Medical education experts are urging the federal government to increase funding for medical school places for Australian students as the country faces a severe shortage of general practitioners (GPs).
The Department of Health and Aged Care projects Australia will require an additional 8,600 GPs by 2048. At Monash University, academic teams say that with more government support, they could accept many more eligible students into medical training.
“We turn away thousands of capable Australians from medical school every year,” said Professor Michelle Leech, president of Medical Deans Australia and New Zealand. “They’re all highly qualified and deserving.”
At Monash University, there are 12 to 15 qualified applicants for every available spot. “You’re essentially trying to choose between equally outstanding candidates,” Professor Leech said.
High achievers still miss out
In Australia, even students achieving an ATAR above 99 and scoring in the 95th percentile for the UCAT (medical aptitude test) may still fail to secure a place in medical school. The process includes competitive interviews, where strong academic scores don’t always guarantee success.
Pasindu Bandara, a University of Queensland medical student and founder of Strive Academics, said many top students are blocked by the interview stage. “They’ve excelled academically, volunteered, and contributed to their communities, but some struggle in high-pressure interview settings that high school doesn’t prepare them for.”
Bandara also noted that students who can afford specialised tutoring for interviews often have an advantage, leaving those without financial resources at a disadvantage. “Students who can afford this support essentially have one foot in the door,” he said.
Limited growth in local medical training
The federal government controls the number of medical places available to domestic students, and that number hasn’t grown significantly in the past decade. According to Professor Leech, this is partly because Australia has long relied on internationally trained doctors to meet workforce demands. However, international students are funded separately and do not compete with domestic applicants for places.
“We need more homegrown doctors,” Professor Leech emphasized.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners president Dr Michael Wright agreed, stating, “For too long, we haven’t trained enough GPs locally. While overseas-trained doctors have contributed significantly, we need to increase domestic training.”
The federal government recently announced that starting in 2026, an additional 100 domestic medical school places will be added across 22 universities each year, increasing to 150 places by 2028.
Worsening rural GP shortages
The shortage of GPs is especially severe in regional areas. Although universities offer lower ATAR entry requirements for rural applicants, many still end up working in metropolitan hospitals after graduation.
Pasindu Bandara called the rural quotas system flawed: “Often rural students still choose city hospitals for their internships and never return to service rural communities.”
Deakin University is one of the few institutions offering complete rural medical training, with 30 dedicated places annually at its Warrnambool and Ararat campuses, which are consistently filled.
Dr Louise Manning, president of the Rural Doctors Association of Victoria, believes expanding these rural training programs would better address workforce shortages. “We need more rural GPs, not more metropolitan students,” she said.
Dr Manning also stressed that attracting doctors to rural areas involves more than education — affordable housing, childcare availability, and support for doctors’ families are also crucial factors.
Meanwhile, the University of Melbourne declined to disclose how many qualified applicants are turned away from medical school each year.
