Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s preferences for, use of, and access to primary health care 2025

General practitioners (GPs) provide essential health care services across all stages of life. People may visit a GP for a wide range of reasons, including immunisations, acute illnesses or injuries, preventive care, chronic disease management, antenatal care, palliative care, health education and referrals to specialist or multidisciplinary care. The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) recommend that all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people visit a GP at least once a year for a comprehensive health check.

Timing of most recent visit

While the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey (NATSIHS) does not capture the reasons for GP visits, it does provide insight into how recently people saw a GP. In 2022–23, nearly half of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had visited a GP in the last 3 months (49% or an estimated 466,500) (Figure 17). Around 15% (or an estimated 148,100) had not seen a GP in the last 12 months.

Notes:

1. Excludes 'saw specialist in last 2 weeks but not a GP’.
2. Data are population weighted estimates.

Source: AIHW analysis of 2022–23 NATSIHS using TableBuilder (ABS 2025).

The timing of the most recent visit to a GP varied considerably by a number of the independent variables (Figure 18). For example, in 2022–23, in terms of location, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Major cities were the most likely to have recently visited a GP (51% or an estimated 197,000 of 390,000 had visited a GP in the last 3 months) and least likely to have gone more than 1 year without seeing a GP (12% or 46,600). The pattern is reversed for those living in Very remote areas where 43% (or an estimated 39,500 of 91,300) had seen a GP in the last 3 months and 21% (19,200) had not seen a GP in the last 12 months.

Notes:

1. Data are population weighted estimates.
2. While non-overlapping confidence intervals (CIs) generally indicate statistical significance, overlapping CIs do not necessarily imply that a difference is not significant. See Technical notes for more information.

Source: AIHW analysis of 2012–13, 2018–19 and 2022–23 NATSIHS using TableBuilder (ABS 2013, 2019, 2025).

There were also a number of differences by individual-level characteristics. Females were more likely than males to have seen a GP in the last 3 months (55% or an estimated 265,000 of 480,000, compared with 42% or 201,000 of 478,000), while 18% of (or 84,500) males had their most recent visit more than 12 months before the survey (compared with 13% of, or 63,600, females).

As would be expected, the very young (those aged 0–4) as well as those aged 35–54 and 55 and over were more likely to have seen a GP in the last 3 months compared with teenagers and young adults. In particular, 75% (or an estimated 97,800 of 130,000) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 55 and over had seen a GP in the last 3 months compared with 30% (or 61,900 of 205,000) of those aged 5–14.

Recency of visit also varied by the level of psychological distress, with those with higher levels of distress more likely to have visited a GP recently. In 2022–23, 65% (or an estimated 109,000 of 167,000) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 18 and over with high or very high levels of psychological distress saw a GP in the last 3 months, compared with 52% (or 194,000 of 370,000) of those with low or moderate levels.