Background and Purpose

The GPNLG is the coalition of the Australian General Practice Network (AGPN) and State and Territory State-Based Organisations (SBOs) representing Divisions / Networks of General Practice in Australia. The GPNLG (formerly the AGPN-SBO Coalition) was formed following the establishment of SBOs in the late 1990s.

This coalition is seen as valuable given the common elements of their roles within each State in brokerage and coordination for Divisions with State Government Departments/Agencies and State Offices of the Commonwealth. The Australian General Practice Network (AGPN), formerly the Australian Divisions of General Practice Ltd (ADGP) participated in the coalition given the compatibility of its role at a national level supporting Divisions of General Practice in relation to policy and emerging strategic directions. The parties were working collaboratively for a number of years and participate in regular teleconferences and face-to-face meetings between Chief Executives and Chairs of the respective organisations.

In line with the growing and maturing relationship between SBOs and AGPN, the parties agreed to the establishment of a formal agreement to define parameters for common activity to ensure maximum outcomes from collaboration and avoid duplication of effort. This group, the AGPN-SBO Coalition, was established in 2003 following the execution of the Memorandum of Understanding between the 9 organisations in the same year.

In 2007, the group reviewed its function, achievements and roles in supporting network members. It was agreed that a name change to the General Practice Network Leadership Group (GPNLG) more adequately represented the group’s role. In doing so, the GPNLG acknowledged that network leadership occurs at a number of levels; locally, on a state level and nationally, and that the strength of the network comes from local leadership and diversity. As the group that consists of elected leaders from AGPN and State Based Organisations (ie; elected Chairs of each SBO and AGPN), the group is best placed to provide national network leadership with national stakeholders. The GPNLG acknowledged that there are other leadership mechanisms in place across the network and that leadership was clearly not the exclusive domain of the group.

The roles, however, remain unchanged. The GPNLG was established to enable joint planning and strategy development between each State and Territory State Based Organisation (SBO) and the Australian General Practice Network (AGPN) with the aim of building the strength and capacity of the divisions network across Australia.