Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson who along with Labor senator Anne Urquhart and Liberal Senator Wendy Askew sat on the Senate's Community Affairs References Committee.

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Mr Wish-Wilson said the inquiry had identified a need to invest in methods of recruitment that had proven to work.

He said with the evidence that GPs from remote and rural areas were more likely to return to those communities, consideration should be given to establishing a quota system at universities to train more students from the regions.

He said a fly-in fly-out model for remote GPs was also something that could be considered, pointing to one medical professional who was already employing a similar model of service.

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Ms Askew said she also thought a FIFO model could work in Tasmania and pointed to existing services that flew into remote communities such as Flinders Island as having a positive impact on those communities.

She said it was clear from several hearings that the pressure faced by rural GPs was one of the main issues impacting retention rates.

Ms Urquhart said feedback from the inquiry made it clear that there was a hunger and desire by the industry to increase the number of GP training positions available.

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She said one of the recurring issues raised in the inquiry was not just the limited number of GPs in remote and rural areas but the distance people need to travel to access primary health providers.

Final submissions were due by February 17, with the committee expected to provide a report by March 13.

Andrew Chounding is The Examiner's Health Reporter, if you have a health-related story please email Andrew.chounding@examiner.com.au

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