As a GP in Australia do I have to do after-hours work?

When moving to Australia many GPs are looking for jobs without after-hours work (understandably so) you want to enjoy the lifestyle on offer in Australia and have the weekends to travel and see the country.

A few points to understand if you are looking for a strictly 9 to 5 job:

• In Sydney and Melbourne it is basically impossible to find a job without a requirement to work at least one Saturday morning/full day every 2 or 3 weeks.
• In Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide about 50% of the jobs have a requirement to work one Saturday morning a month, but the other half of jobs don’t have any after-hours requirement. (so if you want your weekends free, consider these cities and you may want to forget Sydney and Melbourne)
• Most GPs who work after-hours find that it really helps their earnings, as the Medicare rebates are higher and there is always a strong patient demand
• Working after-hours means you get time off during the week, which so many GPs find very helpful for getting chores done, having an afternoon at home with the kids or even time out at the beach etc
• The MABEL survey in 2010 found that GPs who undertake after-hours and/or on-call work earn 6.0% more than those who do not.

Increasingly employers are looking for GPs to do some after-hours – but remember this may be as little as 4 hours once a month on a Saturday morning.   Let us know what your preferences are and we can advise on the best locations, and employers to work with.