GPSA Chair Report – October 2023

Lots of hard work… And it’s beginning to pay off!

As the year races along, it remains a busy time for the GPSA community. With this in mind, I will try to keep my report a bit more succinct this month, however there are a number of important issues I want to draw your attention to:

  1. GPSA members finally recognised for providing the educational continuum from medical student to fellowed GP /RG
  2. Conference Season is upon us
  3. GPSA’s Scenario App to launch for the international healthcare / educational community
  4. The importance of this community of practice for the community at large

I thank you for your support of our recent Media Release outlining our reasons to be enheartened by the long-overdue acknowledgement of our GP supervisor and practice team members in the recently published Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand (MDANZ) Position Paper: Doctors our Communities Need: Building, Sustaining and Supporting the General Practice Workforce in Australia and New Zealand.

Throughout this year we have been actively lobbying the Department and other GP organisations, particularly in the forum of the General Practice Training Advisory Committee (GPTAC), for a concerted effort to unify the many and disparate entities involved in pathways leading to vocational GP training. In the fragmented space we’ve endured for far too long, the placement experiences crucial to attracting more medical students and prevocational doctors to a career in general practice / rural generalism have invariably been under-valued and thus under-supported. Changes arising from the AMC’s new supervision framework also make future supervisor disengagement increasingly likely due to new requirements failing to recognise the experience of AGPT-accredited supervision, resulting in unnecessary and time-consuming duplication of PD activities.

When MDANZ published their Position Paper recommending the need for increased exposure to general practice to improve the attractiveness of our specialty, their focus on more and higher quality GP placements for medical students and prevocational doctors – underpinned by an appropriate level of support and remuneration, and greater consistency across the educational spectrum – effectively signalled the very change Carla and I have been advocating for. DOHAC has been very supportive of our work to facilitate greater interaction between MDANZ, CPMEC and the GP specialty Colleges, recognising the value of turning the spotlight on the GP supervisor as best placed to encourage more interest in our profession. Subsequent discussions with MDANZ indicate a strong willingness to work with GPSA, inviting our members to embed their observations and suggestions in a new curriculum for general practice at the university level. This is really very exciting.

Of course October is ‘Conference Season’ for our sector, and we are excited to be participating in a number of conferences around the country. We hope to catch up with you at any or all of the AAPM, RMA23, WONCA, PMEF and AIDA events. See full details of our conference involvement in the body of the newsletter or on our website here.

We have also been working diligently on the development of our Scenario App, scheduled for release in time for RMA23. This mobile app will produce case scenarios and prompts across a range of topics for supervisors to incorporate into their teaching sessions with registrars and students. It promises to be an indispensable educational tool with international application, noteworthy for its origin right here in Australia. Excitingly, all profits generated by this resource will be directed right back into our support of the GP training sector. Who knows, maybe GPSA will be running its own national networking conference for our members before long?

While GPSA has been directing energy into innovation and greater recognition and reward for our members, we all have a role in fighting for our profession. As supervisors and training practice teams we need to ensure that whatever role we play in supervision is performed at the highest level of quality possible, displaying just why general practice is the best medical specialty and one that all doctors should strive for. The trust and value bestowed upon us by our patients reinforces every day how important we are to the community. Ours is probably one of the most difficult specialties in medicine, but it is also one of the most rewarding – especially when we band together as a community of practice and support one another.

Stay strong and keep on keeping on.

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Date reviewed: 09 April 2025

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GPSA Chair Report – September 2023

Never a dull moment…

Is it just me, or has GP / RG training been a hot topic in the medical media through the closing days of this Aussie winter?!

Apart from the IMG rural moratorium, SEM pilots, pay disputes involving hospital doctors in training, the GP crisis hitting hard in the NT, some solid focus on the need to invest in more (and earlier) GP placements for medical students – including this interesting opinion piece from GPSN – and a decent nod to GPSA’s best practice research focus, August 2023 is likely to be remembered for one key topic…

Payroll tax.

It’s a little difficult to perceive the changed interpretation of unchanged state legislation as anything other than general practice being lobbed around as a political football. There are a lot of practices running scared – especially training practices, where payroll tax is already applied to the salaries of GPs in training, putting us in the spotlight as ‘payroll’ calculations will be expected to expand to all the other GPs in our practices including those ‘independent’ practitioners contracting the practice for services, rooms etc.

Some states (Queensland and SA) have offered payroll tax amnesties, and of course there’s been quite a bit of noise about the ACT’s offer of ‘conditional’ amnesty: hingeing on a pledge by practices to bulk bill 65% of their patients. Other jurisdictions have not offered any notion of relief, such as NSW and Victoria, and I’m in two minds about this. I personally am very concerned that the term ‘amnesty’ implies an admission of guilt, much as the concept of ‘exemption’ makes the liability seem beyond challenge. And retrospective application? That has the very real potential of crippling primary healthcare – and in turn our entire health system – across this country.

Benjamin Franklin (that man on the USD $100 note) gave us the saying about death and taxes, and yes, it applies equally now as it did more than 2 centuries ago: one way or another, this seemingly unjust tax will hit us as GPs, and it will change the profession as we now know it. 

I hope and pray that this situation will not deter high quality practices from training the next generation of high quality GPs. This has the potential to even further derail the pipeline of young doctors into this specialty. We already have fewer registrars than training positions and we need to be encouraging entry into general practice, not allowing state governments to sabotage it. 

What is key here is that everyone should really be seeking expert advice as to their next steps in line with their own individual circumstances. And then we should be activating the power of our voice as a community of practice. We know the RACGP and AMA are fronting up to the state governments to tackle this issue, and they have had some real wins along the way. But do you as supervisors and training practice owners / managers feel like your voice is being heard in these discussions?

GPSA members are the last bastions of high quality, independent primary healthcare. We as individuals and businesses are responsible for roughly 85% of the training required for a doctor to achieve fellowship in general practice. We can make or break the medical student / prevocational doctor’s passion for this specialty, which often comes down to how often we denigrate ourselves as “just GPs” and how much of our stress over the sustainability of what we do seeps into our trainee interactions. 

On the flip side, we are substantial in number; but, instead of activating this as a community of practice working together to advocate with one voice, we are either putting our energy into complaining as lots of separate individuals on Facebook / LinkedIn, or burying our heads in the sand… waiting for someone else to do something about it. By rallying together, we can use our undeniable powers of reasoning and deduction to strategise and problem-solve, to plan and find a way forward that doesn’t compromise our values, reputation, or financial stability.

For our part, we continue to work with GPRA, building on the relationship forged through the NTCER review process last year to strengthen the understanding that our memberships represent the two sides of the GP training coin – that we are not just investing our time and energy in short-term workforce but potentially our future colleagues and maybe even business partners. We are shoring up areas of alignment in terms of advocacy, research and education and undertake regular meetings jointly, in particular with state health departments around upcoming Single Employer Model (SEM) pilots, trying to guide and offer assistance as we can. It’s great to report that our offers of help are being well received – and  our views on embedding quality training and ensuring unintended consequences of these individual arrangements don’t do more damage to general practice and the communities that rely on its sustainability are also being heard.

Carla and I also find great value in our regular meetings with both Colleges, where we have the opportunity to advocate strongly for GP supervisors and practice teams and offer our assistance as a sector conduit to keep the changes through this ongoing training transition on track from our members’ point of view. 

We are also meeting with the Commonwealth monthly, which is a terrific platform for this community of practice to have a voice. It is in this forum that we have been able to express that reality that even the goodwill embedded in “My Medicare”, and other Commonwealth strategies being implemented with all the best intentions, are being tainted by the jurisdictional payroll tax ‘attack’. An interesting fact is that if a practice has payroll taxes of significant levels, then these are a tax deduction that reduces what the ATO would otherwise receive from that business. When I suggested that Treasury may be interested in this at one of our recent GPSA / DOHAC meetings, eyebrows were certainly raised!

So you see we have been nurturing a range of relationships across the sector to voice your concerns and solutions. It’s just so important to remember that together we can make a real difference.

Virtually we are bringing our members together through the GPSA Community initiative, and now we are rolling out our face-to-face member networking events starting with Brisbane on Wednesday 20th September. Nothing fancy, just a chance to catch up with your peers and chat with us about the things that matter to you. You can read more about this, and a whole lot of exciting opportunities and updates, in this month’s e-newsletter. And then you can start a conversation with us and with your colleagues via GPSA Community, and help shape the powerful voice this community of practice needs to activate.

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Date reviewed: 04 November 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

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GPSA Chair Report – August 2023

Planning for what lies ahead

As the end of the year approaches at warp speed, we now turn our attention to what lies ahead. GP Supervisors might think of this as a reference to the Unknown Unknowns of Jahari’s Window, but I’m more concerned today about the Known Unknowns of the hectic Conference and AGM season coming up in October / November!

GPSA’s amazing team will be front and centre at several conferences this year, presenting on research, education and GP training initiatives at RMA, WONCA and (fingers crossed) the National Prevocational Medical Education Forum. Just one of the research topics we’ll be spruiking at these events is the “GPCLE” (GP Clinical Learning Environment). Building on previous research, this project – funded through the 2023 RACGP Educational Research Grants and overseen by a Steering Committee that could easily be confused for the United Nations so extensive is the quality and breadth of its membership – involves the development of an essential quality evaluation tool for Australian training practices. Under the leadership of our highly experienced Director of Research & Policy, Dr Samia Toukhsati, the GPCLE project exemplifies two features that make GPSA stand out in this space: 

On top of multiple research / education presentations, by the time we arrive at RMA23 and WONCA, GPSA’s mobile app “SCENARIO Toolbox for Supervisors” will be ready for you to test and review. This is just one of the innovations we have been working on to keep our resources relevant and accessible into the future. Another is the GPSA Community Platform, developed to help you connect and engage with this very special community of practice; to share ideas and drive solutions for others in your region, and for the sector more broadly. Supervisor Liaison Officers are now facilitating jurisdicational networking on this Platform too, making it even easier for you to reach out for help and stay in touch with peers locally and across the country.

As mentioned previously, the Practice Managers on the Community Platform put the rest of us to shame with their easy adoption of this new communication channel back in April… My challenge to you Supervisors and Practice Owners is to get involved: start a conversation, comment, message one another and join groups that resonate with you whether through your role, geographical location and / or special interest(s)! Of course, if you haven’t activated your account on the platform yet, you should probably start there!!

While this challenge is only intended to promote healthy competition, it also serves as a reminder that Practice Managers are eligible for election to the GPSA Board this year. A significant amendment to our Constitution passed by Special Resolution at the 2022 AGM elevated Practice Managers to “Ordinary” members of GPTA Ltd, allowing one of the seven elected Directors to be a Practice Manager (alongside six active GP Supervisors). The reason I am highlighting this now is because, in two very short months, we will be calling for nominations for Directors.

Four positions will be voted on at this year’s AGM, which will be held via Zoom from 7.30pm AEDT on Monday 13th November, 2023.

Are you ready to help us take GPSA into the future? 

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Date reviewed: 04 November 2024

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GPSA Chair Report – July 2023

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At the halfway mark… And what a half-year it’s been!

For this month’s Chair Report, I thought we might share a summary of the work GPSA has been focusing on for our members over the first 6 months of the year:

  • expanding services for GPSA members:
    • free online community platform to connect members and promote GP training community of practice
    • GPSA now an approved CPD provider for RACGP (ACRRM provider status pending)
    • developing wide range of “cheat sheet” resources
    • developing online modules to complement growing repository of guides and teaching plans
    • podcast in development – hosted by Drs Simon Morgan and Justin Coleman
    • developing an internationally-accessible mobile app “Scenario” to provide readily-accessible, affordable alternative to physical flashcard resources
    • developing a free web-based version of the Clinical Reasoning Game (physical game value $120 per unit)
    • working with HiCaps and other private sector stakeholders to develop strategies for practices to manage upcoming payroll tax changes
    • GPSA now an approved provider of practice manager CPD for AAPM
  • developing an evaluation tool for quality improvement and College use in training practice accreditation – based on the 2021-22 General Practice Clinical Learning Environment (GPCLE) research and resources under funding from the RACGP ERG
  • developing a supervision support program specific to the Northern Territory under grant funding provided by NTGPE
  • working with AMA Queensland and the RACGP to advocate on behalf of training practices in the payroll tax ruling (application of which was subsequently deferred to 2025)
  • participating in (and now coordinating) monthly Supervisor PD meetings with RACGP and ACRRM
  • meeting fortnightly with RACGP to progress operational and strategic matters
  • meeting fortnightly with ACRRM to progress operational and strategic matters
  • meeting fortnightly with GPRA to develop collaborative opportunities and identify emerging issues
  • meeting monthly with DOHAC to advocate on behalf of supervisors and training practices
  • participating in quarterly GPTAC sector stakeholder meetings
  • participating in quarterly meetings of the National Council of Primary Care Doctors
  • participating on the National Advisory Committee of the Rural Health Commissioner
  • participating on Steering Groups for state / territory Workforce Planning and Prioritisation (WPP) organisations
  • successfully completing the 2022 revision of the NTCER with GPRA and updating the Agreement for 2023.2
  • driving meetings with each state / territory to discuss the 17 new juridictional Single Employer Model (SEM) pilots currently under consideration, ensuring priority is given to:
    • facilitating and rewarding high quality training placements in private practice
    • avoidance of unintended consequences such as:
      • exacerbating the urban / rural divide
      • further diminishing trainee motivation to learn the business of general practice
      • trainee enticement to remain in public health employment post-pilot / post-fellowship
      • postponing rather than solving the issue of lost entitlements upon leaving hospital employment for independent contracting once fellowed
  • working with Regional Training Hubs and Rural Workforce Agencies to expand supervisor and training practice supports for medical students and pre vocational learners / IMGs
  • exploring opportunities to develop national standards for training practices involved in the supervision of medical students and pre vocational learners / IMGs
  • exploring alternative solutions to state-based SEMs to tackle attraction of more doctors to general practice
  • working with ACRRM to develop rural generalist (RG)-specific resources
  • participating on RG Reference Groups in WA, working with RDN NSW, VRGP and RGPWA to support supervisors of pre vocational learners on RG pathways
  • developing tools from the 2022 research study, “Conflict in GP Training Placements”
  • undertaking research and evaluation to underpin GPSA policy around:
    • member engagement strategies – “Building a Thriving Community of Practice in GP Training”
    • “Educational Interventions for the GP Supervisor”
    • 3 core themes:
      • Best Practice
      • Capacity Building and Resilience
      • Well-being and Satisfaction
  • successfully negotiating the Memorandum of Understanding and Terms of Reference for the SLO Advisory Council with ACRRM and RACGP, including financial support for state representatives to attend one face-to-face meeting per annum
  • advocacy on behalf of supervisors and training practices including (but this is far from an exhaustive list):
    • registrar placements
    • opportunities for training practice accreditation
    • implementation of new WBAs
    • ongoing need to reduce red tape
    • streamlined processes and communications to assist with accessing payments via Services Australia
    • improved access to remittance advices for NCP payments 
  • continuing to refine and build on GPSA’s repository of best practice supervision and employment resources.

If you would like to know more about any of this work, please use the form on this page to contact Carla and myself.
In the meantime, wishing you all the best as Semester 1 wraps up and we move into the second half of 2023.

Date reviewed: 04 November 2024

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

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GPSA Chair Report – June 2023

Participating, Networking, Driving Change

2023 is turning into a very big year for GPSA. We continue to have a seat at the table in a wide variety of stakeholder meetings, and the conference year kicked off for us last month with the RACGP Practice Owners National Conference (PONC) in Adelaide, followed quickly by the GPME Conference in Sydney.
 
PONC saw a huge number of conversations between Carla (CEO), Leonie (COO) and myself with Supervisors and potential Supervisors at the GPSA booth. While there were many inspiring stories, and a great deal of laughter, this face-to-face event gave many members the chance to share concerns and grievances we welcomed in equal measure. Many potential Supervisors expressed frustration that RACGP is refusing to induct new training practices due to the supply/demand issue with more Supervisors than Registrars in the current market. We have been petitioning RACGP on your behalf to see if and when this situation is going to change, but with no real answers as yet we have been looking to other options to harness a passion for training even if outside AGPT (more on this in coming months).
 
The overwhelming issue concerning Practice Owners at PONC was Payroll Tax. As you all know, the concept of State Revenue Offices (SROs) charging Payroll Tax on payments that independent Practitioners earn through work in General Practices has been raised often and loudly. If implemented, this would spell the death knell for a significant number of General Practices across Australia. Should the State Governments be allowed to trim their percentage off the top of every grant that is made to General Practice, a lot of Commonwealth’s changes to Medicare will be put under threat. The RACGP is well aware of this and continue with their advocacy in this space. GPSA also speaks regularly with the Commonwealth and advocates in our own way for this to be sorted, having shared your responses to our rapid survey with AMAQ and RACGP at the start of the year with great effect in the stay of execution on the Queensland SRO ruling. Payroll Tax is also treated as a deduction at the end of the financial year, effectively reducing the ATO’s revenue… I am not sure the Commonwealth will want to lose on their tax income any more than they will want to watch primary healthcare disintegrate beneath this added burden.
 
The other issue affecting Supervisors is that following the Transition we have moved to a new nationally-homogenised “open market” process with Registrars.  Even though this is can be effective in a mature, settled market, it is currently creating issues for those not used to this system, with Registrars applying for Training Practices close to where they live for their first terms, unaware that not all General Practices are created equal. Some Practices are better suited to the training demands of GPT1 and GPT2 Registrars than others: without some guidance the Registrar may end up in a Practice that can’t support them with the quality of experience they expect, potentially leading to attrition from the training program. The stories are coming in thick and fast – in one case, a Practice had 1 spot for a Registrar and received 10 applicants; in another, a Registrar applied to 16 Practices. This creates a lot of unnecessary work for both Registrars and Supervisors and ultimately ends up with more than one party feeling cheated. What do you think would work best? A hybrid model of Registrar allocations? Join in the discussion in the Supervisor, Practice Owner and Practice Manager groups on our Community Platform and share your opinions and ideas so we can flag these with the Colleges to drive the best outcome for all.
 
Don’t forget the 2023.2 Applied Knowledge Test (AKT) and Key Feature Problem (KFP) exams will now be delivered in a paper-based format, as announced by the RACGP on Tuesday 30th May. There is no change to the schedule or location of the Fellowship exams, but after consistent and rigorous testingrevealed an issue that could impact candidates’ exams, this decision was made to ensure that every candidate has a seamless experience on exam day. 
 
Anyway, as the end of 2023.1 rapidly approaches, hopefully Supervision is going well and we are all steering excellent Registrars toward rewarding careers in General Practice / Rural Generalism! 

Date reviewed: 23 June 2025

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GPSA Chair Report – May 2023

It just gets busier!
Hi all, Carla and I have been very busy again since my pre-Easter report, but all the hard work is definitely paying off!

As mentioned in the previous few months, we have been meeting with various states and territories to insert the argument for quality supervision into their individual plans for Single Employer Model (SEM) pilots. With every jurisdiction doing things differently, we continue to have a particular affinity with the Tasmanian model, which is very strongly rooted in the goal of supporting the private model of general practice over increasing their numbers of hospital employees.

The Tasmanian team is even considering our preferred model, where the registrar might complete GPT1-2 (or RG equivalent) under the state Single Employer then transition to practice employment governed by the NTCER, allowing access to earnings against billings only when they have had time to acclimatise to the general practice environment and gained an understanding of how to bill correctly, etc. We have also floated this option by a number of sector stakeholders, government representatives from NT, WA and Queensland, and have started working with ACRRM to explore potential for other options to give senior RG registrars greater flexibility than traditional practice-based employment allows at the tail end of their training.

What seems key at present is that alternate models of registrar employment are coming, and we need to be open to ideas that may well change what we have built our business models around as training practice owners. Not all change is detrimental… But we are working very very hard to ensure that we as a community of practice have visibility over and a prominent voice in any decisions leading to change for our sector.

I implore you to please maximise the opportunities we offer for you to have a say in all that’s happening around us in the GP training landscape. Activate your free membership to the GPSA Community Platform and join a Community Group (or 10)! Take a few minutes to complete the National Supervision Survey, which feeds into our work on Advisory Councils for the Workforce Planning and Prioritisation organisations across the country as well as guiding our research, education and advocacy priorities. It is so important that we all contribute to the findings of this important survey. You can read more about this here or contact our Director of Research & Policy, Dr Samia Toukhsati, with any queries here.

GPSA is committed to supporting the people and businesses that underpin the future of primary healthcare in this country. We are a sector conduit, a driver of innovation and quality, and an advocate for respect and recognition for this community. GPSA is not a group of Board members or the small team of employees who deliver educational interventions and resources, members supports, research and policy. GPSA is the community we serve… So don’t be a stranger!

Date reviewed: 24 June 2025

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How is it already April?!

It might not make great material for a Netflix doco, but a day in the life of the GPSA Chair is certainly proving far from dull as Carla and I navigate all the meetings with and requests from members and sector stakeholders! And this is only a couple of months into the training year!

Our accomplishments are starting to stack up though, making it all worthwhile…

GPSA’s Community Platform
On 19th March we started inviting our members to join the new community platform tied to the GPSA website, where we still offer all 1,000+ resources free and open-access. This new concept is designed to enable our members to more readily connect with one another, with us, and ultimately with representatives of the Department, Colleges and other sector stakeholders. This has been a really quiet “soft” launch as the last thing we want to do is overwhelm anyone with so many changes afoot through the Transition, especially in terms of IT systems. But hats off to our practice manager members, who have jumped in and started helping one another develop strategies and solutions by creating discussions under their private community Discussion tab. Now the challenge is on for our supervisor and practice owner colleagues!
If you haven’t activated your account already, it’s really easy to log in, join one or more Community Groups, and virtually step outside the consulting room for a few moments: if only to reduce the feeling of isolation that comes with our profession.

2023 National Survey
On the topic of our wellbeing, I note that this year’s National Survey is being launched on Thursday 6th April, and will include some follow-up to last year’s survey which produced this report summarising our perspectives on wellbeing and selfcare. Importantly, this annual survey will give you a chance to share your individual reflections on the new training regime and what it will take to make this a thriving sector into the future. Please make the most of this opportunity as we really are in a position to influence change with your participation – noting the data we collect from this questionnaire is used for our advocacy work and representation on advisory committees such as for the various Workforce Planning and Prioritisation (WPP) organisations. AND you can be credited for an hour of CPD as an added bonus!

New branding, new identity
The new GPSA logo has been developed and will now start to be rolled out across our various touchpoints – website, emails, social media etc.. The new icon is indicative of our evolution from GP Supervisors Australia to GP Supervision Australia, really reflecting what we do and the partnership between the Supervising Practices, Supervisors, Practice Managers and the GP Registrars that we are collectively supporting. When asked “who” GPSA is, traditionally we would have pointed to the voluntary Board of Directors at the top of the triangle, beneath us the small team (<4FTE) of employees, and at the bottom the community we represent. By contrast, today we refer to GPSA as the community first and foremost, with the team supporting you from below, and the Board beneath them as the cornerstone of the organisation, with our new branding symbolising this new identity especially as it relates to whole-of-practice scaffolding of the learner / trainee, and flattening of the hierarchy in supervision.

CPD made easy
I hope that you are all attending our Webinars, there are so many great topics being covered and wonderful hints for how to work with your Registrars. Pearls of wisdom keep getting dropped by presenters and participants. AND, now we are approved CPD providers for RACGP (soon ACRRM also), we can automatically add a CPD hour to your CPD Home account when you attend these (generally webinars are approved for Educational Activity) and an additional hour for Reviewing Performance when you go on to complete the post-webinar activity we now offer. The team is currently working on converting recordings of past webinars and other static educational resources on the website into online modules to help increase CPD opportunities for you. All free for our members: so be sure to make use of this!

GPSA keeping your voice heard out there
We have regular meetings with RACGP and ACRRM regarding their training developments and both Colleges are very supportive of our role in assisting with this. Member feedback has been that the Transition has predominantly gone smoothly; but, as always, there have been a few hiccups along the way. Mostly these are small and fairly easily resolved. We also meet regularly with GPRA, continuing to work together to enhance the experience of Registrars and Supervisors, and with the Government at different levels and in different groups. I believe that the respect that we have earned with all our engagement has been well worthwhile. We continue to advocate for all our members at all levels and are being listened to.
One space that we are working hard to involve our community in is the Single Employer Model pilots being rolled out across Australia. This is a departure from how GP Registrars have been employed in the past, mainly as a solution for the rural sector, so we are keen to understand and help shape these models in order to drive  the best outcomes possible for all Registrars (our future workforce!) and with minimal unintended consequences. These pilots will look different across the country, but quality of training must remain paramount: we will keep pushing the Quality barrow always. A quick note that any Tasmanian Practice Owners / Practice Managers or Supervisors are invited to join the private group we have created on the community platform called “Tasmania’s SEM”, to which we have given members of the team running the Tasmanian pilot access so they can answer any questions you may have as potential participants in their trial.

Well, all the best from me and enjoy your Easter, but just remember, not too many Easter Eggs!!

Kevin

 

Date reviewed: 24 June 2025

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

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GPSA Chair Report – March 2023

It is hard to believe we are already a month into the new era of GP training! For all the teething problems there might have been, all in all it has been a remarkably smooth process thanks to a whole lot of hard work behind the scenes. Well done to both Colleges (but know that we will continue to badger you until all of the SLO and PMLO roles have been filled)!

Just in time for the first semester of GP training under ACRRM and RACGP, we jointly announced the completion of the 2022 NTCER Review with GPRA, producing what I consider a fair outcome not only for registrars but also for supervisors and practice owners. Broad consultation throughout this lengthy review involved every GPSA member having multiple opportunities to contribute their views and raise their concerns around the minimum terms and conditions for employing registrars. While we always hope for higher levels of participation by the members we are representing in matters like this, there were some terrific insights provided by those supervisors, practice owners and practice managers who participated in our survey, open submission, and working groups. Many thanks to all involved.

Close on the heels of our NTCER announcement, in early February the Tasmanian government announced its plan to introduce a Single Employer Model (SEM) for 20 registrars across the state, with an emphasis on rural and regional GP training. This announcement was shortly followed by news that multiple additional SEM pilots are being planned for NSW. We can now reveal that a total of ten SEM pilots are scoped for rollout across the country by the individual states / territories, these being on top of the original SEM pilots ongoing in Murrumbidgee and Riverland. Recognising the possible negative impact on our combined memberships by a wide range of unintentional consequences of these SEM pilots, together with GPRA we are reaching out to the states and territories to do what we can to ensure the needs of supervisors, training practices and registrars are met in these pilots. As the peak organisations for GP training, we are keen to lend our support: to guide successful outcomes that focus not only on increased community access to doctors-in-training, but on high quality registrar placements that foster a passion for the general practice specialty and an attachment to the community in which the training is undertaken. We will be updating you on our work and inviting your contribution in this space throughout the year.

Another significant demonstration of high-level focus on improving primary healthcare that’s at risk of undermining the value of high-quality GP supervision is the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce Report… Despite some very important recommendations, did anyone else notice that there was not a single reference to registrar, supervisor or training practice?! But seriously, this report once again brings into focus the topic that started our year with a bang in Queensland and beyond: the new and far-from-improved payroll tax ruling. Despite the 2-year amnesty / stay-of-execution announced on 3rd February (at least in Queensland), the application of the newest SRO ruling is still likely to make a large number of quality training practices reconsider the viability of continuing to take on registrars; additionally, recommendations from the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce such as Voluntary Patient Registration – and any other payments to practices to help coordinate care – would be considered subject to payroll tax, deleting the potential fiscal benefits. GPSA will continue to demand fairness and logic on this matter, for our members and for the future of general practice.

Lastly, I wish to address the news that’s caused more than a ripple among RACGP members since the publication of this article in newsGP. The College’s transparency on their financial situation may have sparked some controversy; but, for our purposes as the nation’s peak organisation for GP supervisors and training practices, this is the message I want to highlight – quoting the RACGP Board Chair, Dr Lara Roeske:

GP training will not be impacted by the cost reduction program in any way. This work is funded by the Commonwealth, and it is a requirement that we do not comingle funds.

In other words, the RACGP’s funding for delivering the AGPT program is completely quarantined, ensuring the College’s ability to support supervisors and training practices will not be impacted by the cost reductions planned across the other areas of the organisation.

So rest assured that GP training is not going to suffer from RACGP’s dip into the red… and maybe spare a thought for GPSA’s tiny team, continuing to support supervisors, practice owners and practice managers on the smell of an oily rag!

Date reviewed: 23 June 2025

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

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Are we there yet?!

The transition of GP training from the RTOs to a College-led model has dominated sector conversations for what seems a very long time; however, with February just around the corner, time is fast running out to ensure we are all set for the new era of training.

Is this all we should be worried about?

It’s easy to be distracted by the negativity surrounding us, but I’m yet to meet a GP who took on the supervision of a registrar because it was “easy”. As supervisors, our role is to transfer our passion for quality and continuity of patient-centred care onto the next generation of GPs, regardless of political or economic pressures, major changes in the GP training model or even a little thing like a pandemic! This means we need to be focusing on solutions rather than being dragged down by the many challenges and threats the profession is currently facing. To this end, the power of one is real. You as an individual have a voice through GPSA: a voice given volume by this community of practice we are working to support through innovative networking opportunities underpinned by new and improved systems.

Right now, we are ensuring your voice is present in discussions about the transition, and in our review of the NTCER with GPRA. We are speaking on your behalf at sector stakeholder fora like the meetings of the General Practice Training Advisory Council (GPTAC) and the National Council of Primary Care Doctors (NCPCD), and frequent meetings with ACRRM, RACGP and the Department. We have also started working with the Workforce Planning and Prioritisation (WPP) organisations to contextualise their reports on training needs and capacity with your localised narratives; and we speak regularly with the CEOs of the RTOs to ensure nothing slips through the cracks in the transition, noting that GPSA has been offered the regionally-based training modules and other resources developed by these organisations so we can provide our members with ongoing free and open access to these valuable materials.

A big concern for us has been how GPSA can best support supervisors and practices to make the transition as seamless as possible and keep the sector focused on sustainability of the profession to guarantee continuity and stability in GP training. Taking our role of conduit quite literally, we have devoted a lot of our resources to providing you with regular transition updates via webinars, e-newsletters, social media and links on our website; we have also been madly reviewing new College policies, guidelines and handbooks specific to the supervision of vocational GP trainees, determined to minimise the burden on our members – and maximise the attractiveness of GP training – under the new regime.

We recognise our work in this space has only just begun, and will continue devoting significant time and energy throughout the next triennium to hold the Colleges to account as the new custodians of GP training in this country. But what we need in order to maximise our efforts going forward is your contribution, your questions and feedback and requests for our input. In 2023, we will be introducing a forum-based website to create easily accessed channels of communication for our members to connect with us, with the Colleges and DOHAC, but most importantly with each other. GPSA has a voluntary Board of Directors and a very small number of paid staff; we are a not-for-profit organisation that exists for the benefit of its members, so we really do need the connection with you we are planning for this new platform and implore you to be active in the community this will help to enhance.

In the meantime, we are still trying to get a solid handle on a few of the new concepts to better prepare you for 2023, like RACGP’s Work-Based Assessments (WBAs). At this stage we can confirm that the WBA program will be implemented progressively across 2023 and 2024. There will be a soft rollout of the program with the first assessment not due until the middle of the first GP term. The assessments are very similar to those currently being completed by supervisors in existing programs. The RACGP teams in each region will provide education and support for supervisors about the WBA program.

While we had a Q&A-style webinar on the National Consistent Payment (NCP) framework with DOHAC’s Martin Rocks in mid-November, we are only now being presented with how each College will apply the Flexible Funding that will top up the NCP payments. ACRRM will deliver a webinar with us on their Flexible Funding model on 15th December to explain their priorities and how supervisors, practices and registrars will be able to access these funds.

Still on the subject of webinars, if you’re one of the many struggling to register for practice / supervisor payments under the NCP (even after the two webinars GPSA ran in November, plus the FAQs we developed, to tackle the confusion), Services Australia has accepted our request to do a live walk-through of the PRODA and HPOS processes for our members, which we will of course record and make available for those who can’t attend. Carla is just awaiting confirmation of the date, but will make certain this happens this side of Christmas (and will let you know once this date is locked in).

So it’s not all doom and gloom in general practice, as we found in October at the ACRRM/RDAA RMA22 conference. For the 1500+ RACGP members in Melbourne for the last weekend in November, three years without large-scale face-to-face events made GP22 extra special too.

Current GPSA Chair Dr Kevin Arlett with former GPSA Chair (current RACGP President) Dr Nicole Higgins and former Board member Dr Alan Leeb at GPSA’s GP22 booth

Despite the temptation to wander further into the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre to check out the other conferences (one in particular), the turn-out was great and the energy high as we took the opportunity to chat within the same postcode and without the computer screens!

Amongst the many topics of interest at GP22, personally I’d rank CPD right up there. From 2023, the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) is changing CPD for all doctors, in all disciplines, across Australia. Moving from a points-based to a time-based model, three new CPD activity types will need to be covered in 50 hours per annum:

  • Educational activities (EA) that expand your knowledge and skills
  • Reviewing performance (RP) activities that encourage you to reflect on feedback about your work
  • Measuring outcomes (MO) activities that use your work data to ensure quality results

In response to these changes and our advocacy around reducing burdens for GP supervisors, the College is looking at opportunities for primary supervisors to have our supervision work recognised as significantly fulfilling the new MBA requirements in terms of CPD hours. We are also working with both Colleges to have participation in GPSA research and attendance of our webinars / workshops automatically applied as CPD, which will be helpful for secondary supervisors and anyone not supervising a registrar in 2023 too.

I can’t mention GP22 without acknowledging the GPSA team there with me – Carla Taylor (CEO), Leonie Chamberlain (COO), Jane McMahon (Admin), Karen Andrews (Governance), Lachlan Butcher (Member Services), Dr Samia Toukhsati (Research), Dr Simon Morgan (Education), Dr Justin Coleman (my fellow Board member) and Dr Nicole Higgins (my predecessor!). If watching Nicole step into the role of President at the RACGP AGM was an honour, I’ve yet to find the words to describe how it felt to listen to Simon and Justin hammering out the crowd favourites as members of the all-doc band at the conference dinner!

As December kicks in, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a rewarding, enjoyable, stress-free New Year.

Date reviewed: 24 June 2025

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

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October in the rear-view mirror

Even amidst all the chaos of 2022, October has been a clear stand-out.

Starting with the RACGP Crisis Summit and culminating in a media attack on the profession, plus announcement of the NQ Pharmacy “trial” (I have been talking with the Queensland Medical Organisations re this) – and with the RMA22 conference and GPSA’s AGM along the way -, it’s certainly been a wild ride.

RMA22
Bracketed as it was by reminders of the dire need for professional unity, community respect and systemic change, the ACRRM and RDA conference in Canberra was a welcome symbol of much-needed hope. In this celebration of rural and remote medicine, general practice was a clear winner with GPs and RGs from across the country coming together face-to-face after far too long a wait. Stellar presentations (GPSA’s Dr Samia Toukhsati was responsible for 4 of these) and a great range of exhibitors and events made this an opportunity to re-connect, re-charge, and re-calibrate.
The GPSA team caught up with a terrific number of new and old faces at our booth and the Supervisor Lunch we were delighted to sponsor. For every person we spoke to about their fears for the future of GP training, we met at least three whose optimism and confidence shone through. This is what makes our sector so special.

GPSA AGM
Our AGM on the first day of RMA22 saw a record number of registered members voting for a record number of candidates, demonstrating how well placed GPSA is to make a significant difference at this crucial time for the profession. We are a bastion of stability in an environment of major change in General Practitioner education, and so very relevent into the future.

New Board
Carrying us into the new era, the Board you have elected brings together a variety of skills, experience and expertise:

and our Appointed Director (one appointed position yet to be filled)

New Trading Name
As we gear ourselves for the current and emerging challenges facing primary healthcare, GPTA Ltd is looking into new opportunities to support the sector more broadly. Accordingly, members were asked to vote in favour of a change from our current trading name “General  Practice Supervisors Australia” to “General Practice Supervision Australia”. As this decision was passed without objection at the AGM, over the coming months you will see the name change introduced through our communications and correspondence, and launched more formally with the new GPSA website in early 2023.

New Constitution
Changes small and big were introduced when our revised Constitution was passed by Special Resolution at the AGM – the biggest and most significant of all being the elevation of practice managers working in training practices from “honorary” to “ordinary” member status. This provides these individuals who are integral to the delivery of quality GP training with voting rights and gives rise to the inclusion of one practice manager among the seven elected director positions.

So now we get to catch our breath for a minute, work on finalising the NTCER review, and start preparing for GPME22 and GP22 in Melbourne at the end of November. We look forward to seeing you there!

Date reviewed: 24 June 2025

Please note that while reasonable care is taken to provide accurate information at the time of creation, we frequently update content and links as needed. If you identify any inconsistencies or broken links, please let us know by email.

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