GPs which stands for General Practitioners, are highly valued doctors in Australia who work in communities and have all different kinds of patients. In other countries, they might be called the family doctor. What they earn varies depending on experience, how many hours they work, the type of patients they see, how they bill, their location and their practice type amongst other things. There are a number of desirable GP jobs in Australia in both metropolitan and rural areas.
Hourly GP rates
The average hourly rate for a GP ranges between $90 AUD to more than $200 AUD. But there are other factors that add to their income from things like bulk and private billing and such. When a GP is training or less experienced they will be at the lower end and then as they become more experienced and practice independently the income grows. GPs who run their own private practice will earn more and those who see more patients per hour will too.
What can you expect to earn and how to improve it
The base hourly rates as mentioned are only a part of their earnings. Most of the income comes from Medicare billings. It will change if they work in a mixed billing proactive or a bulk billing practice. If it is busy the income will be better but the quality of patient care also needs to be high. They can expect on average to be earning between $200,000 to $350,000 a year but that could be more. They get annual leave each year and they can control the hours they choose to work. The ways they can boost income are below;
- Head to a rural setting – There is a lot of competition for city GP positions and that means they are paid a little less than if you look for rural desirable GP jobs in Australia.
- Become a locum – This means being more flexible with where you work, you go where needed though again a rural locum earns more.
- Take an Advanced Life Support Course – This extra qualification only takes a few days and for some GPs, it adds between $1800 to $2000 AUD to their daily earnings.
Understanding bulk and private billing
If a service is being bulk billed meaning covered by Medicare then it has to have a certain number attached to it, and that comes with a set fee. So if they work in a practice that operates on bulk billing, or partially with bulk billing then some of the fees are set. If they work privately, or partially privately, then they can set their own fees. The amount set will be covered and then the rest of the extra private charge is paid by the patient. If there is something that is not covered by Medicare so it does not have a number and a price, then the patient is to pay the full amount themselves. GPs do not have a salary, they get a percentage of what they bill, usually around ⅔. Taking on extra hours, weekend work and such is when they can also charge a higher amount.
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