How much do GPs get paid in Australia + Free Calculator

If you’re a UK GP thinking about Australia, one of the first questions you’ll ask is simple:

How much could I actually earn?

The frustrating part is that most articles on this topic are either too vague, too salesy or too simplistic. They throw out a big annual number, but don’t properly explain how Australian GP pay actually works.

That matters.

Because in Australia most GPs don't move into a standard NHS-style salary structure. In many roles your income is linked to your billings, your percentage split, your billing model, your patient flow and sometimes an added guarantee, relocation support or bonus. RACGP guidance and MBS rules make that much clear - general practice operates as a private business environment, practices choose how they bill and a standard Level B GP attendance currently has an MBS fee of A$43.90.

If none of this is making sense so far, that's exactly why we built our Australia GP Salary Calculator with full explainer in this article:

Use the calculator here: Australia GP Salary Calculator

It lets you adjust the same variables that actually move the needle in real-world Australian GP jobs:

• average fee per consult
• patients per day
• days per week
• working weeks per year
• your billings percentage
• guarantees / bonuses / extras
• clinical hours per day
• AUD to GBP conversion

This guide will show you exactly how to use it, how Australian GP earnings really work and what numbers are realistic.

The quick answer - what do GPs earn in Australia?

If you're looking for a quick ballpark answer, for many UK-trained GPs, a realistic full-time earnings range in Australia is often somewhere around the high A$200,000s to mid A$300,000s, with some roles going lower and some going materially higher depending on billing model, patient demand, location and contract structure. Public job ads and recruitment content commonly show broad ranges from roughly A$240,000–A$260,000 at the lower advertised end through to A$345,000+ or more in stronger mixed/private billing setups while some rural or especially busy clinics advertise upside above that.

But that still needs context.

A GP in a heavily bulk billing clinic with lower fees and higher volume may earn very differently from a GP in a mixed or private billing clinic seeing fewer patients at a higher average consult fee. RACGP’s current mixed billing guide explicitly defines those models and explains that the out-of-pocket “gap” is simply the difference between the total service fee and the Medicare rebate.

So instead of obsessing over one headline figure the better question is:

What would someone with my working style and contract terms actually earn?

That’s what our calculator is for.

Why Australian GP pay confuses so many UK doctors

UK GPs are used to a system where earnings are often discussed in salaried, partnership or sessional terms.

Australia is different.

A lot of GP roles are effectively built around a simple commercial formula:

Total patient billings × your agreed percentage = your gross income
Then you may add:

• income guarantees
• relocation support
• retention bonuses
• sign-on support
• extra procedural income in some settings

That is why two GPs in the same town can have very different incomes.

One may work in a bulk billing model, see more patients and take 70% of lower-value billings.
Another may work in a mixed or private clinic, see fewer patients but generate more per consultation.
Another may have a stronger guarantee for the first 3 months while they build a patient base.

Your income is usually shaped less by a fixed national pay spine and more by the commercial model of the clinic. RACGP states that general practices are free to determine which patients they privately bill or bulk bill, and that billing choices are influenced by factors such as demographics, location and desired income.

The 3 billing models every UK GP needs to understand

1) Bulk billing

Bulk billing means the doctor accepts the Medicare rebate as full payment for the service so the patient has no out-of-pocket cost. Services Australia and RACGP both describe it that way.

In plain English:

• patient pays nothing
• the practice bills Medicare
• revenue per consult is lower unless incentives apply

From 1 November 2025, Australia expanded bulk billing support through the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program including an additional 12.5% incentive payment on eligible MBS benefits for registered bulk billing practices, split 50/50 between GP and practice.

2) Private billing

Private billing means the patient pays the GP’s fee in full, then claims back the relevant Medicare rebate if eligible. RACGP defines it this way in its current guide.

In practice:

• your consultation fee may be well above the rebate
• patients pay a gap
• revenue per consult is higher
• patient demand and local market tolerance matter more

3) Mixed billing

Mixed billing combines both bulk billing and private billing. Some patients or services are bulk billed, while others incur an out-of-pocket fee. RACGP describes it as a model that allows practices to choose which patients or services are bulk billed and which are privately billed.

This is one of the biggest reasons Australian GP income varies so much.

A clinic may bulk bill:

• children
• concession card holders
• selected chronic care services

But privately bill much of the routine adult workload.

That creates a very different earnings profile from a pure bulk billing clinic.

What does a standard GP consult rebate look like?

A useful benchmark is MBS item 23, the standard Level B GP attendance for a consultation lasting at least 6 minutes and less than 20 minutes. The current MBS fee listed is A$43.90.

That number is important because it gives you a base reference point.

If a clinic is:

• bulk billing, A$43.90 is the core benchmark for that consult before any eligible incentive structure
• private billing, the clinic may charge well above that
• mixed billing, some patients may effectively generate only the rebate, while others generate the rebate plus a patient gap

That is exactly why average fee per consult is one of the most important fields in the calculator.

How to use our Australia GP Salary Calculator

Here again is the tool:

Open the Australia GP Salary Calculator

The version we built uses three instant presets (Mixed Billing, Bulk Billing, and Private Billing) then lets you customise the assumptions underneath.

Step 1: Choose the closest billing model

Start with the preset that looks most like the type of role you’re exploring.

Mixed Billing preset

This is the best starting point for many UK GPs because it reflects the kind of model a lot of established metro and regional clinics now use: a blend of Medicare-funded and gap-charging consultations. RACGP’s current guidance is clear that mixed billing is now a normal viability strategy for practices facing rising costs.

Bulk Billing preset

Use this if you’re looking at:

• high-volume clinics
• guarantee-led packages
• roles where throughput is strong but average fee per patient is lower

Private Billing preset

Use this if you’re looking at:

• higher-fee clinics
• more affluent patient demographics
• lower daily volume but higher revenue per consultation

Step 2: Enter the average fee per consult

This is the most misunderstood part of Australian GP earnings.

It's not just the Medicare rebate.
It is the average total revenue per consultation across your actual billing mix.

So if a clinic:

• bulk bills some patients at around rebate level
• charges others A$85, A$95 or A$110+
• does a blend of face-to-face and telehealth
• has some longer consultations

…your true average fee per consult may sit much higher than a simple rebate figure.

That is why a calculator based only on “salary” is weak. What matters is average monetised consult value.

Step 3: Enter patients per day

This is where realism matters.

If you make this number fantasy-level, the output becomes useless.

You want an estimate that reflects:

• your preferred pace
• your appointment style
• whether the clinic is booked solid
• whether you expect to build gradually or start with strong demand

The calculator is most useful when you run:

• a conservative scenario
• a realistic scenario
• a stretch scenario

That is exactly how the tool is designed to be used.

Step 4: Enter days per week and working weeks per year

This is another big advantage over generic salary articles.

Australian GP income is heavily shaped by how much you choose to work.

A four-day week in a strong mixed billing clinic can look very different from a five-day week in a lower-fee bulk billing environment.

The calculator lets you adjust:

• weekly clinical commitment
• annual leave assumptions
• whether you want lifestyle first or maximum earnings

That makes it far more useful than a headline like “GPs earn A$350k.”

Step 5: Add your percentage split

In many Australian GP contracts, your income is based on a percentage of billings.

That percentage varies by:

• billing model
• location
• whether you are in a DPA or more remote setting
• whether the clinic is supplying strong support and patient flow
• your registration/supervision circumstances
• whether the package includes extra support elsewhere

You will often see percentage-led discussions in the market because that is how a lot of GP remuneration is actually structured. Recruitment content and industry guides commonly refer to billings-based arrangements rather than fixed salaries. If you're unsure start with 70% which is quite common.

Step 6: Add extras, guarantees or bonuses

This field is important because not every role is just “pure percentage.”

Many practices offer some combination of:

• initial income guarantees
• relocation allowances
• sign-on support
• retention incentives
• accommodation support in some settings

Our calculator includes an annual extras / guarantee / bonus field for exactly this reason.

Step 7: Use the GBP conversion

Most UK GPs don’t think in Australian dollars first.

That’s why our calculator includes a live AUD → GBP rate field so you can instantly see the rough sterling equivalent.

What the calculator is actually showing you

Our calculator works on a simple formula:

Average fee × patients per day × days per week × weeks per year = annual billings
Annual billings × your percentage = base income
Base income + extras = projected annual income

It then also shows:

• annual billings
• estimated annual income
• weekly income
• monthly income
• effective hourly income
• GBP conversion
• patients per clinical hour

Example calculator scenarios

Using the built-in presets in the current calculator version, the model gives indicative before-tax annual incomes roughly like this:

• Mixed billing preset: about A$319,290
• Bulk billing preset: about A$282,752
• Private billing preset: about A$354,282

These are not promises. They are example outputs based on default assumptions that we have loaded into the calculator:

• consult fee
• patient volume
• days worked
• weeks worked
• percentage split
• extras
• exchange rate

These are realistic expectations but earnings are very nuanced as a GP in Australia so play around with the variables to see how they impact you.

What can push earnings up?

Australian GP earnings usually improve when some combination of the following is true:

• stronger patient demand
• higher average fee per consultation
• more mixed/private billing
• better percentage split
• efficient appointment flow
• fewer empty books while settling in
• rural or harder-to-fill locations
• added guarantees or relocation support

What can hold earnings back?

On the flip side, income may be lower when:

• the clinic is heavily bulk billing
• your books are not yet full
• your percentage is weaker
• you want fewer sessions
• your average consult value is low
• you are factoring in more leave or shorter clinic days

That is exactly why one GP’s “Australia pay story” can sound completely different from another’s.

Is all of this before or after tax?

The calculator is best viewed as a gross, before-tax earnings estimator. It's designed to help UK GPs understand the revenue model, not replace contract review, accounting advice or tax planning. 

That is important, because your final net position can differ depending on:

• contractor vs employee treatment
• super arrangements
• deductible expenses
• relocation timing
• tax residency issues

The ATO says the super guarantee rate is currently 12% from 1 July 2025, and whether someone is an employee or independent contractor depends on the real working arrangement rather than the label used.

Does Medicare pay the whole fee?

No. That is another area where UK readers often get confused.

For privately billed consultations, the Medicare rebate is only part of the total fee. The patient pays the difference between the clinic fee and the rebate. RACGP explicitly describes that gap calculation in its guide.

That is why a clinic charging A$90–A$110 for a standard consult can generate very different economics from one relying largely on rebate-led billing.

Why this matters for UK GPs specifically

If you're a UK GP looking to find out “how much GPs earn in Australia” you'll need to consider all of the factors at play when calculating salaries..

Our calculator and this guide will tell you:

• whether Australia is financially worth it
• whether you can work fewer days and still do well
• whether a mixed billing clinic is better than a bulk billing clinic
• whether you can maintain a good lifestyle without killing throughput
• whether the move makes sense for your family and timeline

That's why the smartest way to use this page is:

1. read the explanation
2. open the calculator
3. run 3 scenarios
4. speak to someone who can sense-check the assumptions against live jobs

Use the calculator now

Try the calculator here: Australia GP Salary Calculator

Run:

• one conservative model
• one realistic model
• one ambitious model

That will tell you a lot more than any vague blog saying “Australian GPs can earn A$350k.”

Want a personalised earnings breakdown?

If you want, we can help you sense-check your numbers against:

• your MRCGP / CCT position
• likely registration pathway
• preferred states or regions
• billing model fit
• expected package structure
• realistic first-year options

Contact BDI Resourcing here: Speak to the Australia team

Or go straight to the calculator and then get in touch once you’ve run your figures:
Australia GP Salary Calculator