Rural Medicine Australia 2026 (RMA26) is Australia's flagship national conference for rural and remote medicine, jointly hosted by the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia (RDAA). The 2026 edition takes place from Wednesday 21 to Saturday 24 October 2026 at the Adelaide Convention Centre in Tarndanya (Adelaide), on Kaurna Country, South Australia.
The conference theme, "The Rural Advantage – Generalist Medicine in the Spotlight", celebrates the breadth of skills that rural generalists bring to their communities — doctors who, in the organisers' words, know how to treat anything, anywhere. The program blends plenary keynotes, clinical education sessions, practical workshops, panel discussions and academic and non-academic presentations drawn from an open call for abstracts, alongside affiliated pre- and post-conference skills courses.
RMA26 is accredited for 16.5 CPD hours, including 12.5 Educational Activity hours and 4 Performance Review hours, and meets all four Program Level Requirements: culturally safe practice, addressing health inequities, professionalism and ethical practice. It is designed for rural doctors, rural generalist registrars, GPs, medical students and the wider rural healthcare workforce.
Keynote speakers include Professor Jenny May AM, Australia's National Rural Health Commissioner and a Tamworth-based rural generalist with more than 35 years of rural, regional and remote practice, and Dr Christine Jeffries-Stokes AM of the Heavy Metal Tooth Fairy Project. Further speaker announcements are expected as the program is finalised.
Key themes for 2026 include choosing rural and attracting the next generation of doctors, rural generalist training pathways, procedural and emergency skills in low-resource settings, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, culturally safe care, workforce sustainability, and innovation in rural service delivery.
The previous edition, RMA25 in Boorloo (Perth), drew more than 900 attendees to over 100 education and clinical sessions, supported by 80+ sponsors and exhibitors. RMA26 aims to build on that momentum with an expanded program, an expo floor, and a full social calendar including a welcome reception, the Vitality Breakfast and community gatherings — plus easy access to Adelaide's food scene and the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale wine regions.
Partners include the Rural Generalist Program South Australia (RGPSA), the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, and GP Supervisors Australia (GPSA). Scholarships and bursaries are available for eligible attendees. Full registration covers the three-day program, catered meals, and tickets to the welcome reception and Vitality Breakfast; day registrations are also offered.
