What factors influence GP earnings in Australia?

Working as a general practitioner in Australia can make for a long and rewarding career, with high average pay compared other sectors plus varied, interesting work. 

But, one thing we often see in our experience as healthcare recruiters is GPs not earning as much as they could. To help you understand how your pay compares to its potential, we’ve put together this list of the top factors influencing doctor pay in the country. 

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1. Understanding the system

The way you charge Medicare could be affecting your income – and in fact, this is one of the most common things we see among Australian doctors that holds back their pay. 

Not long ago, a University of Sydney analysis revealed that GPs were significantly more likely to undercharge Medicare than overcharge, resulting in $351.7 million in missed charges. All totalled, the university’s respondents undercharged about 11.8% of all consultations. 

But why is this happening?

“Allegations of fraud have been damaging to a workforce that is struggling to attract medical graduates to general practice,” said the survey’s lead author, Dr. Christopher Harrison.  

“[…] we believe that a major reason GPs undercharge, even for long consultations, is the fear of being audited.” 

What should you do differently?

Generally speaking, a fear of being caught doing something wrong should never hold you back from doing everything right. But, we understand that, where an audit is involved, it can seem safer to err on the side of caution. 

If you’d like to explore whether or not this problem is affecting your practice, we recommend seeking the advice of a relevant business advisor with Medicare experience. 

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2. Special Interests and Advanced Skills

An Australian GP pursuing an area of Special Interest or formal training in Advanced Skills (Rural Generalism) may find they can access higher income streams. 

Special Interests

GPs with Special Interests are those who have developed skills in a particular area of health through informal training, CPD or clinical exposure – for example, LGBTQIA+ health, sexual health or herbal medicines. 

• Can this lead to higher pay? Yes, but usually only if there is high demand for that skillset in the area and it brings an influx of new patients as a result.  

Advanced Skills

Alternatively, doctors who undergo dedicated training through a Rural Generalist program gain the skills to provide additional clinical competencies and specialised services beyond that of standard GP training. These skills can then be applied in rural hospitals, emergency settings or outreach services in sparsely populated areas – where the need for doctors is critical. 

• Can this lead to higher pay? Absolutely. Becoming a Rural Generalist in Australia can lead to higher income in a number of ways, including:  
• Accessing higher MBS item numbers for procedures and hospital-based services. 
• Undertaking locum work in rural and remote hospitals. 
• Providing specialised services that general GPs cannot, such as minor surgery or procedures. 
• Filling critical workforce gaps in rural areas to access government incentives (see below). 

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3. Rural incentives

Vocationally registered GPs working rurally in Australia (including as a locum) may be entitled to a variety of financial incentives which could, all totalled, increase their pay as much as $100,000+ per annum. 

This one takes a bit of research, as not every incentive will be available to every doctor. That, and payments are based on quite a few factors, such location, activity levels, specialist areas and so on. But, spending a few hours reading eligibility criteria could increase your income by five or six figures – certainly time well spent. 

Three incentives to look into include: 

1. Workforce Incentive Program (WIP) Doctor Stream: A payment scheme to incentivise doctors to work in rural areas, particularly very rural areas. 
2. WIP – Rural Advanced Skills Stream: A similar scheme offering additional incentive for those offering primary care, emergency and/or advanced skills in remote locations. 
3. Rural Procedural Grants Program (RPGP): Which encourages procedural GPs with specialised skills to work in remote areas. 

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4. Cost of living

A higher salary is one thing, but something else to keep in mind is the cost of living in your location.  

It’s quite common to see doctors earn more in one city, only to take home less than someone with a lower income in another due to the cost of living. Alternatively, many lower-cost areas actually offer higher salaries, allowing for a person’s pay to go even further than it would elsewhere. 

Let’s put it into perspective so you can see how location affects the numbers: 

Location	Average Salary 1	Annual Rent 2	Annual Utilities 3	Costs as % of Salary
Sydney	$324,812	$40,716	$2,544	13%
Brisbane	$312,811	$37,968	$2,364	13%
Perth	$384,515	$32,592	$3,132	9%
Melbourne	$312,811	$32,388	$4,284	12%
Adelaide	$358,352	$29,724	$4,980	10%

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1 BERL average salary for medical specialist living in the applicable state, at the highest step 
2 Assuming 85 square-metres furnished accommodation in a normal area, Finder.com.au 
3 Assuming 12 months for two people in 85 square-metres flat, Finder.com.au 

You’ll see in this small example that while those in Melbourne might earn less than GPs in Sydney, they have a little more each year due to lower living costs. Meanwhile, a salary in Perth goes even further than anywhere else thanks to the combined high pay and low costs. 

This is a rough example using blanket estimates. Things look even more different when you move out into rural areas, where housing is often half the price. 

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5. Bulk billing vs. private billing

Whether your practice offers bulk billing for patients, private billing or a mix of both can impact your pay as a GP. 

What’s the difference between each type of billing?

Bulk billing is where a GP charges eligible patients no cost, passing it on to Medicare instead. Additionally, in some cases bulk billing incentives are paid on top of the consultation fees, making it potentially quite lucrative for the GP. With recent investment into Medicare, bulk billing has been on the rise – there were 5.4 million additional bulk billed visits from November 2023-24.  

In a private billing context, the patient is billed a standard consultation fee – set by the practice. 

Where mixed billing applies, patients pay part of the bill and Medicare tops up the rest. 

Does one pay better than the other for GPs?

It may have been true once that bulk billing could lead to lower income for GPs, but more recently this is considered a myth. In reality, it depends more on how much you bill, what services you provide, your personal percentage and a variety of other factors (including market competition). 

Yes, it’s still true that bulk vs. private/mixed billing can impact your income, but it’s hard to pinpoint which will be better for you personally as every situation is unique. This is one you’ll need to talk about internally to compare the potential of each. 

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6. Going locum

Finally, one more option for increasing your doctor pay is by going locum. 

Locum work is a highly diverse and rewarding lifestyle, allowing GPs to travel to more places, meet new teams, learn new ways of working and potentially massively broaden their horizons as a doctor. With that greater opportunity also comes the opportunity for higher pay, as locum doctors do often earn more to account for their greater expertise, and to offset the lack of stability that comes with the role. 

These are some of the rates we would expect to see among locum doctors in Australia: 

• Metro GP: $170-250 per hour 
• Rural GP: $1,500-2,000 per day 
• Hospital-based GP: $1,800-3,000 per day 

For those interested in locum work, we recommend reading our guide to becoming a locum doctor. 

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Looking for a new opportunity? We can help.

You don’t have to go it alone finding new work with greater pay opportunities. Our team of expert healthcare recruiters understand Australia’s medical landscape and can help you navigate every step of the placement process – so you spend less time hunting for work and more time doing what you love. 

For both permanent and locum positions, let’s talk. Find out more about our open doctor opportunities here, or contact us directly to chat about what you need in your career.