MPs want to stop hundreds of GP practices recruiting IMGs
The Federal Government and Opposition voted together to halt debate on the bill.
Independent MPs have blasted the Federal Government for allowing hundreds of outer-urban GP practices to recruit IMGs.
Two years ago, the government radically extended the number of Distribution Priority Areas (DPAs), meaning that 85% of Australia’s 827 GP catchment areas were designated areas of need.
It allowed these practices to recruit IMGs who were then able to bill Medicare.
But a government-commissioned report last month deemed the policy a failure, saying it effectively sucked IMG doctors away from rural and remote areas.
