If you are a newly fellowed GP still bound by Section 19AB restrictions, you may have heard a colleague or recruiter mention a “historical DPA” job. It’s not an official term used by the Department of Health. It’s general practice industry shorthand for a specific situation that can create rare and valuable opportunities.

A doctor who holds AHPRA general registration and is on an eligible temporary visa can apply for a Medicare provider number and work in a GP practice without being enrolled in any of those programs. This route operates under a distinct legal mechanism — a section 19AB pathway exemption — rather than the section 3GA “approved placement” pathway used by the training programs.

Learn how Distribution Priority Areas (DPA) affect International Medical Graduates accessing Medicare and working as GPs in Australia.

Learn how International Medical Graduates in Australia can reduce their 10-year moratorium through rural GP work and IMG programs.

Medicare’s 19AB rules require doctors who studied their medical degree outside Australia to work in an area of distribution priority area (DPA) for their first 10 years of practice here. The Department of Health offers a pathway called “scaling” to reduce the 10 year period by working in general practice in more rural and remote.

<p>Reduce Your 10-Year Moratorium Medicare’s 19AB rules require doctors who studied for their medical degrees outside of Australia to work in an area of distribution priority (DPA) for their first 10 years of practice in Australia. By committing to work in certain doctor-short locations, an overseas GP may be able to complete a GP Fellowship, [&hellip;]</p>