GPAC-N (General Practice Aged Care Network)
GPAC-N is a national GP support network transforming how healthcare is delivered in Residential Aged Care Facilities (RACFs).
We empower practices and solo GPs to deliver sustainable, patient-centred aged care through a flexible, integrated support model.
From billing and compliance to nursing, admin, IT, stakeholder engagement and clinical governance, GPAC-N provides the structure GPs need to operate confidently and efficiently.
Our innovative model restores GP autonomy, strengthens practice viability, and improves outcomes for residents across Australia.
Our Values
Empowerment
We champion GP autonomy and capability. GPAC-N exists to give doctors the tools, freedom, and support to deliver exceptional aged care on their own terms. We believe empowered clinicians provide the best care.
Respect
We honour the dignity of patients, practitioners, and partners. We treat every individual—whether a resident, GP, nurse, or RACF staff member—with compassion, professionalism, and cultural sensitivity.
Trust
We build confidence through transparency and reliability. Our model is built on clear communication, clinical accountability, and mutual trust between GPs, facilities, families, and our support team.
Resolute
We are unwavering in our commitment to better aged care. We confront challenges with clarity and persistence, continually striving to improve the systems that support vulnerable people and the GPs who care for them.
Our Why
Deep within every culture, across race, creed, and faith, is a shared truth: we are called to honour our elders. It is more than tradition. It is a marker of a civilised, compassionate society. Yet in modern healthcare systems, particularly aged care, this sacred duty has often been lost to bureaucracy, burnout, and disconnection.
GPAC-N exists to reclaim that call.
We believe aged care deserves better, and so do the doctors who serve within it. That is why we are building something different. A national network that empowers GPs to care for older Australians with time, dignity, and clinical freedom.
By supporting independent GPs through a fully backed mobile model, we are restoring autonomy to clinicians and humanity to care. We are ensuring our elders are seen, respected, and nurtured in their later years.
Because honouring our elders is not optional. It is essential.
🚨 Demand vs GP Coverage in Aged Care
📈 Benefits of Consistent GP Care in Aged Care
- AIHW. Health of Older People in Australia. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2023.
- RACGP. Health of the Nation Report, 2022.
- Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, Final Report, 2021.
- Department of Health. MyMedicare and GP Access Incentive Resources, 2024.
- Australian Bureau of Statistics. Population Projections, 2023.
How We’re Different
-
We support GP and Practices by providing a comprehensive support infrastructure, team and resources so they can operate with full autonomy in supporting their patients.
-
We are a network that supports GPs and practices wherever they are, whatever tools they like to use whether Best Practice, Medical Director or something else we coordinate support staff, nurses and allied health to work with you. While we support GPs like a practice with compliance and billing allowing them to focus on patients, not paperwork.
-
We promote working within a team-based care model with nurses, allied health, and other GPs for support, ensuring structured handling of your GPACI requirements and chronic care plans. But importantly this adds care and good outcomes for patients not taking away from the core doctor patient face to face time and attention.
How we work together
Practice-aligned RACF service
- Shared governance, risk and clinical protocols
- Roster, leave cover and communication streamlined with the facility
- MyMedicare & GPACI administration coordinated with GPAC-N
What this means in practice
✔ GP-led team care centred on the resident
✔ Clear roles, shared responsibility and communication
✔ Safer, more coordinated aged care
✔ Better experiences for residents and families
✔ Reduced administration and support load on practices for GPs working in Aged Care
Our Founders
Dr Ash Kirpalani - Clinical Lead
FRACGP, MRCGP(UK), MS Ortho, MBBS
Dr Ash is a compassionate and globally trained GP with a strong focus on aged care, rehabilitation, and musculoskeletal health. Originally trained as an orthopaedic surgeon in India, Singapore, and the UK, he later transitioned into general practice and moved to Australia in 2016. Since then, he has become a Fellow of the RACGP and now cares for residents across 13 aged care facilities. Dr Kirpalani combines his surgical and geriatric expertise with a warm, patient-centred approach. He is active in research and teaching and enjoys travel and building meaningful connections with patients and families.
Matt Mercer - Management Lead
MBA, MPM, BSocSci, CPM
Matt is a Certified Practice Manager with extensive experience in general practice, business, and management. He is the Director of Silky Oaks Medical Practice and has been involved in a range of other practices, including Allied Health and a GPRC. Before his time in primary care, Matt worked in international development and community services. Matt serves as an AGPAL co-surveyor, is on the National Board of AAPM and contributes to national primary care reform advisory groups, including AAPM’s Digital Health Community of Practice, where he brings a practical, systems-focused approach to sustainable practice management.
With changing technology, shifting workforce expectations, and an ageing population, the traditional model of general practice no longer meets the needs of today’s society, or today’s GPs.
At GPAC-N, we embrace a new way of working that values flexibility, autonomy, and meaningful connection. Our mobile, supported model allows GPs and practices to step outside the four walls of a clinic and deliver high-quality care where it’s needed most. It’s time to rethink how and where we work.
FAQs
-
GPAC-N (GP Aged Care Network) is a national model of general practice designed to make aged-care work sustainable for both Practices and Solo GPs.
We provide the practice-level infrastructure, administration, Medicare claiming, and clinical governance that enable GPs to focus on patient care — whether they work independently or within a larger practice.
For Solo GPs, GPAC-N offers a complete support framework to operate a compliant, autonomous mobile RACF practice — with the systems, nursing, and admin backing you’d expect from a full-service clinic.
For Practices, we partner directly with your team to strengthen your RACF service, supporting your doctors with rostering, billing, reporting, compliance, and clinical coordination.
Think of GPAC-N as your aged-care practice team — a flexible, scalable network designed to empower GPs, enhance collaboration, and deliver better outcomes for residents.
-
GPAC-N is growing and aims to be national in scope, we are actively operating in areas including Brisbane South and expanding to other regions across Australia. The network connects GPs with residential aged care facilities (RACFs) that need regular visiting doctors. Whether you're in a metro, regional, or remote area, GPAC-N can support your mobile practice setup, systems, and partnerships with local RACFs.
-
GPAC-N provides comprehensive practice management and clinical support, allowing you to focus on patient care. Key support features include:
✅ Virtual & In-Person Practice Like Supports
Day-to-day admin (e.g., bookings, document handling)
Medicare compliance, billing, and rejection management
Leave coverage coordination
Assistance with RACGP or QPA accreditation
Ongoing logistical and IT support
💸 Full MBS Claiming Assistance
Support with item selection and batching to Medicare/DVA
Correction of rejections and compliance reviews
Chronic disease planning and aged care item optimisation
GPACI and MyMedicare integration with tracking alerts
📅 Continuity & Leave Cover
We coordinate locum or cross-cover while you’re on leave, so your RACF residents always have GP access.
💉 Vaccine Management
Ordering, cold chain monitoring, and compliance with Strive for Five
Nurse immunisers supplied directly to RACFs
📋 Accreditation & Quality Support
Pre-audit checks, policy templates, and QI frameworks
Accreditation project management (led by Matt Mercer, AGPAL co-surveyor)
💻 Digital Infrastructure
Paperless systems: secure cloud backup, eFax, encrypted comms
Best Practice/Medical Director setup support for home or mobile use
Custom-built RACF patient management software in development
🧾 MyMedicare Support
Scripts and workflows to gain NOK consent
Alerts to track eligibility criteria (2 visits/quarter, 2 care plans/year)
Admin team handles the MyMedicare legwork
⚰️ End-of-Life Coordination
Death certificate completion support when you’re away
Coordination with RACFs and family contacts
🏡 GP–RACF Matchmaking
We connect you with RACFs seeking visiting GPs
Assist with onboarding and peer support
🤝 Community & Collaboration
Invitations to CPD events and RACF-specific GP forums
RACF updates, peer sharing, and case discussions
-
With GPAC-N, your setup is flexible — designed around how you or your practice choose to deliver aged-care services.
If you’re a Solo GP, you operate as an independent RACF GP, either full-time or part-time, visiting one or more aged-care facilities. You don’t need a physical clinic; some GPs work entirely mobile, while others base themselves from a home office. GPAC-N provides your practice infrastructure — software, billing, secure communication, and compliance systems — so you can focus entirely on patient care.
If you’re part of a Practice, GPAC-N integrates with your existing systems to support your doctors in RACF work. We assist with rostering, reporting, billing workflows, and clinical governance, ensuring your practice maintains oversight and your GPs are fully supported on-site.
In every model, you stay clinically autonomous, while GPAC-N takes care of the operational load — so you can focus on care, not administration.
-
Item descriptionJoining GPAC-N is straightforward. Here's how:
Register Interest
Visit www.gpac.network/join and use the contact or "Join Us" form to express your interest.Introductory Call
We’ll schedule a call to explore your goals and determine the best setup for your RACF practice.Credentialing & Onboarding
Our team handles credential checks, Medicare registrations, and system setup. You’ll also receive training in clinical systems and documentation workflows.Facility Matching & Start Practicing
You’ll be matched with aged care homes needing GP support. We can even link you in with GP mentors as part of your onboarding if you are new to Aged Care GP work. Once orientation is complete, you begin seeing patients, with full support from our virtual practice team.
-
GPAC-N offers several engagement options designed to suit both Solo GPs and Practices.
If you’re a GPAC-N Partner GP, certain models allow you to retain a higher than market rate percentage of your Medicare and DVA billings.
If you’re working within a Practice, Practice Affiliated GPs are co-supported by GPAC-N and your existing practice. We work with your existing engagement model. Billings are processed through GPAC-N though and we provide wrap-around support and system integration.
All engagement types are transparent, sustainable, and GP-focused, ensuring that funding flows where it belongs — to the GPs and practices delivering care.
-
GPs and Practices valuing collaboration and continuity
Open to both individual GPs and practices partnering with GPAC-N for shared governance, continuity of care, and innovation in aged-care delivery.GPs looking for more flexibility and autonomy
Ideal for doctors who want to practise independently or within a supported framework that fits their lifestyle and goals.GPs passionate about aged care, chronic disease, or palliative care
Join a network that values long-term continuity and best-practice clinical governance in residential aged care.GPs seeking to reduce administrative load and overheads
Access full administrative, nursing, and coordination support — at no cost — so you can focus on patient care.GPs and Practices valuing collaboration and continuity
Open to both individual GPs and practices partnering with GPAC-N for shared governance, continuity of care, and innovation in aged-care delivery.
-
Absolutely. GPAC-N is building a collaborative peer network. You’ll have access to:
Peer forums and CPD events
Support from experienced GPs in aged care
Clinical advice pathways and escalation options
Governance and performance review frameworks
Rethink GP Aged Care
Find out more about the meaningful work you could be doing to help shape the future of Aged Care medicine with the team that will back you.