… if they win the election. Which isn’t until 2026.
South Australia’s opposition leader has pledged to save general practice from payroll tax, but it would be too little too late for many clinics.
The state’s amnesty period for payroll tax ended at the beginning of this month, but the government still hasn’t revealed the details of its proposal to exempt bulk-billing income from the total amount of tax payable.
Just over a week ago, SA Liberal Party leader David Speirs unveiled a petition to scrap payroll tax for general practice.
“We have almost 1100 signatures from GPs and patients who want [premier] Peter Malinauskas to reverse Labor’s disgraceful payroll tax grab,” Mr Speirs said.
“Peter Malinauskas’s GP payroll tax grab has clearly put another significant dent in our health system and it’s unacceptable that South Australians are being forced to pay more.”
Mr Speirs has since officially pledged to abolish GP payroll tax should he win the next state election, which will be in March 2026.
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AMA SA president Dr John Williams said the signatures spoke to the level of concern among patients.
“I hope this puts pressure on the state government to reconsider its decision to apply this tax in South Australia,” Dr Williams told The Medical Republic.
“We know the tax will force many private practitioners to increase their fees, just to stay in practice.
“We don’t want to charge more.”
Dr Williams’ RACGP counterpart, Dr Sian Goodson told TMR the college was still working through the finer details of the implementation of the government’s plan for payroll tax.
“The government has been hearing GPs’ concerns and have committed to working with us on the development of the regulations,” she said.
These regulations cannot be published until legislation is put through parliament, which is a minimum of six weeks away.
