Strengthening Medicare

All Australians deserve access to universal, prompt, and world class medical care, and no one deserves to face a multi-year wait for vital treatments simply due to the cost.

Cutting Medicare is in the Liberals’ DNA. You can never trust the Liberals on Medicare.

Labor built Medicare and we will always protect it.

Making it Easier to See a Doctor

Labor will deliver at least 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, to take pressure off our emergency departments.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will make it easier for Australian families to see a doctor or a nurse when they have an urgent, but not life threatening, need for care. Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will bulk bill, meaning there will be no out-of-pocket costs.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will be based in existing GP clinics and Community Health Centres and provide bulk billed services delivered by doctors and nurses – in every state and territory.

This includes treating sprains and broken bones, stitches and glue for cuts, wound care, insect bites, minor ear and eye problems, and minor burns. All important and time-critical treatments that don’t need a hospital emergency department.

Labor will also:

  • change the rules to allow regional and outer metro communities to recruit more doctors of their choosing – both locals and overseas trained GPs.
  • expand the newborn screening program, increasing the number of screened conditions from around 25 to 80.
  • improve pandemic preparedness and response by establishing an Australian Centre for Disease Control. 

Labor built Medicare. Australians know they can trust us to keep Medicare safe and strong, and to put the health of our people first.