Research
Supporting IMGs from Arrival to Fellowship:
A Roadmap for Rural GP Success
General Practice Supervision Australia (GPSA) is proud to share the outcomes of our landmark research project, From Arrival to Fellowship: A Roadmap to Support IMGs as a Valued Part of Australia’s Rural GP Workforce. Funded through the RACGP’s 2025 Education Research Grant and the AGPT program, this work responds to the critical need for evidence-informed strategies that empower IMGs to thrive across every stage of their Australian journey.
Why This Research Matters
The International Medical Graduates (IMGs) who make up a significant proportion of Australia’s rural general practice workforce face a uniquely complex pathway. Despite filling a significant health workforce gap, they are largely unsupported through their navigation of new systems, cultures, and regulatory requirements while relocating themselves and often their families to unfamiliar communities.
Our research identified three pivotal transition points for IMGs:
- Arrival in Australia and acclimatisation
- Settling into rural workplaces and communities
- Training as specialist GPs and integrating into the profession
Each stage brings challenges, but also powerful opportunities to support IMGs’ comfort, confidence, competence, and ultimately their sense of professional and personal belonging.
What We Did
Using realist evaluation and participatory action research, we gathered insights from 41 participants across the rural GP training and workforce ecosystem – including IMGs, supervisors, training team members, and decision-makers. Of these, 68% were IMGs, representing a range of locations, backgrounds, and experiences. Feedback was collected through in-depth interviews, focus groups, and iterative review cycles.
This collaborative approach enabled us to co-design a comprehensive roadmap – an actionable, evidence-based strategy suite to guide and enhance IMG integration into rural general practice across Australia.
Key Outcomes: What the Roadmap Delivers
The roadmap offers a clear, staged framework backed by the lived experience of IMGs and those who support them. It sets out practical, systemic strategies at each stage of the IMG pathway:
Stage 1: Arrival and Acclimatisation
Centralised, clear guidance on migration, healthcare systems, and life in Australia
Early career mentoring and rural GP training advice
Information tailored to IMG families and personal wellbeing
Stage 2: Workplace and Community Integration
- Supportive employment pathways, observerships, and preparedness programs
- Fair, quality supervision with independent oversight and helplines
- Peer support, cultural safety, and structured community connection for doctors and their families
Stage 3: Training and Professional Belonging
- Equitable access to rural GP training and recognition of prior learning
- Ongoing mentorship, flexible training, and formative assessment models
- Opportunities for IMGs to contribute as supervisors, educators, and leaders in their own right
What’s Next?
Publication of the roadmap provides an important foundation for further discussion and action. GPSA will continue to share the findings and engage with rural workforce agencies, colleges, training organisations, governments, employers, supervisors and IMG doctors about opportunities to strengthen support across the IMG journey.
This may include exploring how the roadmap can:
- inform supervisor education, training and resources
- contribute to rural workforce and GP training policy discussions
support improved connections between the organisations and people involved in supporting IMGs - encourage more continuous, tailored and integrated support across migration, employment, community integration, training and fellowship.
GPSA welcomes opportunities to work with organisations involved in rural health workforce development and GP training to consider the roadmap’s findings and their implications for future policy and practice.
Date reviewed: 31 July 2026