GP workforce numbers collapse to five-year low, report reveals
FTE GPs are at their lowest point since 2018, the Productivity Commission has found.
Australia had 29,215 FTE GPs in 2023, the lowest number since 2018 and the fewest FTE GPs per patient since 2015, the Productivity Commission has found.
Illustrating the concerns for the GP workforce from both doctors and politicians, the analysis of unpublished government data shows that the collapse mostly unfolded between 2021 and 2023.
In this two-year period, FTE GPs fell by almost 2000 and FTE GPs per 100,000 people fell from 121 to 110.
All areas from cities to the most remote towns were affected, although urban areas suffered the worst fall in terms of FTE GPs per patient.
