For many doctors weighing up a career in rural generalism, the training questions come first, and the money questions come a close second. How much will I earn? Will I be an employee or a contractor? How do I calculate my billings? Where will I work? What happens if I need to take leave? This is a simplified guide on how it all works.
TL;DR: AGPT-funded registrars are salaried employees with guaranteed stable income, leave entitlements, employer-paid super, and a suite of financial supports designed to reduce the gap between training income and what you’ll earn as a Fellow. The detail is worth understanding — because it affects real decisions about where you work, how much you earn, and how you plan your career.
What does Rural Generalist training actually look like?
The ACRRM Rural Generalist Fellowship Program is a four-year program that combines hands-on clinical work with structured education and formal assessment. It’s built for doctors who want breadth — the kind of medicine that lets you see and treat almost anything, wherever you’re needed most.
To reach Fellowship, you’ll complete:
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Core Generalist Training (CGT) Three years in an MMM2–7 location — building the clinical foundation of rural generalist practice. |
Advanced Specialised Training (AST) At least 12 months of training in a specialised area that complements your rural context. |
ACRRM Fellowship Education Program (AFEP) The structured education component that runs alongside your clinical training throughout the program. |
Where do Rural Generalist registrars work?
Registrars work across a range of accredited training environments - primary care, urgent care centres, hospital wards and emergency departments, obstetric and anaesthetic services, retrieval services, and Aboriginal medical services. You might move between workplaces throughout your training, or work across two or more services at the same time.
Some registrars choose to move between states and territories to experience the full breadth and depth of rural generalism across clinical contexts.
You get to decide how and where you work in order to meet your training requirements, suit your clinical interests and work around your life outside of medicine.
How much do registrars actually earn?
How much a registrar earns depends on a lot of factors. Your training stage, your hours, your billing arrangements, your location, and the incentives you’re eligible for all play a role. Here are some of the key variables:
- Participation in the single employer model
- Salaried employee or contractor
- Training stage (CGT1, 2, 3/4)
- Primary care or hospital setting
- Hospital time for mandatory rotations vs hospital time for AST requirements
- Full-time or part-time hours
- On-call and overtime arrangements
- Percentage of billings earned (when working in primary care)
- Incentive payments (SIPs, PIPs, BBI)
- MM location (refer to Health workforce locator tool)
For AGPT-funded registrars, base salaries from Semester 1, 2026 are:
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Training stage |
Base salary (FTE) |
What's paid on top |
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CGT1 |
$97,318 / year |
+ Superannuation (12%) + % of billings (44.79%) + SIPs & PIPs + Leave entitlements + GP incentive payments |
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CGT2 |
$109,213.52 / year |
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CGT3 / CGT4 |
$116,623.52 / year |
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Base rates are indexed annually on 1 July. Super is paid by your employer on top of salary. Billings % is paid separately in your billing cycle. |
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Your base salary is just the starting point. Superannuation, a percentage of your billings, SIPs (Service Incentive Payments), PIPs (Practice Incentives Program), bulk-billing incentives (BBIs) and access to payments through the National Consistent Payments (NCP) Framework and National GP Incentive Payments all sit on top of it.
What you take home depends on your full picture.
Salaried employee or contractor - what’s the difference?
The answer depends on how your training is funded.
Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) funded registrars are salaried employees of their training post. Your employment conditions are governed by the minimum standards set out in the National Terms and Conditions for the Employment of Registrars (NTCER), and your income is predictable from day one.
Self-funded Independent Pathway (IP) registrars can work with their training post to choose either a salaried arrangement or a contractor model, depending on what suits your circumstances.
The salary model exists for good reasons. When you’re completing your CGT terms in general practice, consultations take longer as you’re building clinical confidence and finding your feet with Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) billing and referral pathways. A salary protects your income while that’s happening, and brings with it:
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Leave entitlements Annual, parental, sick, and study leave — all paid. |
Employer-paid super Your training post pays the 12% super on top of your salary — it’s not coming out of your take-home pay. |
Protected education time Education and supervision time is built into your working week — and paid for. |
Financial supports on top of your salary
AGPT-funded registrars
One of the lesser-known advantages of Rural Generalist training with ACRRM on the AGPT-funded pathway is the range of financial support payments that sits alongside your salary. These are designed to make rural and remote training genuinely viable, not just theoretically possible. These include:
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Salary incentive — up to $30,000 When you commence your first core training term in community-based primary care (PCT1) from Semester 1, 2026, you may be eligible for a salary incentive of up to $30,000 (pro-rata). Paid in monthly instalments over the term. |
Semester payments — $1,837 to $9,444 Tiered by rurality (MMM classification) and paid each semester during primary care terms. Can be used for relocation, rental assistance, travel for education, wellbeing support, and learning materials. |
Paid parental and study leave You may be eligible for National GP Incentive Payments that provide additional financial support for parental leave (up to 20 weeks for primary caregivers) and study leave (up to 5 days per year) on top of your leave entitlements. Subject to your employment conditions. |
Registrars who are already entitled to paid parental leave with their current employer (e.g. hospital-based registrars, jurisdictional single employer model registrars) are not eligible for the parental and study leave entitlements through the National GP Incentive Payments.
IP registrars
If you’re self-funded, the above supports don’t apply, but that doesn’t mean you’re on your own. Your state or territory rural workforce agency may offer financial support, and state and territory Department of Health incentives are worth exploring for your specific location and circumstances.
IP registrars are encouraged to explore the Doctor Stream of the Workforce Incentive Program (WIP) which provides incentives to doctors on an approved training pathway who are working in primary care in MM 3 to 7 locations.
The NTCER: your employment safety net
Unlike most specialist training programs, Rural Generalist registrars are protected by a formal document that sets minimum employment conditions in the National Terms and Conditions for the Employment of Registrars (NTCER).
The NTCER agreement was negotiated by General Practice Registrars Australia (GPRA) and General Practice Supervisors Australia (GPSA) on your behalf and is negotiated every couple of years. Any employment arrangement your training post offers must meet these minimum conditions across:
- Base salary, on-call and after-hours payments
- Billing cycle, SIP and PIP arrangements
- Working hours and fatigue management
- On-call expectations and allowances
- Annual, parental, sick and study leave
- Superannuation entitlements
- Placement conditions
- Protected education and supervision time
The NTCER is a minimum, not a target. Registrars are actively encouraged to negotiate above and beyond it — and GPRA’s advisors can help you understand what’s reasonable to ask for.
Where to get remuneration advice and support
Remuneration is personal. The right answers for your situation depend on your training stage, location, hours, and whether you’re AGPT-funded or on the Independent Pathway. These are the people and tools best placed to help you work it out.
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GPRA — Registrar Advisors Questions about the NTCER, salary negotiations, or billing arrangements? GPRA’s registrar advisors exist specifically for this. |
ACRRM Payments Team For National GP Incentives, Flexible Funds, and NCP framework payments — what you’re eligible for and how to access it. |
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RDAA Financial Calculator Model your income across training stages, accounting for salary, billings, incentives, and your location. |
Health Workforce Locator Check the MMM classification of any location — it directly affects your NCP payments and other location-based incentives. |
Disclaimer: Salary figures reflect NTCER base rates as at Semester 1, 2026, indexed annually on 1 July. Incentive payment figures are indicative; individual eligibility varies. This information is intended as a general guide and does not constitute financial advice. Information applies to AGPT-funded registrars unless otherwise stated.