From The Source
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.  

Missing middle get help with $1bn mental health package

Reaction from the sector has been largely positive, particularly about the extra training places and those caught between GPs and state hospitals.

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Greens’ dental proposal cops $45bn blow from PBO

The party’s dental plan was filled with ‘uncertainties’ due to ‘complex interactions’ across sectors. Mark Butler has officially put it in the too-hard basket.

Read more >

DHCRC releases election priorities

The document provides a roadmap for advancing Australia’s digital health innovation. See what’s in it.
Read more >

Koff: We are ‘sleepwalking into health system failure’

The head of our largest digital health company says that without a holistic plan we could easily stay on a slow burn path to significant system failure.
Read more >

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 Health Services Daily as we cover every 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
Expand free public mental health care $1 billion08/04/25
Establish a health and engineering wing at Central Queensland University’s Cairns campus$27.5 million10/04/25
Aged care capital assistance plan for the Northern Territory$60 million11/04/25
Strengthen Medicare to deliver more inclusive LGBTIQA+ healthcare$10 million14/04/25
Expand the emergency department at Fairfield Hospital $80 million22/04/25
Invest in Street Side Medics $2.6 million22/04/25
Rebrand Healthdirect to 1800 MEDICARE and expand its services$200 million27/04/25

LNP

PromiseCostDate
Extend the tripled bulk-billing rebate and improve general practice training pathways$8.5 billion23/02/25
20 subsidised mental health appointments via Better Access per year $500 million 
Regional Australia Future Fund $20 billion10/04/25
Roll over funding for Suicide Prevention Australia$15 million11/04/25
Upgrading regional medical training facilities nationwide$100 million16/04/25
Improving online safety for kids $6 million16/04/25

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 million 26/02/25 

All election news

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