President's Rural Tour 2025
AMA SA President Dr John Williams has covered thousands of kilometres during his rural tour of the state. Find out where he is going next.

Below AMA SA President Dr John Williams reflects on what the tour has achieved and what lies on the road ahead.
What motivated your rural tour?
Working in rural medicine is tough. We do our best to provide quality care, but it’s difficult to get vital services to our patients. Resources are stretched thin and we face constant pressure and constant change.
These challenges impact our patients, too. Despite our best efforts, we know that people who live in rural and remote areas often have less access to medical care and poorer health outcomes than those living in the city. That must change.
As the first AMA SA president based in a regional area, I’ve made it my personal mission to ensure regional doctors have a greater say in the decisions and policies that impact them and their communities. The rural tour allows me to connect with those clinicians in their areas and better understand the barriers they’re facing, so I can make a difference for them.
Where have you visited?
The tour started in the Adelaide Hills in May. Since then, I’ve visited the Riverland, the Limestone Coast and Kangaroo Island. Our CEO Nicole Sykes has joined me for much of the tour.
What issues have emerged?
Each region has its own unique challenges but everywhere I go, similar themes emerge.
The elephant in the room is Medicare. After years of inadequate indexation, the Medicare rebate no longer bears any relationship to the actual cost of providing high-quality services to patients. Doctors are crying out for reform and investment and the AMA SA President Dr John Williams has covered thousands of kilometres during his rural tour of the state. At the end of 2024 he reflected on what the tour has achieved and what lies on the road ahead. AMA has been advocating for this at both the national and state levels.
Payroll tax is another recurring concern. The added financial burden imposed by this tax is adding pressure on practices already operating in the margins. Both publicly and during our regular meetings with the Health Minister, AMA SA has warned the South Australian Government that it could force some practices to close. South Australia can’t afford to lose any GPs, especially in rural and remote areas where access to care is already limited.
Recruiting and retaining doctors is also an issue that’s cropped up frequently. Colleagues have told me they’re worried about the ageing workforce and the difficulty attracting and keeping younger doctors in regional communities.
What has the tour achieved?
The insights I’ve gained during the tour have strengthened my voice. When I speak with the Premier or hold a press conference, I can be confident that I’m speaking on behalf of the doctors I’ve met.
AMA SA works hard to represent the views and interests of the doctors we represent and there’s plenty of evidence that our advocacy achieves results. Our work with the Rural Doctors’ Association of SA in negotiating the rural GP agreement has improved pay for more than 330 rural GPs and GP registrars. I’ve also championed the single employer model of training that allows GPs to be hired by SA Health as salaried employees for up to four years during their training, giving them continual access to entitlements like annual leave and sick leave.
By advocating for fair pay and access to benefits, AMA SA has helped secure a clinical workforce that delivers world-class care to regional areas. This is a significant achievement – but of course there’s more to do.
What are your priorities?
I already highlighted doctors’ concerns about Medicare and payroll tax. Our advocacy on these issues will continue.
More generally, there are two problems that need urgent attention. First, we need more data so we can understand why patients are sick, what we can do to keep them well and which areas need additional resources the most.
We also need better communication and connectivity across the system. We need our GPs, hospitals and allied health providers to talk more and share more data, so patients have continuity of care across the network. The different parts of our system can’t operate in a vacuum.
Where next?
There’s still a lot of ground to cover. I look forward to meeting colleagues in the Murraylands, Fleurieu Peninsula and Clare early this year. If you live in those regions, I encourage you to keep an eye out on our website for tour dates. Alternatively, please contact our team to express your interest at membership@amasa.org.au.
This is a chance for doctors to shine a light on your regions and have a say in the future of our profession.
Don’t miss your chance to connect with Dr John Williams as he passes through your local regions with events in Murray Bridge, Clare, Port Pirie and Victor Harbor.