Regional & Rural General Practitioners
FNQ Health and Innovation Precinct
The Far North Queensland region encompasses some of the most remote communities in the state. Cairns Hospital is the only major referral hospital in FNQ, providing care to patients from Cape York, the Gulf of Carpentaria and the Torres Strait. With a population experiencing increasingly complex, chronic conditions above national averages, expanded health services, clinical research, and education are critical to meet the ongoing health needs of FNQ’s growing population while also supporting the current and expanding visitor population of close to three million people per year.
Our region’s Hospital and Health Services (Cairns and Hinterland, Torres and Cape, North West), supported by the Northern Queensland Primary Healthcare Network, James Cook University (JCU), CQUniversity, TAFE Queensland and other tertiary institutions, work together to ensure that Cairns grows its own medical, nursing and allied health workforce to expand clinical services and translate research into practice to improve health outcomes for FNQ communities.
Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service in partnership with JCU have made a significant investment in developing the Far North Queensland Health and Innovation Precinct (FNQHIP). The Precinct, centrally located in Cairns, will be the epicentre of health, education and training facilities enabling clinical and translational research, health service innovation and application of best evidence in health care, supporting Cairns Hospital’s transition to tertiary hospital status within the next five years.
In the October 2022-23 Federal Budget, JCU Medicine in Cairns was awarded 20 Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs), meaning end-to-end medical training is now delivered in Cairns – an outcome that builds on almost 40 years of commitment by JCU to the region. However, with no additional CSPs being allocated since, the significant and growing unmet demand for medical labour in Far North Queensland is being exacerbated. It is critical that the Australian Government considers both JCU and the Queensland Government’s submissions for additional CSPs. JCU, supported by Queensland Health, is seeking an additional 80 places delivered over three years (2026-2028).
In the five years to 2029, projected employment in the Australian Health Care and Social Assistance industry is forecast to increase by around 283,000[i]. This trend is expected to continue in the coming decades with a care and support workforce twice the size of 2020-21 required to meet demand in 2049-50[ii]. New modelling shows Queensland will have a workforce shortage of between 3,162 and 4,703 medical practitioners by 2033[iii].
Ensuring demand is met will require a multifaceted approach and how our nation’s education and training sector responds to these skills needs is crucial. Regional Australia continues to face acute shortages, particularly in high-skilled roles (both in the health sector and beyond)[iv]. To address this shortage, the importance of regional universities cannot be overstated with more than 65% of employed regional university graduates remaining in regional areas on completion of their studies[v].
In 2025, JCU celebrates 25 years of the Medicine program and remains Australia’s most successful university in producing doctors and other health professionals who go on to provide healthcare for regional, rural and remote communities. JCU is Australia’s leading university in the enrolment of students from regional, rural and remote backgrounds, with those students comprising an average 71 per cent or more of the medicine intake each year[vi]. Those students are more likely to work in the same or similar community after graduation. A 2019 study on the first 10 cohorts of JCU medicine program found one-third of mid-career graduates were working in regional communities and 44 per cent of mid-career graduates had chosen General Practice and/or Rural Generalism[vii]. As of 2024, JCU remains the largest contributor of trainees and fellows in the Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway[viii].
The medicine program is delivered at the University’s campus in Cairns and Townsville from years 1 to 6. The spread of students across the north and with placement opportunities throughout regional, rural and remote Queensland including JCU’s clinical school in Mackay and study centres in Mount Isa, Emerald and Thursday Island, ensures graduates are trained in the communities where doctor shortages are deeply felt, and with the broad skill base enabling them to be successful in low resource environments.
In addition to undergraduate medicine, between 2016 – 2024, JCU was unique among Australian universities in delivering post graduate Fellowship training in General Practice, accredited by and working with the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Federal Government. Whilst JCU no longer directly delivers Fellowship Training, the commitment to building the GP and Rural Generalist workforce of tomorrow continues.
JCU’s professional programs in medicine, nursing, midwifery, allied health, pharmacy, and dentistry are important components in the JCU Model of integrated local community-based primary care training across regional Queensland. The Model is embedded through close relationships with distributed primary health services, including those that are privately run, Aboriginal Controlled Community Health Organisations and Queensland Health. Government investment in JCU and this model will expand the number of doctors and other professionals pursuing primary care careers in some of the most underserved communities in the country, and specifically, meeting North Queensland’s primary care health workforce shortages. JCU’s success in delivering doctors working in primary care in areas of need is unmatched by other institutions.
Provision of additional CSPs will support the JCU Model to address the skills shortage in the region, increase equity and reduce disadvantage. It will also leverage the significant investment by Queensland Health and JCU in FNQHIP.
Benefits to the region
• Begin to address the unmet need for General Practitioners and Rural Generalists.
• Deliver high-quality local health care for regional Queensland.
• Improve equal access to education.
• Begin to address skills deficits across the nation.
Recommendation
To support the training and recruitment of Cairns-based clinicians, James Cook University receives 100 CSPs for its Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) phased over five years, from 2026-2030.
Status
The Australian Government received a submission from the Queensland Government in June 2024 seeking the allocation of additional CSPs to Queensland universities. JCU can accept up to a total of 100 Queensland commencing places phased over five years: 40 in 2026, 20 in 2027, 20 in 2028, 10 in 2029 and 10 in 2030, resulting in a total of 255 CSPs graduating per year. The CSPs will be distributed across the major JCU clinical school sites in Cairns and Townsville according to workforce need capacity. This will result in a starting domestic cohort of 120 students in Cairns and 180 in Townsville by 2030.
Not only will this support Queensland’s workforce requirements, but importantly bolster the regional workforce and improve health outcomes.
[i] Australian Government, Jobs and Skills Australia, Employment Projections, https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/data/employment-projections
[ii] Australian Government, Treasury, Intergenerational Report 2023, https://treasury.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-08/p2023-435150.pdf
[iii] Queensland Health, Submission: Additional Commonwealth Support Places for medical students June 2024
[iv] Australian Government, Jobs and Skills Australia, Towards a National Jobs and Skills Roadmap: Annual Jobs and Skills Report 2023, https://www.jobsandskills.gov.au/publications/towards-national-jobs-and-skills-roadmap
[v] Richardson, S. (2011). Higher education & community benefits: the role of regional provision. Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). https://research.acer.edu.au/joining_the_dots/26
[vi] JCU Student Management System, Reporting@JCU: First-year JCU medicine commencing domestic students
[vii] Woolley T, Sen Gupta T, Paton K. Mid-career graduate practice outcomes of the James Cook University medical school: key insights from the first 20 years. Rural and Remote Health 2021; 21: 6642. https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH6642
[viii] Queensland Rural Generalist Pathway 2024 Snapshot: www.careers.health.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/336118/QRGP_2024-Snapshot_Mar24.pdf
Last updated: May 2025
Advocacy
Images:
1-3. Courtest of James Cook Univeristy