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Practice for sale formA new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in the Green Valley area, the expansion of bulk bulling to all Australians and investment in the primary care workforce, were among some of the health-focused features of last night’s Federal Budget.
In handing down the government’s fourth and final budget ahead of the next election in May, Treasurer Jim Chalmers described “Strengthening Medicare” as one of the government’s five key priorities.
“[This investment] will make Medicare even stronger, help with cost-of-living pressures and ensure every Australian receives the best healthcare that they deserve,” Mr Chalmers said.
If re-elected, the government has committed $644 million to open another 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the country, including one at Green Valley.
The new clinic would join five other urgent care sites in South Western Sydney – including sites at Campbelltown, Liverpool, Fairfield, Bankstown and Gregory Hills – providing medical care for non-life threatening conditions.
South Western Sydney PHN (SWSPHN) Chief Executive Officer, Dr Keith McDonald PhD, welcomed the announcement, saying the region’s existing urgent care sites had been an increasingly popular option with the local community seeking care for minor illnesses and injuries, when their regular doctor was unavailable.
“Many patients have told us they would have sought care at an emergency department if urgent care hadn’t been available to them,” he said. “These sites are open extended hours and are fully bulk billed for those with a Medicare card.”
Another budget commitment of note was $7.9 billion to expand eligibility for bulk billing incentives to all Australians. A new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program will provide additional funding to GPs and GP practices which bulk bill all their patients. The government expects the investment to deliver an additional 18 million bulk billed GP visits each year by 2030.
The government also pledged $662.6 million to grow the primary healthcare workforce, through training and retaining more doctors, nurses and midwives, if re-elected.
This includes $265.2 million to expand GP training, with an extra 200 training places per year from 2026, increasing to an extra 400 places per year from 2028; $248.7 million for salary incentives for junior doctors to specialise in general practice; $10.5 million for 400 scholarships for nurses and midwives to extend their skills.
Dr McDonald said the government’s commitment to investing in the general practice workforce was encouraging, particularly in a region like South Western Sydney where rapid population growth was being experienced alongside pockets of disadvantage.
“Parts of our community have health needs which are significantly higher than average,” he said. “We are also experiencing a decline in bulk billing GPs, and an undersupply of GPs combined with a high proportion of GPs nearing retirement age.
“Boosts to incentives to expand bulk billing and measures to attract GPs and nurses to general practice, will support the work SWSPHN is currently undertaking to attract and retain primary carers in our region.”
The budget also included:
- $3.2 billion total investment in cheaper medicines, including $689 million in the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) to make four out of five PBS medicines cheaper, with a prescription to cost no more than $25 under the scheme.
- $792.9 million for women’s health, including larger Medicare payments and more bulk billing for IUDs and birth control implants; a new Medicare rebate for menopause health assessments and funding to train health professionals; the first PBS listing for new menopausal hormone therapies in more than 20 years; and 11 new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics treating more conditions.
Other recently announced investments in health include:
- $31.2 million to develop a new framework to deliver virtual nursing support in aged care, focusing on residential aged care providers in rural and remote areas, and those who support older people of First Nations or culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
- $69 million to ensure support is available for people affected by suicide and distress, including additional funding for suicide prevention services, community support programs, health promotion campaigns and research, through the National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program.
- $135.2 million for free digital and online mental health supports, including a first-of-its-kind Australian digital mental health service for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
- $5.4 million for increasing health literacy for culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The funding will allow the Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health to deliver the Health in My Language (HiML) program across the country. Health education sessions are delivered in the participants’ own languages, ensuring the information is accessible, culturally appropriate and safe.