Australia doesn't have a GP shortage — it has a GP distribution problem. There are enough doctors overall, but they're concentrated in major cities while regional, rural, and outer-suburban areas struggle to attract and keep GPs.
How GP shortages are measured
The Australian Government uses a system called the Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classification to identify locations with insufficient GP services. The DPA system divides Australia into 824 GP catchment areas and compares each area's level of Medicare-billed GP services against a benchmark, adjusted for the local population's age, gender, and socioeconomic profile.
If an area's GP services fall below the benchmark, it's classified as a DPA. All areas outside major metropolitan centres (classified MM 2-7 under the Modified Monash Model) are automatically classified as DPA. The classification is updated annually — the most recent update was in March 2025.
Where the shortages are worst
The pattern is consistent: the further you get from a capital city CBD, the harder it is to see a GP. The areas most affected by GP shortages include rural and remote communities across all states. Towns like Bourke, Broken Hill, Mount Isa, and communities across the NT and WA regularly face severe shortages. Outer metropolitan growth corridors in cities like Western Sydney, Melbourne's west and north, and South East Queensland are also affected — populations growing faster than GP services can keep up. Northern Australia faces particularly acute challenges, with vast distances, extreme climates, and smaller populations making it difficult to attract GPs.
The entire Northern Territory and Tasmania are classified as DPA, reflecting persistent challenges in attracting and retaining GPs across these jurisdictions.
Why GPs aren't evenly distributed
Several factors drive the maldistribution. Lifestyle preferences play a major role — most medical graduates trained in capital cities prefer to stay there. Income differences matter too, though less than commonly assumed: rural GPs often earn more per hour than their city counterparts, but the workload is heavier and the isolation is real. Practice viability is a growing concern in smaller towns where a single GP retirement can leave an entire community without a doctor. The ageing GP workforce is another major factor — the average GP age is rising, and as older GPs retire from regional practices, replacements are hard to find.
What the government is doing
The DPA system is primarily used to direct international medical graduates (IMGs) to areas of need. Under Section 19AB of the Health Insurance Act, IMGs must work in a DPA to access Medicare for their first 10 years in Australia. This has been the main mechanism for staffing regional and rural practices for decades.
Other initiatives include the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBPIP), which provides higher incentive payments in regional areas; the Rural Health Workforce Incentive Scheme, which offers financial bonuses for GPs working in rural locations; and the General Practice Rural Generalist Pathway, which trains GPs specifically for the broader scope of practice required in rural settings.
What it means for patients
If you live in a GP shortage area, you may face longer wait times for appointments, limited choice of doctors, or need to travel further for GP care. Some practical options include using telehealth for consultations that don't require a physical examination, checking whether your area has a nurse-led clinic or walk-in centre (see our nurse-led clinics directory), and contacting your local Primary Health Network (PHN) to find out about GP services in your region.
You can check whether your area is classified as a DPA on the Health Workforce Locator on the Department of Health website.