SENATOR THE HON KATY GALLAGHER
MINISTER FOR FINANCE
SENATOR FOR THE ACT

MARK BUTLER MP
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE 

ANDREW LEIGH MP
MEMBER FOR FENNER

ALICIA PAYNE MP
MEMBER FOR CANBERRA 

DAVID SMITH MP
MEMBER FOR BEAN

ALBANESE LABOR GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT MORE BULK BILLING GPS AND RESPITE CARE IN CANBERRA

A re-elected Albanese Labor Government will deliver $24.3 million to boost access to bulk billing GPs and build more aged care respite beds across the ACT to ensure Canberrans have access to high quality, free healthcare when they need it.

Part of this funding will guarantee three new fully bulk billed GP clinics in the areas that need them most.
This investment is on top of Labor’s record investment in Medicare to triple the bulk billing incentive and support practices that bulk bill all of their patients.

This significant investment is the result of months of work to ensure that Canberrans can access a GP where and when they need to.

Labor’s healthcare plan for the ACT will deliver a $24.3 million package to:

• Deliver three new fully bulk billed GP practices, with a $10.5 million Bulk Billing GP Attraction Initiative to attract new general practitioners to Canberra.
• Secure the future of the Interchange Health Co-op in Tuggeranong with $3.8 million to support a private provider to take over and maintain bulk billing.
• Establish the first-ever metropolitan trial of the Single Employer Model rural training initiative, in partnership with the ACT Government, to make it more attractive for GPs to train in Canberra.
• $10 million in new capital infrastructure to deliver more aged care respite beds in the ACT.

Canberra’s unique characteristics, including population size and capital city status, have created some challenges when it comes to attracting and retaining GPs.

Canberra has fewer GPs than other capital cities, with 20 per cent fewer GPs per person than Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, and 20 to 40 per cent fewer GPs than regional centres like Newcastle, Geelong, Moreton Bay, or the Gold Coast.

Canberra’s bulk billing rate is also significantly lower than the national average. Labor’s investment has been calibrated to ensure we are attracting more GPs and increasing the number of bulk billing clinics across the ACT, to give Canberrans more choice when it comes to accessing affordable healthcare.
The new $24.3 million commitment to boost GP access will work alongside the Albanese Labor Government’s 2025-26 Budget investments, including:

• A new bulk billed and GP-led Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in Woden, adding to the current network of Urgent Care Clinics in Gungahlin, Dickson, Belconnen, Weston Creek and Tuggeranong,
• More funding to train thousands more doctors across Australia, and
• The largest ever investment in Medicare since Labor created it 41 years ago, through an $8.5 billion national injection of funds to significantly boost bulk billing places.

The $10 million in new funding for aged care respite beds will ensure that, following the ACT Government’s decision to close Burrangiri, the number of respite beds in the ACT does not reduce overall. The funding will go to a provider for either a new facility, or to extend an existing facility.
Consistent with past practice, election commitments will be delivered in line with Commonwealth Grants Rules and Principles.

Quotes attributable to Senator for the ACT, Katy Gallagher:
“Canberrans expect and deserve the same standard of healthcare as any other Australian, and that’s exactly what a re-elected Albanese Labor Government will deliver through this important local GP funding package.

“We have listened to the ACT community’s concerns about access to bulk billing GPs, and we have taken action to deliver a practical solution.

“Canberrans want their local leaders to deliver outcomes and that’s what we have done with this significant package to boost bulk billing GPs in the ACT, and to attract and retain more GPs here in the national capital.

“I am also excited that Canberra will be the home for Australia’s first metropolitan trial of a Single Employer Model, in partnership with the ACT Government, which will make it more attractive for trainee GPs to live and work in Canberra.

“Labor built Medicare – which is the envy of the world – and only Labor can deliver improvements that will strengthen Medicare.”

Quotes attributable to Health Minister Mark Butler:
“Canberra has longstanding issues with GP availability which all levels of government have tried valiantly to address.”

“These longstanding pressures have created a ‘GP desert’ in Canberra that distorts the market for GP services and restricts access to bulk billing.”

“If we bring more bulk billing GPs to Canberra, we fix the GP desert and restore normal market dynamics for bulk billed GP services.”

“Labor’s Healthcare Plan for the ACT is a $24.3 million commitment that also includes $10 million in new capital infrastructure funding to build more aged care respite beds.”

Quotes attributable to Andrew Leigh, Member for Fenner:
“Canberra’s GP shortage didn’t appear overnight – and it won’t be fixed without bold action.

“This plan is about turning the tide: bringing bulk billing back, rebuilding trust in the system, and making Medicare stronger for the future.

“It’s a vote of confidence in Canberra – a city that deserves first-rate care and a health system that works for everyone.”

Quotes attributable to Alicia Payne, Member for Canberra:
“Canberrans have great difficulty in accessing bulk billing services in our city and this announcement is game changing for access to GPs across the ACT.

“Building on our investments in Medicare, our walk-in clinics and the new Urgent Care Clinic to be built in the Woden Valley, this announcement will help Canberrans receive the medical care they deserve.”

Quotes attributable to David Smith, Member for Bean:
“This is a good announcement that builds on the work done on a new GP-led Urgent Care Clinic in Woden, and to ensure that the new provider for the IHCO can ensure the practice remains 100% bulkbilling.

“The training incentives are a critical part of dealing with workforce supply that could be then rolled out elsewhere in the country.”

MONDAY 21 APRIL 2025