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A government report has revealed that Australia was facing a shortage of general practitioners, as fewer medical graduates were choosing the career, with regional and remote areas suffering the most.

Titled "Supply and demand study of general practitioners in Australia," the report said the country was falling short of nearly 2,460 full-time GPs, which will go up to 5,560 by 2033.

Between 2018 and 2023, the number of GPs had increased to 2,533; however, this number was insufficient to bridge the gap, especially when challenged with an aging population and high rate of chronic diseases. As the rate of GPs exiting is higher than new entrants, it is leading to stagnation in the workforce, the report stated.

In the next 25 years, there will be a deficiency of GPs, which will affect the community services, the report added.

"The GP model results show an undersupply of GPs over the next 25 years, which indicates that ... will not have the number of GPs required to keep up with the demand for GP services in the community," the report stated.

It also included the distribution of GPs across the states and territories, highlighting that regional areas suffered a higher gap.

"Northern Territory has the highest unmet demand at 23% in 2024. New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland have the lowest shortfall of unmet demand at 5% in 2024."

On Tuesday, a delegation of GPs descended on the Tasmanian parliament, setting up a pop-up clinic to educate local politicians on the urgent need for healthcare reforms. The GPs checked the blood pressure of the politicians and had a chat with them regarding the closure of clinics in the state, reported NewsGP.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Tasmanian Chair Dr Toby Gardner said it provided the right opportunity to tell the politicians about the relevance of GPs.

"Tasmania only has around 106 GPs per 100,000 people, well below the national average of 119. This is contributing to our state's longer than average wait times at the emergency department – and why that's gotten significantly worse in the last 10 years," The Guardian reported.

"The biggest issue is the lack of doctors to take over some of these practices that are closing," Dr Gardner said. "As we're seeing nationally, particularly in rural areas and really, all of Tassie is a rural area, is less and less doctors pursuing general practice, and those who do are much more concentrated in the capital cities."

Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson urged the government to put in more efforts to increase the GP workforce.

"When patients are unwell, general practice is their first point of call in our health system and this report highlights the problems that many patients encounter when trying to access GP care," Robson said.