do general practitioners earn?
The median full-time salary for a general practitioner is $127,200 per annum, before tax, up $27,000 since 2018.
How a general practitioner is paid matters more than the headline figure. Contractors usually take a percentage of the billings they generate, so income tracks how many patients they see, how they mix bulk billing with private fees and how much procedural or after-hours work they take on, while salaried doctors in corporate or hospital clinics trade some of that upside for predictable pay. Rural and remote practices often add incentive payments, and contractors typically cover their own super, indemnity insurance and leave.
What does a general practitioner 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.
- Running short back-to-back consults that swing from a skin check to a mental health crisis within the same hour
- Working out a diagnosis from the patient's history and examination rather than ordering every test available
- Managing chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma over years, not just treating whatever the patient came in for today
- Referring patients to specialists and following up on results that arrive after they have gone home
- Writing up notes, prescriptions and referral letters between consults so the paperwork does not spill into the evening
What skills do general practitioners need?
Employers look for clinical assessment and treatment, patient care and support, medication management, backed by Electronic Health Records (EHR systems) fluency and strong problem solving.
Specialist skills
- Clinical assessment and treatment
- Patient care and support
- Medication management
- Health education and advice
- Care planning and coordination
- Regulatory compliance
Software and tools
- Electronic Health Records (EHR systems)
- Medical practice management software
- Clinical diagnostic equipment
- Prescription writing systems
- Medical reference databases
General skills
- Problem solving
- Written communication
Is the job growing?
About 48,700 people work as general practitioners in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 33% 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 practitioner?
Here's the path most general practitioners take, step by step.
- 1Complete a medical degree
Entry is usually through a five to seven year undergraduate or graduate medical program, and graduate entry is common, so many applicants start with another degree and sit the UCAT and interviews. Expect several years of clinical placements in hospitals and clinics before you qualify.
- 2Finish the hospital internship year
Every graduate completes a supervised internship of about twelve months in a hospital, which is what leads to general registration with the Medical Board of Australia through AHPRA. It is paid work, and rotations cover emergency, surgery, medicine and other terms.
- 3Work a year or more as a hospital resident
Most doctors spend another one to three years in prevocational hospital roles before applying to a general practice training program. The experience is useful, because general practice asks you to recognise serious illness quickly and refer well.
- 4Train as a general practice registrar
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine run three-year fellowship programs that mix supervised clinic placements with exams and assessments. Rural and remote streams place registrars in smaller communities and often suit people who want to work outside the cities long term.
- 5Fellowship, then decide how you want to work
Fellowship gives you vocational registration and lets you bill through Medicare as a general practitioner. From there you can join a practice as a contractor, buy into a partnership, open your own clinic, or later sub-specialise through further training in areas such as emergency medicine or psychiatry.
Ready to apply as a general practitioner?
Whether you're working toward becoming a general practitioner 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 practitioner move to?
Moving into Anaesthetist typically comes with the biggest pay rise, worth $304,000 a year more on average.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaesthetist General practice skills in assessment, practical procedures and patient safety transfer into anaesthesia training, which requires further specialist training.Known move | +$304,000 | 58% | requalify |
| General Physician Broad diagnostic and chronic disease skills from general practice carry into physician training, which adds hospital based specialist care for adults.Known move | +$91,200 | 81% | requalify |
| Emergency Physician Acute assessment and undifferentiated diagnosis from general practice transfer well to emergency medicine, which adds a specialist training program.Known move | +$75,600 | 44% | requalify |
| Paediatrician General practice experience with children and families carries into paediatric training, which adds hospital and specialist child health care.Known move | +$75,600 | 81% | requalify |
| Psychiatrist General practice experience with mental health presentations and long term care carries into psychiatry training, which adds specialist registration.Known move | +$21,000 | 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 practitioner?
The typical general practitioner is 45 years old; 52% are men, 69% work full-time, and full-timers average 45 hours a week.
- 45
- Median age
- 48%
- Female share
- 69%
- Full-time
- +5h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a general practitioner?
The day is built around short appointments, so the work has a steady, unrelenting rhythm and a lot of variety inside it: no two patients arrive with the same problem, and much of the skill is working out quickly what matters. General practice suits people who want long relationships with patients and control over their own hours more than they want the intensity of a hospital ward. It also carries a business side, since many doctors run or help run the clinic they work in.
What people like
- Continuity with patients over years. You are often the person who picks up a problem early, sees it through treatment and checks back months later, which is different from hospital work where patients move on quickly.
- Breadth of medicine in one job. A single morning might cover a child with an ear infection, a farmer with a shoulder injury and an older patient whose medication needs reviewing, so the clinical range stays wide.
- Control over your hours and location. Because general practice is not tied to a hospital campus, doctors can negotiate part-time work, open their own clinic or move to a regional town and still practise at full scope.
- Community standing and long-term relationships. In a smaller town especially, you become a known figure, which brings trust and a settled patient base that many doctors find more satisfying than shift work in a hospital.
What people find hard
- Time pressure inside every consultation. Appointments are short by design, so complex problems, mental health discussions or a patient with several issues can run past the slot and push the whole day behind.
- Unpaid administration that follows you home. Notes, referral letters, results and phone calls mostly happen between patients or after hours, and contractors absorb that time without billing for it.
- Working inside Medicare rules and business pressures. Billing rules, practice costs, staffing and compliance take up real attention, and decisions about bulk billing can sit awkwardly against what patients can afford.
- Being the first point of contact for uncertainty. You are often the person who has to decide whether a vague symptom is nothing or something serious, and that judgement carries weight, especially when a diagnosis is missed.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ general practitioners?
Health Care and Social Assistance employs the largest share of general practitioners.
Top employing industries
- 1Health Care and Social Assistance
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Bachelor degree | 58.1% | |
|---|---|---|
| Postgraduate | 38% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 0.6% | |
| Year 12 or below | 0.5% | |
| Certificate III/IV | 0.3% |
Will AI replace general practitioners?
General practice sits at moderate exposure because AI is taking over the administrative load around the consult rather than the consult itself. Transcription and note writing, referral letter drafting and coding are already being automated in many clinics, and decision support tools suggest drug interactions and possible diagnoses in the background. What keeps the role from higher exposure is that the examining, the difficult conversations and the responsibility for a patient you have known for years stay with the doctor.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Face-to-face consults and physical examinationsListening to a chest, pressing on an abdomen and reading a patient's expression in the room are not things current tools do, and much of the diagnostic signal comes from that.45%low
- Clinical notes, referral letters and Medicare documentationAmbient scribing and drafting tools can already turn a recorded consult into a structured note or referral letter that the doctor reviews and edits.25%high
- Chronic disease management and care plansSoftware can flag overdue checks and prompt medication reviews for a patient with diabetes, but the plan still depends on what the patient is willing and able to do.20%moderate
- Prescribing, results follow-up and triageAlerts about interactions and abnormal pathology results are useful, but deciding what a borderline result means for this particular patient remains a clinical judgement.10%moderate
Moves least exposed to AI
These career moves from general practitioner work are rated low for AI exposure:
- General Physician
High skill overlap (81%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
- Anaesthetist
Solid skill overlap (58%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
- Psychiatrist
High skill overlap (81%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
- Paediatrician
High skill overlap (81%), requalify to get there, and a low automation-risk profile.
Common questions about becoming a general practitioner
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much does a general practitioner earn in Australia?
The median full-time pay for general practitioners is $127,200 per year before tax. Contractors who take a share of their billings, work after hours or do procedural work often earn above that, while salaried roles and part-time practice sit differently.
How do you become a general practitioner in Australia?
It takes a medical degree, a supervised hospital internship, at least a year or two of hospital residency and then a three-year fellowship program with the RACGP or ACRRM. Fellowship is what gives you vocational registration and lets you bill through Medicare as a GP, so the whole path usually runs ten to twelve years after school.
Are general practitioners in demand in Australia?
General practitioners are currently in shortage nationally, and employment is projected to grow 33% over the decade to 2035. For someone considering the career, that combination means training places and job openings are likely to stay available, particularly in regional and remote communities where practices struggle most to recruit.
Will AI replace general practitioners?
AI is unlikely to replace GPs, but it is already changing parts of the job such as documentation, clinical coding and decision support during a consult. The physical examination, the interpretation of a vague symptom and the ongoing relationship with a patient are still handled by a person, which is why the role carries moderate rather than high exposure.
What can a general practitioner move into later?
Many GPs stay in general practice and instead change how they work, buying into a partnership or opening their own clinic, which is often where earnings grow. Others sub-specialise through further training, moving into psychiatry or paediatric care where the skills overlap closely, or into emergency medicine and anaesthesia, which require more time in hospital-based programs.
Can you work part-time as a general practitioner?
Yes, and part-time work is common because practices can usually accommodate set days and GPs are not tied to a hospital roster. Contractors on a share of billings see their income fall proportionally, whereas salaried roles often negotiate part-time hours directly.
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