What are the biggest challenges facing Australian practice managers? AusDoc research identifies five recurring pressures: staffing and recruitment, compliance demands, disconnected technology, financial pressure and rising patient expectations.
Together, these challenges are placing the people responsible for running Australian general practices under sustained operational pressure.
The findings come from the AusDoc Practice Manager Survey. They reveal a profession trying to maintain patient care, support practice teams and keep increasingly complex businesses running, often with fewer resources and more administrative work.
Key findings:
Australian practice managers commonly reported five major challenges:
- Recruiting and retaining good staff
- Managing growing compliance requirements
- Working with disconnected or outdated systems
- Maintaining financial sustainability
- Meeting rising patient expectations
These pressures rarely occur in isolation. Staffing shortages increase workloads, inefficient systems consume time and compliance requirements divert attention from patients and staff.
What is the biggest challenge facing practice managers?
1. The Staffing Squeeze
The most frequently mentioned challenge was staffing and recruitment. Many respondents described the struggle to hire and retain quality staff amid a competitive employment market.
“Employing and retaining good staff is impossible,” one manager explained. “We’re competing with corporates who can offer higher pay and flexible hours.”
Another added, “When someone leaves, the workload doubles. We’re all exhausted before lunchtime.”
When a team member leaves, the effect is felt throughout the practice. Remaining employees take on additional responsibilities, managers spend more time recruiting and onboarding, and patient access can suffer.
The result is not simply a recruitment problem. It places the leadership, workflow and operational stability of the entire practice under pressure.
Why is compliance placing pressure on general practice?
2. Compliance Fatigue
Regulatory and compliance burdenswere the next major concern. Practice Managers described feeling buried under the weight of documentation, accreditation cycles, and policy updates.
“It’s the paperwork that kills you,” one respondent said. “None of it adds to patient care, but it all needs to be done.”
Practice managers are not alone in experiencing this administrative strain. AusDoc’s BIG Doctor Survey found that:
- More than one in four doctors spent at least 10 hours a week on administrative work
- More than one-third spent between five and nine hours a week on administration
This suggests administrative demand is consuming both management capacity and clinical time across Australian general practice.
How does disconnected technology affect practice managers?
3. Systems That Don’t Talk
Practice managers also reported frustration with ageing or disconnected technology.
Many practices use separate systems for clinical records, billing, appointments, communications, reporting and workforce management. When these platforms do not integrate, staff must enter information multiple times or create manual workarounds.
“Our systems don’t talk to each other. We’re forever fixing IT problems instead of focusing on patients.”
Poor integration can increase administrative work, create opportunities for error and leave practice managers responsible for resolving technology problems that sit outside their core role.
For health technology providers, the message is clear: integration and ease of implementation are not optional product benefits. They directly affect whether a solution reduces or adds to a practice’s workload.
What financial pressures are practices experiencing?
4. Financial Pressure
Practice managers described an ongoing balancing act between maintaining service quality and controlling costs.
Wages, technology, insurance, compliance and general operating expenses continue to rise. At the same time, many administrative activities cannot be billed directly.
“We’re running leaner than ever. Every hour of admin costs us time we can’t bill.”
This creates difficult decisions about staffing, investment and service delivery. It can also make practices cautious about adopting products or programs that require additional implementation time without a clear and measurable benefit.
How are patient expectations affecting practices?
5. Managing Rising Patient Expectations
Patient management remains another significant source of pressure.
Appointment availability, waiting times, prescription requests, digital communication and demand for faster responses must all be managed by practice teams, often before a patient speaks to a doctor.
“We’re trying to do more with fewer staff. Patients don’t always see the strain behind the scenes.”
Practice managers and reception teams frequently sit at the point where limited practice capacity meets growing patient demand. Managing those interactions requires time, consistency and clear communication.
How does practice manager pressure affect general practice?
Staffing shortages increase workloads. Compliance requirements consume management time. Disconnected systems create more manual work. Financial constraints limit investment, while patient expectations continue to rise.
Because practice managers coordinate people, systems and workflows, pressure on the role can influence:
- Staff wellbeing and retention
- Appointment availability
- Practice efficiency
- Technology adoption
- Patient communication
- Financial sustainability
- The time available for patient care
Supporting practice managers is therefore not simply a workforce issue. It is an important part of maintaining effective and sustainable primary care.
What should healthcare organisations understand?
Organisations seeking to work with Australian general practices need to recognise the operational environment behind the consulting room.
Products, services and communications are more likely to be valued when they:
- Save staff time
- Integrate with existing systems
- Minimise implementation and training requirements
- Make compliance easier
- Provide a clear operational or patient benefit
- Respect the practice’s existing workflow
The bigger picture
AusDoc’s research reveals a workforce facing sustained operational pressure, but also one with a strong commitment to its practices, teams and patients.
As one respondent explained:
“We love what we do. But the system needs to love us back.”
Recognising the contribution of practice managers is an important first step. Reducing avoidable administrative work, improving system integration and supporting a sustainable workforce must follow.
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References
The findings in this article are drawn from:
- AusDoc Practice Manager Survey, September 2025, n=77
- AusDoc BIG Doctor Survey, September 2025, n=1,430