Election 2025

This year’s federal election is going to be called any day now and it’s rumoured to come down to the wire. 

Neither of the two major parties clawing for the vote have a spotless record when it comes to general practice; Liberal Party leader Peter Dutton was once voted worst health minister in living memory, while Labor’s decision to freeze Medicare rebates in 2013 has cast a long shadow over the sector.  

Medical Costs Finder to automatically display fees

Turns out, taking six years and $24.2m to get a grand total of 101 entries is not a winning strategy. Labor promises to change that.
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Drop the copayment from $30 to $19, say health orgs

‘Medicine should never be a luxury item, not in a country as lucky as ours,’ says the president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
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Lift ‘cruel’ VAD telehealth ban and pay GPs for the job 

The small changes will make the world of difference to patients and their GPs trying to help them access voluntary assisted dying, says Go Gentle Australia.
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GPs unsure of where UCC funding comes from

Despite high levels of support for urgent care clinics, recent polling found GPs were unclear on where the government was finding the cash.
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Labor commits $135.2m to digital mental health services

Free support will be available nationally, with vulnerable groups targeted.
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Teal MP’s election commitment to rural health

Dr Helen Haines’ pledge includes prac payments for allied health workers, a $33 million federal investment in training for rural healthcare workers and $2bn in rural hospital funding.
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Medicare is set to be a key battleground, amid mounting public pressure to tackle GP out-of-pocket costs at a time when many are struggling financially.  

Follow along with The Medical Republic as we cover every primary healthcare-related promise, soundbite and gaffe as Australia prepares to head to the polls. 

Health policy pledges by party:

Labor

PromiseCostDate
Expand bulk billing incentives to all Australians $7.9 billion 22/02/25
Introduce a new PIP for practices that commit to universal bulk billing 
2000 new GP training places per year by 2030 $265.2 million 
Incentive payment for GP registrars $204.8 million 
Paid parental and study leave for GP registrars $43.9 million 
Extra 200 primary care rotations for junior doctors $44 million 
50 additional urgent care clinics $644 million1/03/25
Invest in digital mental health services, offering free services for vulnerable groups$135.2 million05/03/25
Upgrade Medical Costs Finder to automatically display fees$7 million17/03/25

LNP

PromiseCostDate
Unknown $8.5 billion23/02/25
20 subsidised mental health appointments via Better Access per year $500 million 

Greens

PromiseCostDate
1000 free local healthcare clinics across Australia $31.7 billion 03/10/24
20% increase to Medicare rebates for long appointments, bulk billing incentives open to all $21.5 billion 
Closing the pay gap for GP registrars $900 million 
Remove service caps on Chronic Disease Management Plans and raise rebates to match out-of-pocket costs Uncosted
Hospital Funding$30.6 billion29/01/25
ADHD and Autism assessments$181 million26/02/25

All election news

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