For patients in regional and remote Australia, the specialist they need is too often simply not there. More than 80 per cent of Australia’s specialists practise in metropolitan areas, despite nearly a third of the population living outside the cities. Potentially preventable hospitalisations are 30 per cent higher in outer regional areas and 70 per cent higher in remote communities.
At a two-day summit at Parliament House, Australia’s 16 specialist medical colleges have committed to working with state and Federal governments to reform how and where specialists are trained and have set new national standards on ethical billing and fee transparency.
All 16 colleges committed to shifting specialist training out of metropolitan hospitals and into regional centres – redesigning trainee selection, curriculum, supervision and assessment so that rural is the base, not a placement. In 2025, all colleges adopted Rural Selection Guidelines to prioritise trainees with rural backgrounds and an intention to work in rural areas. The Australian Medical Council is implementing strengthened rural accreditation standards from mid-2026.
The colleges also launched a new national Professionalism Framework on specialist billing and financial consent, establishing shared standards for ethical billing, fee transparency and informed financial consent – making clear that patients are entitled to clear, upfront information about the cost of their care.
CPMC has committed to working with the Commonwealth to ensure the Medical Costs Finder website delivers better transparency for patients seeking specialist medical care.
CPMC chair Associate Professor Kerin Fielding, a practising orthopaedic surgeon who has served the Wagga Wagga community for more than 30 years, said the colleges were stepping up alongside state and federal governments to deliver change.
‘We are committed to working with state and federal governments to ensure all Australians receive the specialist care they deserve – because patients in regional Australia don’t care whose responsibility it is. They just need an appointment,’ Associate Professor Fielding said.
CPMC’s pre-budget submission calls on the government to match the colleges’ commitments with expanded Specialist Training Program funding outside cities, national scaling of the FATES training innovation program and investment in multi-specialty rural training hubs. Improving access and affordability will require sustained collaboration and investment across the system.
The summit was attended by the Minister for Health and Aged Care, the Hon Mark Butler MP; the Assistant Minister for Rural and Regional Health, the Hon Emma McBride MP; the National Rural Health Commissioner, Prof Jenny May AM; the Department of Health and Aged Care; and the Australian Medical Council.
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The Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges is the peak body for Australia's specialist medical colleges.
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