Strengthening Medicare – General Practice Grants Program

Registrations have now closed for the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care’s Strengthening Medicare – General Practice Grants Program.

North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network (NWMPHN) contacted each eligible practice with more information and a link to the registration form. Practices who have not received this email should contact gpgrants@nwmphn.org.au or call (03) 9347 1188.

Registrations closed on Thursday, 15 June 2023.

Background

The Australian Government is investing $220 million in grants to support general practices and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs). This funding is for eligible recipients to make improvements to their practices to expand patient access and support safe, and accessible, quality primary care.

NWMPHN is administering this program for all eligible general practices in its region. The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation is administering the program for all eligible ACCHOs.

What can the grants be used for?

A one-off grant is available to each participating practice to invest in innovation, training, equipment, and minor capital works in any one or more of the 3 investment streams below:

1. Enhancing digital health capability – to fast-track the benefits of a more connected health care system in readiness to meet future standards.
2. Upgrading infection prevention and control arrangements – to support the safe, face to face assessment of patients with symptoms potentially indicating infectious respiratory diseases such as COVID-19 and influenza.
3. Maintaining or achieving accreditation against the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Standards for General Practices (5th Edition), under the General Practice Accreditation Scheme – to promote quality and safety in general practice.

Practices can fund activities within any one or more of the 3 investment streams to best address their needs.

Please refer to pages 5 and 6 of the Quick reference guide (.pdf) for examples of investment activities under each investment stream.

How is each practice’s grant amount determined?

The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care (DoHAC) has determined each practice’s grant allocation. This allocation is based on:

• accreditation status, against the RACGP Standards for General Practices (5^th Edition); and
• size, as determined by DoHAC’s Medicare GP full time equivalent (GPFTE) 2021–22 financial year data.

Medicare GPFTE is a statistical methodology used by DoHAC that aims to estimate the entire time that general practitioners (GPs) spend delivering primary care services. It is not simply the standard hours worked by employed GPs in the general practice, nor a head count of GPs.

The method calculates a GP’s primary care workload based on Medicare Benefits Schedule items claimed within a GP’s scope of practice. For each GP, the measure provides an estimate of the billable time, non-billable time, and non-clinical time.

For more information on how GPFTE is derived, see Method Paper: General Practice Full Time Equivalent (GPFTE) – Workforce (.pdf).

How to register for a grant

Registration has now closed. Practices can contact gpgrants@nwmphn.org.au with any queries.

Supporting documents

These documents contain more information:

• Invitation letter (.pdf) from the Australian Government’s Minister for Health and Aged Care
• Fact sheet
• Quick reference guide (.pdf)
• Sample grant agreement (.pdf)

Key dates

The following are the most important dates for the grants program:

• Friday, 21 April 2023: Grant invitations sent to practices.
• Thursday, 15 June 2023: Deadline for practices to complete the registration form. Any practice that anticipates issues meeting this timeframe, or requires further information or assistance, must contact gpgrants@nwmphn.org.au by Thursday, 1 June 2023.
• Sunday, 30 June 2024: Deadline for practices to spend their grant funds.
• 31 July 2024: Practices to complete evaluation survey and financial acquittal report form (details to follow).

Questions and support

A dedicated email address is available for all enquiries: gpgrants@nwmphn.org.au

Practices can also contact their NWMPHN quality improvement program officer or call us on (03) 9347 1188.

We encourage practices to read the supporting documents linked above before contacting us.