The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) has thrown its support behind the Albanese Government's commitment to train more doctors in Launceston.
If re-elected, the Government's plan will deliver end-to-end medical training at the University of Tasmania (UTAS), enabling medical students to complete their entire medical degree in Launceston. From 2026, the university will offer 20 new places for medical students each year for the next five years.
RACGP Tasmania Chair, Dr Toby Gardner, described the commitment as a positive step forward.
"This is a great news for general practice care in North East Tasmania," he said.
"I work for the university, and we've been pushing for this investment for many years. We've only just started training year three medical students this year in Launceston, so students had to complete their first few years in Hobart. That's now set to change, and this commitment will mean an extra 100 medical students across all year levels will train in Launceston."
Dr Gardner said it was vital to secure the future of general practice care so that no patients miss out.
"As a GP I can tell you that it's an incredibly rewarding and satisfying profession," he said.
"The Government has announced that the new medical places will have an emphasis on primary care to encourage more medical graduates to become GPs, which is just what we need.
"I'm proud to report that according to the College's 2025 intake data, UTAS is fourth in the nation for producing GPs, and the first in the nation for producing rural GPs. There are GPs like me who work at UTAS, and I hope that we can inspire even more medical students to choose the general practice career path so that we can address workforce challenges and ensure all patients can access care from a GP who knows them, and their history.
"There is strong data to show that if you train from where you're from, you're more likely to stay there. So, it's a great thing to have more doctors start their medical training in North East Tasmania. More medical students studying and graduating in Launceston means more doctors living and working in Launceston, so the entire community will benefit.
"The next step now is locking these training numbers in for the future for many years to come. Let's not take a backwards step, the aim now is to build on this momentum."
