OSCA 264231

General Practitioner

Overview

  • Employed persons

    55,200

  • Employment status

    70.5% Full time

    29.5% Part time

  • Median age

    44 years

  • Employment by sex

    47.6% Female

    52.4% Male

    Gender balanced

  • Indigenous employment share

    0.6%

  • Main employing industry

    Health Care and Social Assistance

Indicator General Practitioner Total employment
Employed persons 55,200 12,049,400
Median age 44 years 40 years
Full-time share 70.5% 64.2%
Part-time share 29.5% 35.8%
Female employment share 47.6% 48.5%
Male employment share 52.4% 51.5%
Gender segregation intensity scale Gender balanced Gender balanced
Indigenous employment share 0.6% 2.2%
Main employing industry Health Care and Social Assistance Health Care and Social Assistance
Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

Occupation overview

General Practitioners diagnose, treat and prevent human physical and mental disorders and injuries.

What the occupation involves

  • Consults with, and conducts examinations on, patients to determine the nature of disorders and illnesses, and maintains patient records
  • Creates patient-centric care plans as part of a treatment team, and refers patients to and exchanges medical information with, other Health Professionals
  • Requests laboratory tests, X-rays and other diagnostic procedures, and interprets findings to assist diagnosis
  • Provides overall care for patients, and prescribes and administers treatments, medications and other remedial measures
  • Monitors patient progress and response to treatment
  • Performs medical and minor surgical procedures

Common occupation titles

  • General Medical Practitioner

Specialisations

  • Skin Cancer General Practitioner

Note: Specialisations are examples of roles in within this occupation and are not separate OSCA occupations.

Skill level (education and experience level)

Skill level 1
equivalent to a university level qualification (Bachelor degree or higher).

Note: While skill levels are described using formal education levels, some people use a combination of informal learning, on-the-job training and personal experience to achieve an equivalent level.

Licensing or registration requirements

Registration or licensing is required.

OSCA structure

Employment

On this page

    Industries

    Top 10 most common industries, 2021

    General Practitioner Total employment
    Industry Share of occupation Industry Share of occupation
    Health Care and Social Assistance 95.7% Health Care and Social Assistance 14.5%
    Public Administration and Safety 1.6% Retail Trade 9.1%
    Education and Training 0.6% Construction 8.9%
    Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 0.4% Education and Training 8.8%
    Administrative and Support Services 0.2% Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 7.8%
    Other Services 0.2% Public Administration and Safety 6.6%
    Financial and Insurance Services 0.1% Accommodation and Food Services 6.5%
    Manufacturing 0.1% Manufacturing 5.9%
    Wholesale Trade 0.1% Transport, Postal and Warehousing 4.5%
    Accommodation and Food Services <0.1% Financial and Insurance Services 3.7%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    States and territories

    Employment distribution by states and territories, 2021

    • New South Wales

      30.8%

    • Victoria

      25.4%

    • Queensland

      21.1%

    • South Australia

      7.2%

    • Tasmania

      2.2%

    • Northern Territory

      1.1%

    • Australian Capital Territory

      2.0%

    General Practitioner Total employment
    State / Territory Employment Share of occupation Employment Share of occupation
    New South Wales 17,000 30.8% 3,684,200 30.6%
    Victoria 14,000 25.4% 3,162,900 26.2%
    Queensland 11,600 21.1% 2,444,100 20.3%
    South Australia 3,900 7.2% 839,400 7.0%
    Western Australia 5,700 10.3% 1,306,200 10.8%
    Tasmania 1,200 2.2% 254,700 2.1%
    Northern Territory 600 1.1% 107,000 0.9%
    Australian Capital Territory 1,100 2.0% 248,600 2.1%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    Age and sex

    Employment distibution by age group and sex, 2021

    General Practitioner

    Total employment

    Age group General Practitioner Total employment
    15–24 years 1.2% 14.3%
    25–34 years 23.8% 22.7%
    35–44 years 26.0% 22.3%
    45–54 years 20.6% 20.4%
    55–64 years 17.3% 15.3%
    65–74 years 9.1% 4.3%
    75 years and over 1.9% 0.6%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.
    Sex General Practitioner Total employment
    Female 47.6% 48.5%
    Male 52.4% 51.5%
    Note: N/A values indicate data are not available due to confidentiality or data reliability requirements.

    On this page

      OSCA occupation profiles data

      This file contains data available from the OSCA Occupation Profile page.

      Use of this data must include the relevant attribution text provided.

      OSCA Occupation data - 2021 Census.xlsx

      xlsx 1236447

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      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA)

      Occupation Standard Classification for Australia (OSCA) is the skill-based classification used to categorise occupations across the Australian labour market. OSCA is used to define occupations across all official occupational statistics. OSCA replaces the Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations (ANZSCO).

      Each job is classified to one, and only one, group of jobs at each level of the classification with no overlaps. This prevents the accidental double-counting of roles within the Australian labour market. For more information about OSCA, visit the What is OSCA information page, or the ABS website.

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