Almost 10% of Australia’s GPs are aged over 70, new figures have revealed, with concerns that a proposal to introduce health checks for older doctors may worsen workforce shortages.
According to data from the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), 8.8% of all GPs in Australia – 3,142 of 35,514 practitioners – are over 70, as of 30 June.
That proportion is higher for GPs than for all doctors, of which 5.9% of practitioners are older than 70.
In light of the figures, the peak body for GPs has expressed concerns about a proposal by the national regulator to introduce health checks for doctors aged 70 and older.
In August, Ahpra and the Medical Board of Australia opened consultation on a proposal to introduce general health checks with a GP, “to support early detection of concerns with the opportunity for management before the public is at risk”.
According to Ahpra complaints data, doctors over 70 are 81% more likely to be the subject of a notification for any reason than those under 70. Notification rates have almost doubled from 2015, from 36.2 notifications per 1,000 practitioners aged 70 and older, to 69.5 complaints per 1,000 in 2023.
In a submission to the public consultation on the proposal, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners described health checks as “another regulatory burden unnecessarily imposed on the general practice profession without evidence to support effectiveness”.
Dr Michael Wright, the president of the RACGP, told Guardian Australia there was a need to ensure that “any system change doesn’t worsen the already massive workforce challenges we have”.
“We know that the average age of GPs is increasing. We also know, as this data shows, that the average GP is older than other medical specialists,” he said.
“What we don’t have yet is the evidence of mandatory health checks on reducing notifications.
“We’re very concerned [that] changes being introduced may just increase administrative burden, particularly for GPs, and worsen the workforce shortages.”
A 2024 analysis of Australian GPs found that almost a third (32%) intended to stop practising within the next five years. Of those, 60% said that regulatory and compliance burden was a key factor in their decision.
In an opinion piece published in an industry magazine in early December, the then chair of the Medical Board of Australia, Dr Anne Tonkin, said the public consultation on the proposal for health checks had received nearly 200 submissions.
“One thing is definitely not on the table: a mandatory retirement age,” Tonkin wrote. “We value the experience of late-career doctors and want individuals to stay healthy and safely in the workforce until they choose their next chapters.”
An Ahpra spokesperson told Guardian Australia the agency intended to publish the submissions in the first quarter of 2025, after board consideration.
Ahpra provided the breakdown of GP figures in response to a question by Senator Anne Ruston at an estimates hearing in November, which was taken on notice at the time.
According to data from the federal health department, as of 30 June a significantly higher figure – 16% – of GPs were aged 65 and older.
There is a discrepancy between health department and Ahpra data, with figures from the department indicating that there were 40,357 GPs in total across Australia.
