Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Griffith. She's made a terrific contribution already in her first year in this place. I know that in health that contribution is very much shaped by her time as the CEO of the Kookaburra Kids Foundation, a terrific service that supports kids who are impacted by family mental illness.

By the time parliament returns, it will be a year since the last election. We have been busy delivering on all of the promises and all of the commitments that we made to the Australian people back in May last year, including to strengthen Medicare. Central to that particular commitment was the record investment we made to turn around bulk-billing on 1 November. Already more than 3,600 general practices across Australia are now bulk-billing all of their patients all of the time. We didn't expect to get to that number until 2028, but we are there already. I'm pleased to say that, in the member for Griffith's electorate, the number of 100 per cent bulk-billing practices has doubled since November.

We're also delivering new models of care to better meet the needs of modern Australia. Today we've got 134 Medicare urgent care clinics open for business, delivering high-quality urgent care for people who have non-life-threatening emergencies. More than 2.7 million Australians have been fully bulk-billed. On 1 January 1800MEDICARE opened for business. It is delivering high-quality health advice 24/7 365 days a year as well as a referral to a free telehealth consult with a GP after hours on weeknights and right across weekends if the triage nurse thinks that's appropriate.

Today I particularly want to say that the Assistant Minister for Mental Health and Suicide Prevention and I were delighted to announce the next phase of Medicare Mental Health Check In. It's a service that's convenient, free and backed in by Medicare. From this week, that service will also provide Australians with low-intensity therapy services online or over the phone with qualified professionals. That's particularly for Australians who are experiencing more moderate or more temporary episodes of mental distress. That means better care for them, of course, but it also takes pressure off the higher intensity mental health services. Importantly, there is no need for a GP referral. Importantly, there are no out-of-pocket expenses. Importantly, it is high-quality care backed in by Medicare.

That's 12 months of delivering on our commitment to strengthen Medicare, changing the lives of and making a real difference to millions of Australians.

See this speech in context