Rural Generalist Medicine is now a recognised specialist field
Australia's Health Ministers have officially recognised Rural Generalist Medicine as a specialist field within general practice.
From March 2027, specialist Rural Generalist will become a protected title and Rural Generalist Medicine will be formally listed on the national register of medical specialties.
Find out about specialist Rural Generalist registration.
What is Rural Generalist Medicine?
Rural Generalist Medicine is the provision of a broad scope of medical care by a doctor specifically tailored to the unique clinical and geographic realities of rural, remote and First Nations communities.
It encompasses:
- Comprehensive primary care for individuals, families and communities
- Hospital in-patient care and/or related secondary medical care in the institutional, home or ambulatory setting
- Emergency care, to respond to local medical emergencies, patient stabilisation and medical retrieval
- Advanced specialised skills in one or more areas of focused cognitive and/or procedural practice as required to sustain critical local services
- A population health approach that is relevant to the local community
- Integrated team care, operating as part of a multi-professional local and distant network to provide a safe, coordinated "system of care" aligned with community needs
What is a Rural Generalist?
A Rural Generalist is a medical practitioner who is trained to meet the specific current and future health care needs of Australian rural and remote communities, in a sustainable and cost-effective way, by providing both comprehensive general practice and emergency care, and required components of other medical specialist care in hospital and community settings as part of a rural healthcare team.
Rural Generalists have a broad scope of practice
In addition to comprehensive general practice and emergency care, Rural Generalists have additional skills in one or more of the following specialist areas:
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
- Academic Practice
- Adult Internal Medicine
- Anaesthetics
- Emergency Medicine
- Mental Health
- Obstetrics and Gynaecology
- Paediatrics
- Palliative Care
- Population Health
- Remote Medicine
- Surgery
Learn more about ACRRM’s Advanced Specialised Training.
How does Rural Generalist Medicine support patients and communities?
Care closer to home
Rural Generalist Medicine enables people in rural and remote places to have the best possible access to high-quality medical care, by providing a cost-effective workforce solution of locally based doctors, where access to metropolitan healthcare systems is poor.
A flexible workforce
Rural Generalists are trained to provide a broad scope of practice to a defined and assessed professional standard, in settings such as general practice clinics, hospitals and emergency departments, and collaborative healthcare team environments.
Integrated local care
Rural Generalists practice as part of a multi-professional local and distant network to provide a safe, coordinated "system of care" to deliver high quality and safe care close to home for rural and remote Australians.
Training and professional standards
Rural Generalists are trained to provide comprehensive care across a broad range of clinical settings, often in environments with limited access to the staff, services and resources available in metropolitan centres.
The ACRRM Fellowship qualification (FACRRM) is designed to reflect the professional standards required for the practice of Rural Generalist Medicine. RACGP also provides a Rural Generalist Fellowship pathway.
How is Rural Generalist Medicine different from General Practice?
Rural Generalist Medicine builds on the broad foundation of General Practice and is specifically designed for the needs of rural and remote communities.
Because rural and remote communities may have limited access to specialist services and resources, Rural Generalists are trained to provide a broader scope of care across community, hospital and emergency settings.
Rural Generalist Specialist Recognition
Achieving formal specialty recognition was critical to overcoming long-standing structural barriers that severely hindered the growth, recruitment, and sustainability of the rural medical workforce. Prior to recognition, no national visibility of the training meant many doctors faced fragmented and arbitrary credentialing, limiting job portability across states and meant a lack of formal inclusion in national medical workforce planning and resource mapping. Specialist recognition establishes a protected title and a single, national standard linked to AMC-accredited Fellowship programs.
The recognition process
The formal recognition process of Rural Generalist Medicine in 2025 as its own specialty field was a rigorous, multi-year joint effort commencing in 2019 when the ACRRM and RACGP, supported by the Rural Generalist Recognition Taskforce, submitted a joint application to the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) for evaluation by the Australian Medical Council (AMC).
It involved multiple rounds of applications, which underwent final AMC panel evaluation and extensive public consultation in late 2023. The AMC successfully completed its detailed assessment in late 2024, leading the MBA to formally recommend recognition to the Council of Health Ministers. In September 2025, the Ministerial Council officially approved Rural Generalist Medicine as a new specialist field within general practice.
In July 2026, the Medical Board of Australia approved the Australian Medical Council’s recommendation to accredit the ACRRM and RACGP-RG training programs as qualifications leading to Rural Generalist registration.
What recognition means for communities and doctors
The formal recognition of RGM as a distinct specialist field resolves long-standing structural barriers and provides a sustainable solution for health equity across Australia. Formal recognition is a vital step toward closing the health inequity gap, ensuring that rural, remote, and First Nations communities have reliable, local access to safe, integrated, and cost-effective clinical care close to home.
Key benefits include:
- Protected Title & National Registration: Only practitioners with accredited qualifications will be able to use the protected title "Specialist Rural Generalist". This guarantees to communities and health services that their doctor has been trained and assessed to the highest standard.
- Simplified Hospital Credentialing: National recognition establishes a single, consistent standard linked to AMC-accredited Fellowships. This streamlines hospital credentialing and provides system-wide visibility for employment.
- Workforce Portability: Doctors can easily transfer their credentials across state borders and health jurisdictions, improving career flexibility and retention.
- Targeted Resource Allocation: Formal recognition places RGM at the heart of national workforce planning, ensuring better advocacy, funding, and clinical support for rural communities.
Working together to strengthen Rural Generalist Medicine
ACRRM works with governments, health services, professional organisations and other stakeholders to strengthen Rural Generalist Medicine and support the delivery of high-quality healthcare in rural, remote and First Nations communities.
National Rural Generalist Pathway (NRGP)
In 2018, the inaugural National Rural Health Commissioner Professor Paul Worley's National Rural Generalist Taskforce provided Advice to the NRHC on the development of a National Rural Generalist Pathway. In response, the government:
- implemented a training pathway for rural generalists, and
- provided additional training places for GPs in regional, rural and remote communities.
In 2019 a commitment of $62m was made toward the Pathway to support dedicated Rural Generalist training, including at the junior doctor stages and an application for professional recognition of Rural Generalism.
The implementation of the NRGP is now overseen by the NRGP Strategic Council, which is chaired by the National Rural Health Commissioner and includes representation from key peak bodies including ACRRM and Commonwealth, state and Territory health services.
Joint Consultative Committee on Rural Generalist Medicine (JCCRG)
ACRRM and RACGP have established a Joint Consultative Committee on Rural Generalist Medicine (JCCRG), reinforcing a shared commitment to strengthen and advance Rural Generalist Medicine across Australia.
Read more about the committee.
Relevant documents
- Accreditation Report: The Rural Generalist Medicine Program of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (June 2026)
- Murtupuni Statement on rural generalist practice in Australia (Nov 2024)
- RGR Overview - Presentation to NRGP (Aug 2023)
- Selecting RG Workforce (Jun 2023)
- OTTAWA Selection outcomes that count (Aug 2022)
- Case for MBS recognition of RG (Jul 2022)
- ACRRM Fellowship Articulating the Rural Generalist Medicine Standard (Sep 2021)
- National Rural Generalist Taskforce Report (Dec 2018)
- Rural Generalist Pathway Jurisdictional Mapping (Jul 2017)
- World Summits on RG Medicine (Apr 2017)
- The Rural Way (May 2014)
- International Statement for Rural Medical Generalism: Cairns Consensus Statement (Apr 2014)
- Rural Generalists Research Paper: This is a systematic review of the expanding role of generalists in rural and remote health. The paper was a research collaboration between ACRRM and the Australian Primary Health Care Research Institute of the Australian National University. (Nov 2007)
