Educational Release


GP registrars are trainees. In much the same way as an apprentice ‘tradie’ must be released for education with their TAFE provider, your GP registrar is also required to be released to their RTO for education.

GP Training Practice Subsidies are paid to the practice to cover the cost of their release for this purpose.

As an employer of a trainee, and per the NTCER, you are required to pay your registrar for their educational release hours at the base rate only. GP registrars are not entitled to a loading or a percentage on top of their base salary for their mandatory educational release time.

GP registrars and practices are sometimes confused that educational release is paid in addition to the base salary. This is not the case.


You should also seek from your RTO, in writing, confirmation of what days and hours your GP registrar(s) is/are required for educational release. If your GP registrar is part time, so too normally will their educational release requirements and dedicated in-practice teaching.

This is why normally you get a pro-rata Training Practice Subsidy for a part-time registrar in contrast to a full-time GP registrar. So, if they are part time, but still participating in all of the educational release as though they were full time, it will be costing the practice more than it should.