RACGP visit highlights GP workforce challenges in Mount Gambier
08 Sep 2026
Mount Gambier, SA’s second-largest city, has grown in popularity in recent years, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the increase in population has also placed greater pressure on local general practices.
RACGP South Australia Chair Dr Siân Goodson said the region had previously faced such a serious GP shortage that all local practices had closed their books to new patients.
During the three-day visit, Dr Goodson and RACGP SA Rural Representative Dr Dianne Carr met with general practices, healthcare services, local leaders and medical students across Mount Gambier and Millicent.
They visited services including Pangula Mannamurna Aboriginal Corporation, The Medical Clinic Millicent, Hawkins Medical Clinic, Limestone Coast Health Hub, Ferrers Medical Clinic and Village Medical Centre.
Dr Goodson said there had been some improvement, with several practices now accepting new patients again.
However, attracting enough GPs remains a challenge. The region continues to rely heavily on international medical graduates (IMGs), many of whom have chosen to build long-term lives and communities in Mount Gambier.
The RACGP also met early-career GPs who had returned to their hometown to work in the local community.
Dr Goodson said the region still needed more doctors, with South Australia also having fewer Fellowship Support Program doctors per person than the eastern states.
There are, however, encouraging signs for the next generation of rural doctors.
During a visit to the Flinders University Rural Medical School, the RACGP representatives met 30 second-year medical students from the first cohort of the new medical school.
Dr Goodson said the students were performing strongly and that spending more time in rural areas can increase the likelihood of medical students choosing to work in rural or regional communities.
To help attract more doctors, RACGP SA is advocating for a $40,000 incentive grant for each IMG who moves to Mount Gambier, along with a $10,000 incentive for supervisors.
Dr Goodson said these incentives could help attract more doctors to Mount Gambier, Millicent and the wider Limestone Coast.
While the immediate workforce crisis has eased, she warned that the region still needs more GPs as its population continues to grow.
She also said the South Australian Government had shown interest in reinvesting GP payroll tax revenue into the state’s general practice sector, with workforce incentives being one possible way to provide support.
RACGP visit highlights GP workforce challenges in Mount Gambier
Source: RACGP newsGP