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General Physician salary in Australia
The median full-time salary for a general physician is $218,400 per annum, before tax, up $46,100 since 2018.
Public hospital general physicians are paid under state enterprise agreements for staff specialists, so pay moves with seniority, the state or territory you work in and how much on-call and after-hours work you carry. Private consulting rooms, private hospital sessions and Medicare billing change the mix of income and costs. Subspecialty training and the amount of procedural work you take on also affect what you earn.
How to negotiate a higher general physician salary
- Know the market rate before you ask. The median full-time general physician salary is $218,400; use that, not a guess, as your anchor, and adjust for your experience and employer.
- Use demand as leverage. General Physicians are on the national skills shortage list, so employers are more likely to move on price to keep or attract someone in a role they're struggling to fill.
- Lead with what's scarce, not just tenure. Skills like Clinical assessment and treatment and Patient care and support tend to command a premium over general general physician experience, name them specifically when you ask.
- Time it deliberately. Reviews, the end of a project you delivered, or taking on responsibility beyond your job description are stronger moments to ask than an arbitrary date on the calendar.
- Ask for a number, not a raise. "Based on the market rate and [specific contribution], I'd like to move to X" gets a clearer answer than "I think I deserve more."
General Physician salary questions
How much do general physicians earn in Australia?
The median full-time salary for a general physician is $218,400 a year before tax. Seniority, specialisation, sector and the award or agreement you're employed under all move it.
Is general physician pay rising or falling?
The median general physician salary is up $46,100 since 2018. Figures from 2025 onward on this page are a projection, not a measured result.