Working Hours for UK GPs Moving to Australia

One of the biggest practical differences UK-trained GPs notice when relocating to Australia is how the working week is structured. Rather than being tied to a centrally defined contract or fixed NHS session model you’ll most likely work as independent contractors within a practice. This means your hours are shaped around personal preference, patient demand and earning goals. Your working pattern feels more flexible and sustainable over the long term.

For many UK GPs the change isn’t necessarily about working fewer hours – it’s about having greater control over how your hours are used. The ability to influence appointment length, patient numbers and clinical focus allows you to shape a working week that fits both lifestyle and professional ambitions.

📘 The UK GP’s Guide to Relocating to Australia — Full Series

This article is part of our complete guide for UK-trained GPs considering a move to Australia. Each section covers a different stage of the process:

• The Full Guide
• Getting Registered with AHPRA 
• How Much do GPs Earn in Australia?
• Working Hours for UK GPs in Australia - This Article
• Choosing a Location in Australia?
• Guide to the 482 Australian Visa

If you’re early in your research, we recommend starting with the full guide and then working through each section step by step.

Typical Working Hours in Australia

A typical full-time GP in Australia will work four to five days per week with clinics usually running between around 8:30am and 5:30pm. Evening and weekend work exists but it’s far less routine than in UK practices and often optional or shared across more doctors. Because clinics run on booked appointments rather than open-ended demand the day is usually more predictable with clearer start and finish times and less spillover into unpaid admin time.

You might choose to work four days per week once established to balance income with lifestyle. And you might choose to increase sessions during your first year to build your patient base then gradually reduce hours as demand stabilises. The key difference compared to the NHS is that the structure allows you flexibility rather than restricting it.

Building Your Patient List and Shaping Your Working Day

An important factor in understanding GP working hours in Australia is how your patient lists develop and how billing models influence the pace of work. Practices may operate as bulk billing (Medicare-funded), private billing or a mixed model and this will directly affect how you structure your day.

In bulk billing environments appointments are often shorter and more frequent with higher patient numbers across the day. In private or mixed billing practices you may choose longer consultations with fewer patients charging a private fee alongside the Medicare rebate. Over time, as you build your own patient base you can adjust this balance - seeing patients more frequently for shorter appointments or less frequently with longer consultations depending on your clinical style.

Flexibility is central to understanding Australian general practice. The working day isn’t fixed - it evolves as patient demand grows and as you decide how you want to practise.

Appointment Structure and Consultation Pace

In Australia appointment length is usually determined at practice level and influenced by you, as the GP, rather than being centrally defined. Many clinics default to around 10–15 minute appointments but longer consultations are common for complex or ongoing care. This creates a more controlled pace where you are less likely to feel permanently behind or carrying work into the evening.

If you’re used to consistently high patient volumes and compressed consultations in the UK, this shift significantly changes how demanding the day feels. You’ll find that having the ability to slow down when clinically appropriate (without immediately impacting income) is a major improvement in day-to-day job satisfaction.

Administration and Non-Clinical Work

Admin still forms part of the role but the overall burden on you is lower than in UK general practice. There’s generally less contractual reporting, fewer centrally driven targets and reduced admin work linked to national frameworks. Practices also have strong reception and nursing support allowing you to spend a greater proportion of your time consulting rather than managing paperwork.

As a result your working day more closely reflects clinical time rather than administrative catch-up and you’ll tend to find that you’re able to finish closer to your scheduled end time!

Control Over Career Direction and Workload

Another difference that becomes more noticeable over time is how your working week evolves. As patient demand increases you can choose whether to increase availability, maintain your current workload or develop special interests that change the type of patients you see. You might move towards skin work, procedural clinics or chronic disease management allowing you to shape both income and job satisfaction without needing to change your employer or role.

The ability to gradually design a career around your personal strengths is one of the biggest long-term attractions for UK-trained GPs. Rather than feeling locked into a single way of working, you can adjust pace and focus as your career progresses.

A Typical Working Day: What It Actually Looks Like

While every practice is different the example below reflects a common working day for a GP in a mixed billing clinic (part Medicare and part private funding) – this is the model a lot of UK GPs start out in when first moving to Australia.

The day often starts around 8:15am allowing time to review results, check the appointment list and prepare before the first patients arrive. Clinics usually begin at 8:30am with a morning block of standard consultations running until mid-morning. Appointment lengths are commonly around 10–15 minutes on average although longer appointments are regularly scheduled for complex cases.

A short mid-morning break provides time to complete prescriptions, referrals and results followed by another consulting block leading into lunch. Many GPs use part of their lunch break to clear smaller administrative tasks meaning less work accumulates later in the day.

The afternoon session typically mirrors the morning but may include a broader mix of appointment types depending on the billing structure and patient demographics. In mixed or private billing settings this often allows for longer consultations or more specialised work alongside routine reviews. The final part of the day is spent finishing consultations and closing outstanding tasks with many doctors finishing close to their scheduled end time around 5:30pm.

Some days will still run late - medicine remains unpredictable - but the overall structure tends to feel more controlled and contained compared to the open-ended demand many GPs experience in the NHS.

In Summary

Ultimately the biggest change for UK GPs moving to Australia isn’t as simple as earnings or climate – it’s actually control. Control over appointment length, patient numbers, working hours and income allows doctors to shape a working day that fits their personal and professional priorities. For many that shift alone is what makes Australian general practice feel sustainable again.

Reach out to BDI Resourcing for help and support with your move to Australia and to here more about your options. Aus@BDIResourcing.com