Our Plan for Quality Healthcare
Labor has failed Australians on health.
Labor promised to strengthen Medicare, but since they came to power it has become harder, and more expensive, to see a doctor.
Medicare bulk billing rates have collapsed from 88% under the Coalition, to 77% under Anthony Albanese. In the past financial year alone, there have been 40 million fewer bulk billed visits to a GP compared to the Coalition’s last year in government.
Hard-working Australians are paying more to see their doctor than ever before. Australians are covering 45% more of the cost to see a GP on average, as out-of-pocket costs have risen to the highest level on record under Labor.
Most concerningly, Labor’s homegrown cost of living crisis has forced more than 1.5 million Australians to avoid seeing a GP last year because they simply couldn’t afford it.
This is putting further pressure on already overrun hospitals across Australia.
The lack of GPs in our communities is also making it harder to see a doctor when you need one and Labor has ignored serious workforce shortages for three years.
To make matters worse, Labor cut access to Medicare mental health sessions in half, leaving more than 372,000 Australians with complex mental health challenges without the affordable support they need.
Labor’s broken health promises and lack of action have led to worse patient outcomes and more Australians unable to access or afford the healthcare they need.
Anthony Albanese has prioritised politics over healthcare, and he is more focused on baseless scare campaigns than fixing the serious health challenges Australians are facing.
Under the Albanese Labor Government, healthcare is becoming unaffordable and heading in the wrong direction.
The Coalition has a plan to get health back on track.
The Coalition will address the key challenges in our health system and restore accessible and affordable quality healthcare for all Australians.
Our primary focus will be on delivering a world class health system, with better health outcomes for all Australians in the areas that are in desperate need of investment and reform.
A Dutton Government will:
- Guarantee the growing funding of Medicare;
- Restore bulk billing and provide all Australians with affordable access to a GP;
- Invest in after-hours GP telehealth consultations;
- Grow our medical workforce to address critical shortages, making it easier to see a GP;
- Delivering cheaper medicines on the PBS by lowering the maximum copayment to $25;
- Prioritise mental health support for Australians, including critical youth mental health and suicide prevention research;
- Provide targeted healthcare and support to Australian women;
- Establish new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics;
- Provide an additional 350 Commonwealth Supported Places for medical students to grow the pipeline of locally trained doctors;
- Expand scholarships for nurses and midwives to extend their skills;
- Deliver quality healthcare to regional, rural and remote Australians, no matter where you live;
- Fund a dedicated Rural, Remote and Regional Health Strategy following calls from peak rural health groups;
- Guarantee funding certainty for our hospitals;
- Invest in cutting-edge medical research to drive treatment breakthroughs for Australians;
- Fund more Urgent Care Clinics to provide bulk billed cost-of-living relief for Australians;
- List all medicines on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme that are recommended by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee, to ensure Australians have affordable access to life-changing new medicines;
- Build on the Coalition’s strong record and management of the budget and the economy to deliver better healthcare in Australia.
Our Plan
1. Provide all Australians with affordable access to a GP
An elected Dutton Coalition Government will invest $8.5 billion into Medicare to restore bulk billing and ensure all Australians have timely and affordable access to a doctor.
As part of our historic primary healthcare package, the Coalition will expand the Medicare bulk billing incentive to all Australians and provide significant support to GPs to offer bulk billed services to the community more widely.
These measures are projected to restore GP bulk billing back up to the record-high levels reached under the former Coalition Government, meaning more Australians will be able to access their doctor for free.
The Coalition is proud to have made telehealth universal and permanent— the single biggest reform to Medicare in recent history.
We delivered more than 100 million telehealth services, benefiting over 17 million Australians.
The Coalition will build on this legacy by investing $204 million to expand the telephone and web health service Health Direct to include free, after-hours GP consultations.
Medicare Bulk Billing Rate (GP Services)
Higher under Liberals. Fallen 11% under Labor.
2. Educate, Train and Support the Next Generation
A Dutton Coalition Government will commit over $1 billion over the next 5 years to grow a strong pipeline of Australian-trained doctors and nurses to help fill the shortages in our suburbs and rural areas.
The Coalition will invest in the entire medical pipeline to educate, train, incentivise, and support Australia’s next generation of doctors, nurses and midwives.
We will prioritise delivery of 350 new medical student places (200 specifically for regional medical places). This will grow the locally trained health workforce to work and support local communities.
We will also invest $100 million towards upgrading regional medical training facilities across Australia and $242 million to increase the number of John Flynn scholarships to boost medical training in rural and regional Australia.
To secure the pipeline from start to finish, we will deliver:
- More General Practice and Rural Generalist training places; an extra 200 places annually from 2026 rising to 400 from 2028;
- Direct salary incentives for junior doctors who choose to train as a GP in the community, where they are needed most, including paid parental and study leave;
- 400 more scholarships for nurses and midwives to extend their skills and ensure we have a comprehensive and multidisciplinary health workforce to support Australians.
The Coalition will secure the future of Australia’s healthcare by backing our healthcare workers. Our comprehensive package of workforce measures reflects the urgent need to train more medical and nursing students, strengthen the pipeline of Australia’s health workforce, and encourage more medical graduates to choose general practice and rural generalist pathways.
3. Prioritise Mental Health Support
A Dutton Coalition Government will take real, comprehensive and compassionate action to prioritise and deliver mental health support services for Australians.
Restore Medicare Mental Health Funding
A Dutton Coalition Government will restore critical support for Australians’ mental health and Medicare mental health funding after Labor ripped away the affordable extra mental health support required by more than 372,000 Australians.
This will double the number of Medicare-subsidised mental health sessions that Australians can access, from 10 to 20, and on a permanent basis. This will ensure Australians have affordable access to the mental health support they need. The Coalition understands that comprehensive mental health support is essential.
A World-Leading Focus on Youth Mental Health
A Dutton Coalition Government will support young Australians with access to specialist mental healthcare where and when they need it. As Health Minister in 2014, Peter Dutton created Australia’s National Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health. Building on that initiative, a Dutton Coalition Government will establish a National Institute for Youth Mental Health. The National Institute will lead policy advice to government, undertake data analysis and research. It will also advise on how Commonwealth-funded youth mental health services should be determined to deliver the best support for our young people, and develop and train the mental health workforce in this emerging field of health care. This will be a world leading service and delivers on our proud legacy of investing in mental health.
To further comprehensively address youth mental health, the Coalition will more than double the number of Early Psychosis Youth Service centres from eight to 20. We will also provide dedicated specialist support to eating disorders, personality disorders, complex mood disorders and substance use disorders through new holistic mental health centers. This will provide national coverage to world-leading youth mental health services for young Australians experiencing complex mental health conditions.
The Coalition has a strong track record of investing in local community mental health programs, ensuring that support is available where it is needed most. The Coalition established headspace under the Howard Government in 2006. We will expand the headspace network across Australia to help give young people access to its frontline services and “no wrong door” approach to support for mental health needs.
The Coalition’s significant investment will place Australia at the global forefront of youth mental health research, support and treatment. By investing in these initiatives, a Dutton Coalition Government will ensure that every Australian, especially children and young people, can access mental health support services wherever they live.
Support Farmers’ Mental Health
A Coalition Government will commit $7.9 million to prioritise farmer mental health and access to help, by introducing seven mental health specialists in each state and territory to specifically address mental health concerns for farmers.
Under our plan, farmers will be given easy access to mental health specialists across the country in regional and rural Australia, tailored to the unique experience of farmers.
Specialists will act as a conduit between main centres and regional hubs, providing sector-specific advice to farmers. They will also advise Head to Health on what support is needed.
Tragically, a farmer dies by suicide every 10 days, which is twice the rate of the general working population. Farmers are also half as likely as other rural people to have seen a mental health professional in the last 12 months, but will only access help if they feel the professional understands their way of life.
The Coalition is committed to ensuring support for Australian farmers who are doing it tough.
4. More Support for Women’s Health
Women’s health has always been a priority for the Coalition, which is why we launched the National Women’s Health Strategy 2020–2030, to improve long-term health outcomes for women and girls and tailored policies to deliver meaningful outcomes.
A Dutton Coalition Government will invest more than $573 million to expand on the historic work undertaken when we were last in Government to support women’s health in Australia.
Our commitment to better health outcomes for woman and girls include:
- Increasing funding for endometriosis and establishing more pelvic pain clinics across Australia;
- Increasing support for women experiencing menopause including through a new dedicated Medicare item;
- Providing easier access to essential medicines by enabling pharmacies to provide contraceptives and treatment for uncomplicated UTIs;
- Making contraceptives and hormone treatments cheaper by listing them on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), ensuring women have affordable access to the treatments they need, and
- Lowering the maximum PBS co-payment to $25.
Cheaper Medicines and Targeted Healthcare for Women
The Coalition will invest $5 million to guarantee cheaper medicines and targeted healthcare for women through a specific review to ensure they are able to get the best quality care when they need it most.
The review will look at women-specific health items on the Medicare Benefits Schedule and corresponding treatments on the PBS, to identify best practice women-specific medical services which should be included, and ensure clinically effective services and treatments remain affordable and accessible to better support women’s health and wellbeing.
Ovarian Cancer Nurses
Ovarian cancer is the deadliest cancer for Australian women. We are committing to do more to provide support to women and their families battling this terrible disease.
A Coalition Government will deliver $4 million to Ovarian Cancer Australia, so ovarian care nurses can continue their critical work with the Teal Support Program. This funding will support nurse navigators and provide telehealth outreach programs to support women with ovarian cancer, and their families, throughout their diagnosis, treatment and beyond.
5. Men’s Health
The Coalition will commit $32 million to help break the stigma around men’s mental health, including a new campaign encouraging men to stop avoiding health check-ups. Funding will also be provided to support training for over 60,000 GPs and nurses through the incredible work of Movember.
As part of this package, $20.7 million will be provided to organisations supporting men’s mental health and wellbeing in the community.
$3 million will be provided to Healthy Male to support the delivery of Plus Paternal Initiative, a program that aims to improve the health of men and their families by increasing the engagement and support of men from preconception to early parenthood.
We will also build on our strong record on mental health to establish more men’s sheds and more funding to boost community mental health initiatives, to ensure grassroots support is available when Australian men need it most.
6. Invest in Urgent Care Clinics
The Coalition supports Australians getting improved access to bulk billed healthcare through urgent care clinics. We will maintain and expand the number of UCCs across Australia.
Under Labor, it has never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor, and this is adding even further demand to already under-pressure hospitals.
The bulk billing rate has fallen 11% under the Albanese Labor Government. Australians are now covering 45% more of the cost to see a doctor from their own pocket under Labor, as out-of-pocket costs have reached the highest level on record.
The Coalition will maintain and deliver new Urgent Care Clinics across the country and in the way they were intended — focused on providing real access to bulk billed urgent healthcare and relieving pressure on local hospitals.
7. Support Rural, Regional and Remote Healthcare
The Coalition strongly believes that a person’s access to healthcare should not be determined by their postcode.
Building on the former Coalition Government’s strong record in rural health, we will fund a comprehensive Rural, Regional, and Remote Health Strategy, to ensure Australia has a long-term plan to meet the healthcare challenges in these communities. This follows calls from groups such as the National Rural Health Alliance and the Rural Doctors Association of Association for a dedicated strategy in this area.
This Strategy will be outcomes-focused and built on the principles of Teach and Train, Recruit and Retain, creating a healthcare system that is inspiring, innovative, and delivers for rural, regional and remote Australians. Working with the Rural Health Commissioner, we are focussed on equitable access to healthcare and ending the postcode lottery.
The Dutton Coalition Government will establish a Regional Australian Future Fund. The Fund will invest a fair share of the profits created through the hard work of regional Australians back into the regions. This will include growing the regional health workforce so families outside of the city can rightly access affordable health and aged care in their local areas as they deserve.
A Dutton Coalition Government will invest $100 million towards upgrading regional medical training facilities across Australia and deliver 200 additional regional medical Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs), to fast track more health professionals living and working in regional, rural and remote Australia.
A Dutton Coalition Government will commit $27.5 million to CQUniversity for the construction of a Health and Engineering Wing at the university’s Cairns campus. This facility will open in 2028 and will expand the total student cohort across a range of disciplines (nursing, allied health, medical imaging) from 4,000 to nearly 6,000 in Cairns.
A Dutton Coalition Government will also strengthen healthcare access in regional, rural, and remote communities by expanding and increasing the number of GP and Rural Generalist training places in partnership with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
We will also invest further in the John Flynn Medical Program, recognising that early immersion in a regional setting increases the likelihood that medical graduates will remain in these areas of Australia, where they are desperately needed.
Only the Coalition understands the importance of ensuring all Australians, no matter where they live, have access to the high-quality healthcare they need.
8. Increased Funding and certainty for public hospitals
Building on our strong record, an elected Dutton Coalition Government will guarantee increased hospital funding to the states and territories.
In government, the Coalition nearly doubled hospital funding, from $13.3 billion in 2012-13 under Labor, to $24.7 billion in 2021-22. We will build on this record and negotiate a new National Health Reform Agreement with the states and territories to provide ongoing certainty and support for our public hospital system.
Hospital funding, Australian Govt ($ billions)
86% increase in 9 years
The Coalition is also committed to investing in public hospital infrastructure, including:
- $200 million to upgrade St John of God Midland Public Hospital in WA;
- $150 million for the Flinders University healthcare hub in SA; and
- $120 million to deliver a birthing service at Rouse Hill Hospital in NSW.
Only a Dutton Coalition Government will ensure all Australians have timely and affordable access to the healthcare they need, including in our hospital system.
9. Invest in Medical Research
Building on Peter Dutton’s establishment of the Medical Research Future Fund as Health Minister, an elected Dutton Coalition Government will continue to invest in vital research to drive medical advancements and breakthroughs for Australians.
Suicide Prevention Research
An elected Dutton Coalition Government will continue our proud legacy of supporting life saving research into suicide prevention by investing $15 million to the National Suicide Prevention Research Fund.
Tragically, around 3,000 Australians die by suicide every year, and 75% of them are men. To reverse this devastating trend, we must continue to invest in research that will identify the causes of suicide and how we can prevent it.
The National Suicide Prevention Research Fund, led by Suicide Prevention Australia, was established by the Coalition in 2016 and then extended in 2022 by the former Coalition Government. It has led to important research developments that are making a meaningful difference to save lives.
This critical research body was cut by the Albanese Labor Government.
Ongoing investment in research ensures we can better understand suicide risk factors, improve prevention efforts, and translate expert advice into tangible outcomes.
Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision
The Coalition will support the important work of Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision (MRV), including the continued growth of Maddie’s Vision Centre for Research Excellence in Bone Marrow Biology.
Every 3 days an Australian is diagnosed with Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome, and around 135,000 Australians are currently living with a blood cancer or blood disorder. Distressingly, most are children and young adults and 50% will not survive.
MRV is the only Australian organisation dedicated to Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome research, advocacy, education and support. The Coalition is committed to supporting Australians diagnosed with Bone Marrow Failure Syndrome and MRV.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease
A Dutton Coalition Government will progress critical research into Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD). CJD is a rare and serious disease that causes the brain to degenerate, leading to dementia and death, with no known cure.
The research study will be led by the CJD Support Group Network. It will benefit families in Australia affected by genetic forms of prion disease and contribute to the hopes of earlier detection in patients suffering sporadic CJD.
The Choice
Under Labor, it has never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor across Australia.
Under the Coalition Government, Medicare funding increased every single year, hospital funding grew by 86%, and free GP services through bulk billing reached record highs.
Our introduction of universal telehealth revolutionised healthcare accessibility in Australia, ensuring more Australians can access primary care support when and where they need it.
When Peter Dutton was Health Minister, the GP bulk billing rate rose to 84%, and it continued to increase to 88% over the Coalition’s time in government.
Under Anthony Albanese, GP bulk billing has fallen by 11%, to 77%.
Despite all of Labor’s promises and grandstanding, Medicare has only been weakened under their watch.
Ensuring affordable healthcare has always been a Coalition priority, and it is our primary focus to get healthcare back on track.
The choice is clear when it comes to affordable, quality healthcare for all Australians.
An elected Dutton Coalition Government will guarantee the growing funding of Medicare. We will invest an historic $9.4 billion to fix Labor’s primary healthcare crisis to restore bulk billing and mental health psychology sessions.
Unlike Labor, we will treat Australians’ mental health as a national priority – as it should be – by restoring critical Medicare mental health funding cut in half by Labor and having a world-leading focus on youth mental health.
We will build a strong pipeline of home-grown GPs to help fill the shortages in our suburbs in regional areas and improve Australians’ healthcare access by investing in the next generation of Australian doctors.
A Dutton Coalition Government will prioritise women’s health, delivering better care, early diagnosis, and targeted support for women at every stage of life. This includes introducing a new Medicare rebate for menopause health assessments and expanding on Australia’s first ever endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics, empowering women to manage their health with confidence.
Only a Dutton Coalition Government will deliver the quality health services Australians deserve by getting Australia’s healthcare system back on track.