Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Ageing and Minister for Disability and the National Disability Insurance Scheme, Senator McAllister. In its first term, the Albanese Labor government delivered 87 Medicare urgent care clinics to make it easier for Australians to get urgent treatment they need completely free of charge. Minister, how is the government delivering Medicare urgent care clinics across Australia, and how are they helping Australians to access the health care that they need?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Dowling for his question. In May, the Australian people voted for a government that would strengthen Medicare. The Albanese government is doing that through our program to roll out Medicare urgent care clinics right across Australia. When we came to government, we promised 50 urgent care clinics that would deliver bulk-billed care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions. How many urgent care clinics has the government delivered so far? Colleagues, the answer is 90. It's 90 clinics, and I can inform this chamber that Australians have made more than two million visits to Labor's free Medicare urgent care clinics. The average number of visits to Medicare urgent care clinics has also risen to almost 26,000 per week nationally. We expect this number to grow. We expect it to grow as more clinics open.

Urgent care clinics are a game changer for families. One-third of patients are under the age of 15, and people don't pay a dollar to access these urgent care clinics. All they need is their Medicare card, not their credit card. These clinics are changing the way that people access health care. The Albanese government is expanding the availability of free, urgent health care by opening another 47 Medicare urgent care clinics. That is 14 new clinics in New South Wales, nine in Victoria, 10 in Queensland, six in Western Australia, three in South Australia, one in the Northern Territory, one in the ACT and three more in Tasmania, Senator Dowling. Once we open the full range of urgent care clinics, four out of five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of an urgent care clinic. That is us delivering health care for Australians.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Dowling, first supplementary?

Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister, for that uplifting update on our urgent care clinics. Can the minister outline how our local health services are benefiting from the government's model of urgent care, and how are Medicare urgent care clinics being integrated with existing health and hospital services, especially hospital emergency departments?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We now know that nearly half of all patients who attended a Medicare urgent care clinic would have used a hospital emergency department if no clinic were available. Two weeks ago, Tasmania's five Medicare urgent care clinics treated 1,586 patients. This is more than the Royal Hobart Hospital emergency department and nearly double Launceston General Hospital. Urgent care clinics don't just provide relief for public hospitals; they take pressure off general practice right across the country too because their extended opening hours provide services when regular GP practices are closed. Nearly 30 per cent of visits to Medicare urgent care clinics have taken place on weekends, and 25 per cent of patients have attended after 5 pm on weekdays. These clinics are filling a gap in our healthcare system, and they are giving our hospitals and GPs the support they need.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Dowling, second supplementary?

Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, could you advise how our Medicare urgent care clinics complement other actions that the Albanese Labor government is taking to strengthen Medicare and also improve Australia's primary healthcare system. Why has the government chosen this approach?

Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Albanese Labor government is delivering the largest-ever investment in the history of Medicare. There is $8½ billion to expand bulk-billing and create an additional new incentive payment for practices that bulk-bill every patient, and it begins to roll out from Saturday 1 November. It means that nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed by 2030 and fully bulk-billed practices will grow to around 4,800 nationally—triple the current number. The government has already heard from hundreds of practices who've told us that this week they're charging a gap fee and next week they'll be moving to a fully bulk-billed service. This investment is the cornerstone of our plan to rebuild bulk-billing after a decade of coalition neglect which saw billions of dollars ripped out of Medicare, because we believe— (Time expired)