Relocating to Australia as a GP - Webinar in Collaboration with Emedica

Considering a move from UK general practice to Australia? In this full-length webinar from emedica and BDI Resourcing, Dr Mahibur Rahman and Hunter Diack walk you through everything UK GPs need to know about the new Expedited Specialist Pathway (ESP) — from eligibility and timeframes to realistic earning potential and the practical realities of relocating.

What's covered

• How general practice in the UK compares with Australia — workload, consultation length, autonomy, admin burden
• Why so many UK GPs are now actively looking to relocate (and what the latest workforce numbers actually say)
• The Expedited Specialist Pathway (ESP) — the streamlined route introduced by AHPRA in late 2024 that bypasses RACGP assessment for UK and Irish GPs
• Full eligibility criteria: MRCGP / CCT, Certificate of Good Standing, recency of practice requirements
• A realistic end-to-end timeframe: AHPRA registration in 4–8 weeks; full relocation in 4–6 months
• The five-step process from EPIC verification through AMC, job offer and supervision plan, AHPRA application, to visa and Medicare provider number
• Where you can work — Distribution Priority Areas (DPA), explained with a live demo of the BDI GP Relocation Atlas
• A frank look at the costs of relocating (and what's typically covered by the employer)
• How much can a UK GP realistically earn? Year One AUD $250–400k (£132–212k); Year Two AUD $350–500k+ (£185–265k)
• Fee-for-service billing — mixed billing, bulk billing and private models compared
• Live demo of the Australia GP Pay Estimator
• How BDI supports candidates end-to-end — role search, contract negotiation, 482 visa guidance and pastoral care. The fee is paid by the employer, never the candidate.
• Frequently asked questions and a live Q&A

Resources mentioned in the session

• BDI GP Relocation Atlas: https://bdi-dpa-map.netlify.app
• Australia GP Pay Estimator: https://australia-gp-salary-calculator.netlify.app

About BDI Resourcing

BDI Resourcing supports international medical graduates relocating to Australia, the UK and beyond. Reach. Recruit. Relocate.

About Emedica

Emedica delivers career and exam education for GPs, with over 87,000 delegates taught since 2005.

Chapters

• 00:00 — Welcome & speaker introductions
• 01:00 — What we'll cover today
• 03:00 — General practice: UK vs Australia compared
• 09:30 — Why Australia? Lifestyle, flexibility & earning potential
• 15:30 — The numbers behind the GP shortage
• 17:30 — The Expedited Specialist Pathway (ESP) explained
• 19:00 — ESP eligibility & realistic timeframes
• 22:00 — ESP step-by-step: from EPIC verification to Medicare
• 24:00 — Where can I work? DPA catchments & live map demo
• 30:30 — The real costs of relocating
• 34:30 — GP earning potential in Australia
• 38:30 — Fee-for-service billing models
• 42:30 — Live demo: the GP Pay Estimator
• 48:00 — How BDI supports your move
• 51:30 — Frequently asked questions
• 56:30 — Live Q&A
• 66:00 — Summary & next steps

Transcript

Welcome everyone to the emedica and BDI Resourcing GP careers in Australia webinar. For those that haven't met me before, a brief introduction. My name is Mahibur Rahman. I'm a portfolio GP based here in Birmingham and Solihull and a consultant in medical education. My main role now is medical director of Emedica. As someone mentioned in the comments, we specialise in helping people get into GP training, get through GP training and then with GP careers afterwards. I've written about GP careers — I wrote the book GP Jobs: A Guide to Career Options in General Practice. Our team at Emedica is now in our 21st year, and in that time we've taught over 87,000 delegates. Joining me today to act as faculty from the BDI Resourcing team, we have Hunter, Daniel and Ryan.

Hello. Good evening everyone. Nice to see you all.

So let's go through what we'll cover today. We've got about seven areas we're going to cover, and we've got about an hour. The talk content will take about 40 to 45 minutes, and then we've got the rest of the time to answer questions and deal with queries. I'm going to start with just a comparison of the healthcare systems and consultations in the UK compared to Australia, and then we'll look a little bit about why you might be considering Australia. The bulk of the rest of the specialised information Hunter will be covering. He'll talk about the new Expedited Specialist Pathway, which makes it much easier for GPs who've trained in the UK or Ireland and have got MRCGP UK — or MICGP from Ireland — with Certificate of Completion of Training or equivalent in Ireland, to very easily and much more quickly end up in a GP role in Australia without having to do any further exams at all.

We'll look at the eligibility, the timeframes, where can you work — that's a common question — what are the costs to actually relocate, and then a bit of an understanding (I'll touch on it, but Hunter will go into a lot more detail) about the fee-for-service model and the potential earnings you could make in Australia depending on how many hours you want to work. Then we've got a Q&A, and before we go into the Q&A we'll cover some of the frequently asked questions that people have already emailed in before the start of this session. Hopefully it covers some of the common things — if lots of people have asked the same thing, others might be thinking about it. After the Q&A there'll be a summary, and we'll also talk to you about: if you actually want to move to Australia, what are the next steps?

Healthcare systems compared

If we start with looking at the healthcare systems in the UK and Australia and compare them, there's a lot of similarities. Both have universal healthcare systems. In the UK it's funded via tax and accessed directly — for most things people don't pay anything. In some parts of the UK people will pay a prescription charge, but you don't pay for your visits, you don't pay if you end up in A&E, you don't pay if you need to go to hospital, even if it's something elective. The NHS covers that — GP care and hospital care. There are slight variations between the four home nations. For example, in England people pay a prescription charge; in Wales and Scotland, prescriptions are covered within the NHS. There are some variations as to what will be funded and what won't.

In Australia, it's again funded via tax. What happens is that it's subsidised care that people access via a public health insurance system called Medicare. There's slight variation between the eight states and territories that make up Australia. If someone goes to see a GP, in some cases they'll pay a small contribution — it's heavily subsidised and the rest is covered through the Medicare system. If someone needs emergency care, they'll be taken care of. But there are some things that are covered in some territories or states that aren't covered in others. For those of you joining us from Ireland, you'll be familiar — some similarities with the Australian system in that if someone goes to see a GP in Ireland, they'll typically pay a co-payment. A lot of things are covered under the national system which is funded via taxation, but there are some things where they might need to pay a contribution.

Consultations

In the UK, it's quite common — and probably I'd say still the norm unfortunately — to have 10-minute consultations in a lot of practices. There are some practices that will have 10-minute appointments but with one blocked off every hour, so essentially 12 minutes. And there are some more progressive practices that are now having 15-minute appointments, which I feel realistically is the minimum to try to do your job well. Whenever I work in a practice that's on 10-minute appointments, I just find it stressful to try to do everything properly and document and keep the time. If we look at some studies that have been published looking at average consultation length, the UK has the shortest average consultation length in the whole of Europe — averages between 9 and 11 minutes depending on which study you look at. In a lot of practices, I'd say most practices still do offer some home visits, and it's quite common that you might have to do visits either most days or if you're on call.

In Australia, 15 minutes is a lot more common, and you have more flexibility because you're essentially an independent contractor. There are some practices that choose to have shorter appointments so they can fit more in, but it's a lot more common to have 15 minutes, and you can book 20- or 30-minute appointment slots if you know you're going to do a joint injection or an excision biopsy. A recent study from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (the RACGP) found that the average consultation length in Australia is currently about 18.7 minutes — significantly longer than the UK. Home visits are almost unheard of. You might have some GPs that, for one of their long-term patients who's terminal, palliative care and homebound, might choose to visit as part of offering holistic care — but it's their choice. It's not the norm. Really, really rare in Australia.

Employment model

In Australia, the way it works is that most people are independent contractors. In the UK you could be salaried, in which case you get paid a certain amount per session per year, you have your hours of work, you know what you're going to get paid each month. If you're a partner, then how much you make depends on the profit of the practice, and there's a significant additional management side of admin and paperwork. In Australia, the norm is that you're an independent contractor. When you work in a practice, there'll be other doctors there — you're all independent contractors. However many patients you see, you'll get a payment for each one. There's different ways the costs are worked out, which will be covered in detail later, but essentially if you see more patients, you do more, you're going to make more. Then the practice takes a cut to cover the overhead, the management, the running of the building, the hiring of the other staff like the practice manager, reception team, nursing team and so on.

In the UK, if you have a busier clinic, if you're salaried and you see extras on a given day, you don't make any more money. Your funding is by capitation — how many patients are on your list — and then by additional things that you do, and sometimes depending on the nature of your contract you might get additional payments for things you've negotiated or opening extra and so on.

Now, if you qualify for the Expedited Specialist Pathway, one of the great things is not only is it much quicker, but you don't need any exams at all. You don't need to sit AMC. You don't need to sit the equivalent of the MRCGP, the FRACGP. You don't need to sit any exams if you've done your GP training and got MRCGP and CCT in the UK, or MICGP and your Certificate of Completion of Training in Ireland. Let's go into that in a bit more detail. For that, I'm going to hand you over to Hunter Diack from BDI Resourcing. BDI specialise in helping doctors find roles whether that's in the UK or internationally. Hunter specifically works with GPs thinking about going to Australia. He's an international recruiter, very familiar and has a lot of expertise in the Australian registration pathways. He's personally supported hundreds of doctors to find a job, manage all the paperwork, relocate and start and stay in their job in Australia. The BDI Resourcing team have placed over 2,000 doctors across multiple countries. Hunter's got a deep working knowledge of the Australian GP landscape and system, and he's your dedicated first point of contact. If after all of this you think this is what I want to do, you contact Hunter — he'll be able to help you navigate the rest of this.

Why Australia?

Hello everyone, and thank you Mahib for the introduction. That's very kind. So let's dive straight in. First of all, it's worth acknowledging — I imagine some people on this call have probably thought about this quite deeply, maybe you've already established that Australia is going to be the destination for you. Others might be at a very early, exploratory stage and curious about this. So I'm going to try and cover this fairly broad scope. I've tried to approach this in three different sections: lifestyle, flexibility, and earning potential.

Lifestyle first. It won't be any surprise to you, and I'm sure this resonates with many doctors working here in the UK — year-round sunshine in Australia, very different to what we experience in the UK. Particularly if you're an IMG who's relocated from a country with a very different climate, this might be quite important to you. Beaches, national parks, the Great Barrier Reef, open space, lots to do in the outdoors, quite unique wildlife as well. For young families especially it's a wonderful place to be based. A culture that prioritises personal time — this is really, really important and I think this is a clear distinction from perhaps life in the NHS where you can probably think about your own situation: do you feel like work-life balance is prioritised? In Australia, they are quite relaxed as people, quite laid-back. And finally, if you're relocating with a family: outstanding schooling system, safe environment. So if it's a lifestyle change you're looking for, it does tick a lot of the boxes.

Flexibility — full autonomy. You have a lot more control over the way that you work. For example, if you want to see fewer patients and do longer appointments so you can spend more time with your patients, you have the control to do that. Equally, if you're someone who really wants to maximise your income and you're happy doing 10-minute appointments — maybe you want to see six patients an hour — you do have the control to work that way if you wish. The key is that you do have control over the way that you work. Flexible working hours — if you want to start early and finish early, or you prefer to start a little later and finish later, many practices across Australia will be open to this flexibility. Weekend work and out-of-hours are available but not mandatory. You can opt in and opt out of pretty much any additional work alongside your basic hours. Reduced bureaucracy and less admin: a lot of GPs who make the move do report that in Australia, compared with their experience here in the UK, there are less admin tasks.

Earning potential. I've put some figures in here. Year one: AUD $250,000 to $400,000. I've tried to be conservative — the upper figure is more indicative of a full-time GP. Year two, once you're fully established, you're looking at AUD $350,000 to $500,000, or perhaps even higher. Again, I am being relatively conservative. The figures on the right-hand side show what that would equate to in UK pounds. If you're comparing with an NHS salary, you can see it is significantly higher. And again, if you're working full-time you are looking at those upper figures. A fee-for-service model and billing freedom. Mahib touched on this earlier — this is not a salaried role. 99% of GPs working in Australia do not work on salaries. They work as independent contractors, self-employed. It gives you the freedom to build and earn in the way that you feel is best suited to your practice.

Why is this a good opportunity for you now? At the moment there is a shortage of GPs across Australia. There has been for years, and we do expect that that will be the case, but perhaps not forever — so now is a good time to be considering the move. Shared professional standards: Australia in general looks at the NHS as well as Ireland as comparable healthcare systems, and so they share many of the professional standards. It's a good switch to make, and you can still settle in pretty quickly. The Australian federal government has decided that they want to simplify the process, try to make it a little bit easier for UK-trained and Irish-trained GPs to make the move to Australia.

The numbers

What do the stats actually say? I think this is a good opportunity to reflect on your own practice and how many patients you see. According to the data, UK GPs see around 31 patients per day. The BMA's safe working limit is set at 25 contacts. The key here is that in Australia, you set the number of patients you want to see per day, per hour, and the length of the appointment time. You have a lot more control over that. There are less targets coming from the practice you're working in, and it gives you full autonomy in the way that you want to work. It would be worth perhaps self-reflecting and thinking about your own practice and how that would compare.

On satisfaction — and particularly I want to draw your attention to this — the RACGP Health of the Nation 2024 report found that 73% of Australian GPs are satisfied with their job. That's pretty high. If you contrast that with the UK, it's around 39%. If you're looking at an international average across the board, it's about 51%. So: 39% UK, 51% international, 73% Australia.

And finally — beautiful picture here, I think that's the Sunshine Coast in Queensland — while the UK averages approximately 1,300–1,400 hours of sunshine annually, Australia as a whole leads with an average of 2,800 hours per year. Twice the sunshine, twice the vitamin D. I know we talk about weather in the UK in a very trivial sense, but it does make a big difference in terms of mood and general lifestyle.

The Expedited Specialist Pathway

Australia is trying to make it easier for UK-trained and Irish-trained GPs. It's worth mentioning that prior to October 2024, any GP relocating would have to go through quite a lengthy pathway in terms of college assessment, getting comparability assessed by the Royal College in Australia. That process was taking about 9 to 12 months and costing about AUD $12,000 just to do the assessment. That's now out of the window. As long as you have trained here in the UK or in Ireland, you're eligible for this route.

The Expedited Specialist Pathway is a streamlined route introduced in late 2024. Unlike previous routes, it bypasses the lengthy assessment. This allows GPs to apply directly to the medical board for specialist registration. This grants you the same professional status and billing rights as an Australian-trained fellow from day one. Really important distinction here — it means that you can bill Medicare from day one. To be successful in this process, you must secure an appointment in a location that holds Distribution Priority Area status. So essentially, you can't go and work anywhere you like — there are certain locations where you can work, and I'm going to come on to that later. But there are many, many outer-metro locations all over Australia that would be suitable.

Eligibility and timeframes

Primary medical qualification: if you studied here in the UK for your primary medical degree, you will be eligible. If you have completed your GMC registration, you would have therefore gone to an accredited university — again, you will be eligible.

Specialist qualifications: MRCGP UK (not MRCGP International — important distinction) and Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT). Ireland: MICGP and Certificate of Satisfactory Completion of Specialist Training. As long as you meet those criteria, you are eligible for the expedited route. Worth mentioning: if you've done some kind of combined programme where perhaps you've only done a couple of years' training in the UK and you've done some overseas, unfortunately you wouldn't be eligible for this route. You still have other pathways to explore, but we're not going to talk about them today.

Fitness to practise: goes without saying — you will need a clean Certificate of Good Standing from the GMC or the IMC.

Recency of practice: to meet this standard, you must practise for a minimum of 4 weeks in one year, or 12 weeks over three consecutive years. I get asked this question quite a lot. The Australian Medical Board standard bar is pretty low — only 4 weeks of full-time work in the last 12 months. Most GPs are going to be eligible even if you've had a career gap.

Timeframe: AHPRA registration processing is currently about 4 to 8 weeks. Realistic timeframe for relocation inclusive of visa processing — from the point of interview all the way to actually relocating — you are looking at 4 to 6 months. That's if you've got all your documentation ready. Realistically I would say 6 months. Most clinics we work with will be happy to interview anyone ready to relocate in the next 12 months — they're quite proactive and start this process early. If you are unsure about your eligibility, please do just get in touch. We will do a quick assessment of your situation. Send your CV, drop us an email, let us know your situation. If you're not eligible for this route, we'll give you the options available to you.

The pathway step-by-step

1. EPIC verification. You need to upload your medical degree, MRCGP and CCT certificate. You need to have all three verified by EPIC for primary source verification.
2. AMC portfolio. Establish an AMC portfolio with the Australian Medical Council to link your verified credentials.
3. Securing a job offer and supervision. Secure a GP role in Australia. The clinic must provide a supervised practice plan. Any clinic you go to must have a supervisor in place who can provide supervision for a six-month period. They must be a fellow with the Australian College. Is that very hands-on supervision? Absolutely not — it's not hand-holding. They already know you've trained as a GP, you're fully qualified. It's very much monthly case review, making sure they're available on the phone in case you need support. Very much remote supervision.
4. AHPRA application. After you have secured an offer, got a contract you're happy with and accepted, you submit your AHPRA application for a grant of specialist registration directly to the medical board.
5. Visa and Medicare. Once approved, we move on to visa processing, Medicare provider number issuing, and then you are pretty much ready to start work in Australia.

If this is the first time you're looking at this, you might be a little unsure. It is now well-trodden. Get in touch with us — we'll guide you through it accordingly.

Where can I actually live and work?

Some of you may have a really good knowledge of the geography of Australia; others may not have a clue at all. So I'm going to keep it very broad-stroke. The key is: you must work in a Distribution Priority Area (DPA). If you've started looking at opportunities, you'll have seen this term already. The Australian federal government has said certain areas of Australia have a shortage of GPs and so we are opening this up for international recruitment. There are other locations in Australia where it is not approved for DPA — non-DPA locations.

Another way they classify regions is by the Modified Monash Model (MM). It ranks from MM1 all the way up to MM7. MM1 is metropolitan — the cities, like Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth. The outer areas would be MM2. MM7 would be the outback of Australia — very rural, quite isolated. Not perhaps for everyone. One concern is: does a DPA location mean you have to go to one of these rural areas? That's not necessarily the case.

I'm going to actually open up an interactive DPA map we've put together — we will provide access to this following the meeting. This is a map of Australia. You'll notice most locations where clinics are based are on the coastal regions, and that's the case for most of Australia. These are the places that most people are interested in. Most of the map is a pinky-purple colour. If I zoom into Brisbane — up in Queensland, and you can also see the Gold Coast just on the south side — you'll notice that the metropolitan area is grey. That means non-DPA. So as an IMG going to Australia for the first time, you cannot work in this catchment area — you need to work in one of the purple zones.

The good news is there are lots of these locations where there are many DPA clinics. Ipswich is a suburb where we've had lots of interviews for GPs lately — 23 clinics there. Equally Caboolture, 18 clinics. Places like Morayfield, where we've had interviews very recently, only about 30 to 40 minutes outside of Brisbane. Very close. Places like Tweed Heads as well, very close to the Gold Coast. Why is the metro bit non-DPA? Because they get plenty of Australian applicants and the government has said we need to prioritise those applications. The places where we're struggling — that's where we'll open up to IMGs.

Another quick case study: Melbourne. Again, as you come into that metro area, it's grey — non-DPA. But where can you work? There's a suburb with 56 practices that's about 20 minutes from CBD. There are suburbs that have now qualified as DPA. Places on the periphery, like Geelong, which is only 1 hour from Melbourne. The peninsula down here where there are lots of places. So if you're someone who has friends or family in Melbourne and that's where you want to go, don't panic — you can still go there, you're probably looking at one of these surrounding areas. Equally you could live in Melbourne and commute out, or this is going to be a lot more affordable than living in the centre of the city.

The key myth to bust here: DPA does not mean you are going to be isolated in remote places in Australia. Pretty much the whole landmass of Australia is DPA for GPs. You'll have lots of smaller cities in these areas that will be very, very suitable.

The other thing to mention is just to be open-minded. I get asked often about Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney — but that's because they're the places everyone has heard of before they've actually relocated. In the same way, if you were coming to the UK for the first time, you probably asked me about London, Manchester, Birmingham. Not everyone ends up working in London. If you've got families and things like this, the more affordable places are going to be towns and smaller cities that aren't the ones you've heard of today. So keep your options open. If you've got a particular suburb in mind, you'll be able to quickly check it on the map. And if you're not sure, come and get in touch with us.

The costs of relocating

Registration costs:

• AMC portfolio: about AUD $642
• Primary source verification (three credentials: primary medical, MRCGP, CCT)
• AHPRA application: about AUD $1,500
• Specialist registration fee: around AUD $1,000

In total, around AUD $3,000 for registration. Compare that with what it was prior to 2024 — about AUD $12,000 for a comparability assessment. Much more affordable. The current exchange rate is about 53p to the Australian dollar.

Visa costs. Probably the most expensive part for most people, especially if you've got family. You'll be relocating on a Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visa — very similar to a Skilled Worker visa in the UK in the sense that your dependants can come with you, but it's a temporary visa. Main applicant and adult dependants: AUD $3,210 per applicant (about £1,700). Child dependants: about AUD $800 per applicant (about £425). For a family of four — two adults, two kids — you're looking at around AUD $8,000.

The good news: you'll probably only have to pay for one of these visas. You'll get at least a two-year contract — often appointed on a two- or even four-year visa — and you can apply for permanent residency after 2 years in Australia. Much quicker than the UK's five years for indefinite leave to remain.

Other costs to consider: flights (variable), short-term accommodation if needed when you arrive. Relocation allowance: most practices will offer this in some form. It could vary from AUD $5,000 up to AUD $20,000, depending where you're happy to go, the type of organisation, and whether it's metro or rural. Rural places typically offer more. The good news: that's going to cover most of these costs in a cash instalment once you arrive.

How much can a GP earn in Australia?

I'm going to talk about a couple of things: factors that will affect your earning potential, a typical take-home example for a full-time GP, and an overview of the typical billing models.

Factors that will affect your income:

• Billing model — mixed billing and bulk billing. Dependent on the clinic, there's a different way of operating, fee collection and so forth.
• Patient volume — fee for service, independent contractor. No salary, meaning the more patients you see, the more you'll earn.
• Working hours and out of hours — out-of-hours is optional and usually has a better service fee agreement.
• Service fee percentage — you'll have a contract where the practice takes a percentage of your billings. A typical fee agreement might be 70% to the GP and 30% to the practice. That 30% covers support staff, the room, the lights, the admin. 70/30 is pretty usual, or 65/35. You'll see a range from 60/40 up to 75/25, although those higher splits are quite unique.
• Item number optimisation — every different type of consult or procedure is charged at a different itemised cost. Standard consult fee (10–15 minutes), longer consult fee, mental health care plans, chronic disease management, procedural skills — all have different itemised costs. This is where you really get to supplement your income.
• Location — rural and regional areas may offer more attractive fee arrangements or additional incentives.

Fee-for-service models

Bulk billing. No out-of-pocket cost to the patient — accessible to all, much like the NHS. In practice: shorter consultation times (10–15 minutes), higher patient volume (maybe 5–6 patients per hour), additional incentives. The federal government has announced a bulk billing incentive — 12.5% quarterly loading, paid out to the practice for any fee generated as a bulk-billing GP, and you keep 50% of that. Every 3 months you're paid an additional incentive in a lump sum. You also get to triple bulk-bill on eligible items: mental health consultations, health assessments, chronic care plans, after-hours, etc. Simple admin — Medicare billing, no gap collection. In practice: requires higher patient throughput to maximise income. Per-consult income is capped at the Medicare schedule fee.

Mixed billing. Partially private — some patients pay a gap fee on top of the Medicare fee. Longer consultation times (15–20 minutes — Mahib referred earlier to the average 18-minute appointment, probably quite familiar for most GPs in a mixed-billing practice). Patient volume moderate — probably 4 patients per hour. Higher per-consult income, fewer patients per day, longer more flexible consultations. If you're someone who likes to spend time with your patients, you may opt for this route. Flexibility: you can choose where to bulk bill and where to mix bill. For example, you may bulk bill pensioners and children under a certain age. I spoke to a practice yesterday who said they bulk bill everyone under 10 years old and all the pensioners; everyone else pays a gap fee on top. Bulk billing incentive still claimed on any bulk-billed consult, but you don't receive the 12.5% loading available for a fully bulk-billing clinic. Moderate admin — gap payments require a collection process.

It's about a 50/50 split in terms of practices across Australia — half bulk billing, half mixed billing. Although a lot are now shifting to bulk billing because of the government incentive. If you're not sure which is best, speak to us.

Typical full-time GP earnings

Fully private is on the right-hand side just for contrast — fewer patients, higher per-patient charges. Probably not something you'd be working in as someone going to Australia for the first time. Less than 5% are fully private, and most are established GPs with loyal patients built up over years. You're most likely going to go to mixed billing or bulk billing.

The key thing to highlight is the total bill per consult — higher in mixed billing, lower in bulk billing. Based on 45 weeks per year you can see what you'd be earning. This is a very conservative estimate because we're only taking into account the standard 15-minute appointment — not any additional procedural work, care plans etc. All of that supplements on top.

The reason for showing both bulk and mixed billing is they have very similar incomes — there's not going to be a huge difference just by whether you go to a bulk or mixed billing practice. Part of the reason is the incentive the government offers fully bulk-billing practices.

One thing I want to share — another tool we have built. You'll have access following the webinar. For example, in a mixed-billing practice, the practice I spoke to yesterday set their fees at $94 per consult. You might decide you're going to work 4.5 days per week with a half day on a Friday. Your agreement is 70% initially. You see about 28 patients per day on average. You can see what the figure approximates. Again, conservative — not incorporating procedural fees or additional health plans. You might have arranged 72% and 32 patients per day — see what that estimated annual income is. You might decide after a couple of years to roll back to three days a week and see what your earnings would be.

Just before you go on, Hunter — I want to point out something. To make it fairly comparable to the UK, Hunter's put working weeks per year as 45. A common mistake is to think "I'll charge this much, see this many patients, 5 days, multiply by 52." That would overestimate. We're being realistic — 45 working weeks means six weeks off and one week for study, very similar to a lot of practices in the UK.

Absolutely. The key is we're trying to be conservative because we don't want to promise the world — this is a significant increase on an NHS salary anyway. The reality is, if you're working full-time you're going to be close to that upper limit whether mixed or bulk billing. Once established and including additional consult fees, procedural stuff and additional plans — realistically, for anyone comparing this with an NHS salary, you are looking at doubling your income. That is possible. Perhaps even tripling your income in the long term. That is realistic.

How BDI supports you

We've been helping international doctors relocate for about 10 years. I've been doing this for about eight years in total, six years with BDI. What does this look like for you?

• Role search — extensive search across our network of practices. We work with large organisations who have many practices, and also small independent clinics.
• Contract negotiation — billing percentage, guaranteed earnings, supervision arrangements, relocation allowance.
• AHPRA registration — guide you through the step-by-step process. We work with the clinic to make sure they have the supervised practice plan in place ready for approval.
• Visa support — sponsored on a 482 Skills in Demand visa. If you're going to one of the large networks they may put you in touch with an immigration agent. If you're going to a smaller independent, they probably aren't going to have one in place — nothing to panic about, you can do this on your own.
• Pastoral care throughout. The way that I work — I'm based in the UK, but trying to bridge the time difference with Australia. I'm often up at 6:00 am having client meetings, at 11:00 pm doing interviews. I will make myself available for you 24/7. If you have questions or concerns out of hours, don't worry — get in touch.
• Accommodation and schools — practical relocation advice. Some doctors prefer to take that into their own hands; for others we can help. Most clinics across Australia are very welcoming and will introduce you to local GP networks so you can hit the ground running.

Our fee is paid entirely by the employer — never the candidate. No fee for our service. No hidden charges, no repeat fees, no obligation. Every GP we work with receives the same level of personal attention regardless of where they end up placing. All we ask for in return is honesty and transparency.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to work in a rural or remote area, or can I live near a city? There are many DPA locations very close to the main cities — outer-metro areas, 30–40 minutes from Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth. Yes, you can live and work near a city. You don't have to go to the outback. Some doctors do want to go and do a rural fellowship — equally brilliant.

How long does the whole process take from decision to arrival? Probably 4 to 6 months, realistically 6 months. Most GP clinics are happy to meet 9–12 months out from when you're going to relocate. Visa processing varies — I've had some doctors have their visa approved in one week, others applied in December and are still awaiting an outcome. It depends on the complexity, dependants, and whether documentation is correct.

Do I need to pass any clinical exams to register in Australia? No clinical exams. As long as you have MRCGP and CCT in the UK, or MICGP and completion of training in Ireland, you do not need to do any additional clinical exams.

Can I bring my family with me to Australia? Yes, absolutely. Much like the UK, there's a dependant visa system — sponsoring a 482 visa, they will be able to come with you. A couple of questions about parents being relocated as dependants — that proves quite difficult. If you want to go down that route, you'd probably need to speak to an immigration lawyer. The criteria is quite strict. For most cases, it's unlikely. But absolutely — wife, husband, children, no problem.

What's the cost of living like in Australia compared to the UK, and will I be better off financially? If you've lived in the UK in the last 5–10 years, you'll have seen costs going up — rent, groceries, fuel. I can't promise you Australia is going to be much cheaper. There are more affordable places to live, but if you want to live near Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne, it is going to be quite expensive. But the key here: you are going to be earning significantly higher. You are financially going to be better off because you're probably going to be earning twice the amount.

Will I be able to achieve fellowship of the RACGP after relocating via the expedited route? The expedited route is not automatic fellowship status — this is an application for specialist registration and to bill Medicare from day one. The good news: if you're UK or Irish trained, you'll be able to apply for fellowship after completing 6 months of supervision. Once that 6 months is over and the conditions on your registration are removed, you can apply for fellowship status. It will be approved — no additional exams. There's a cost of about $990, and you have to complete a questionnaire, but no exams.

Can I get permanent residency in Australia as a GP? Yes — 2 years on a 482 visa and you can apply for permanent residency, sponsored by your employer. Much quicker than the UK. PR from day one is technically possible but very difficult — high processing times, salaried model, probably not financially beneficial. 99% of GPs relocating go on a 482 visa first and get PR once in Australia.

While I'm an independent contractor and can choose how much I work, is there a minimum to maintain the 482 visa? Although it's not actually written into Australian law to my knowledge, there is an expectation on a 482 visa to do a minimum of 30 hours on average. Anything less than 30 hours is considered part-time. Before you get permanent residency, you'll be expected by your employer to work a minimum of 30 hours per week during that initial 2-year period.

How do tax rates in Australia compare to the UK? Australia is not like some places in the Middle East with low tax rates. Australia has a progressive tax system, quite similar to the UK. Even as an independent contractor, you'll be paying similar tax rates — if you're a high earner, probably 35–40%. I read an article earlier today averaging around 38%. The good news: as an independent contractor, a lot of work-related costs — indemnity insurance, registration costs — you essentially won't have to pay tax on that income. There are lots of smart ways to financially benefit. Generally, you'll pay a similar level of tax to the UK, possibly slightly less.

What about the age cut-off of 45? It is true that for permanent residency applications there is a 45-year mark — you need to apply before your 45th birthday. However, there are exemptions. One is if you're working in a location considered to have a shortage of GPs. If you've spent 2 years working in such an area (most DPA clinics would qualify), you will still be able to apply for permanent residency after 45, as long as your employer sponsors you. The other factor is your income — you would be expected to be a high earner, and that's a criterion you'd need to meet. Good news: if you're over 45 and concerned about that rule, you'll initially relocate on a 482 visa for 2 years; as long as you stay with the same employer and you're in a DPA area, you'll be sponsored for permanent residency.

What would happen to your UK NHS pension if you work abroad? If you've been in the NHS pension for more than two years, you're locked into the pension — you can't ask for a refund. Less than two years, if you want to leave, you can get a refund less tax. If you've been in more than two years, what you've paid in will stay there and continue to grow (index-linked) but you won't be able to access it until you reach pension age (67 now — by the time you get to it, 68 or 69). You wouldn't be adding to it. In Australia you could choose to take a pension there, or pay into a private pension here.

Could you work in the UK on your holidays to stay on the Performers List? Excellent question. I'd actually recommend that maybe in the first year you use some of your annual leave to come back and do a few sessions in the UK — enough that you do an appraisal in the UK and stay in the cycle. You might need to fill in a low-volume-of-work form if you're doing less than 40 sessions. You can say you're still working as a GP in a comparable system and still doing CPD. That would allow you to stay on the Performers List. Usually a contract's going to be 2 years initially, then you might get permanent residency. By then you probably know whether you want to stay long-term. Sometimes things happen — a family member becomes ill and you want to be closer. Doing a few sessions and staying on top of your appraisal lets you walk back into a job here. If for 2 years or more you've not worked at all in the UK and you're off the Performers List, you'd have to go through the Returner Scheme — exams and a period of supervised practice. Not as straightforward. I'd only recommend this for the first year or two, until you get your PR. To do it long-term isn't sustainable — you need your holiday to be a holiday.

Could we practise as a GP with special interest or extended role, like in the UK? Absolutely. It's very common for Australian GPs to do a lot more procedural things, and you get a higher payment for that. I did orthopaedics before GP, so I had a private practice here in the UK — we'd charge more for a joint injection than a straight consult. Similarly in Australia, if you're doing a procedure the fee is higher. Those who've got skills already, or want to develop them — for example excisions for basal cell carcinomas. The flip side of having twice as much sunshine: a lot more skin cancers in Australia. If you can do biopsies, shave excisions, get accredited to excise basal cell carcinomas, you get a significantly higher rate. You could also do joint injections, fit coils, implants — all higher rates.

The only thing I would add: from my experience speaking to clinics, when we ask about subspecialty area interest, often they just say whatever skills you have, we will utilise them. Dermatology, procedural stuff, women's health comes up a lot. Whatever skills you can bring, they will utilise — they're not mandatory. Procedural work is one of the ways a lot of GPs significantly supplement their income.

Summary

Just to recap what's on offer: a lifestyle change, better work-life balance, more autonomy, more control over the way you work. In Australia, higher earning potential with the fee-for-service model and working as an independent contractor. Why is this a good time to go? Simplified registration pathway with the expedited route — reduced processing time, less cost involved. A life-changing move awaits you.

Please do get in touch. Any questions, anything you're not sure about, we can answer them. If we don't have the answers, we'll go away and find them. Have a read of some of our reviews — more than 400 five-star reviews from candidates we've placed. We've helped more than 2,000 doctors with international relocation, been doing this for 10 years, and recruited doctors from 46 different countries around the world.

A huge thank you to Hunter for going into that in such depth, and to the rest of the BDI team — Daniel and Ryan — who've been in the background answering questions and preparing things to get this ready. If you're interested, do get in touch with the team and ask any questions or get clarity on anything you're not sure of. Thank you again to all of you for joining. Like we always say at Emedica: prepare and you will succeed.