Stronger Medicare and aged care

Getting healthcare shouldn’t depend on what’s in your bank account. We’re working hard to make that a reality.

On this page

  1. Seeing a doctor for free
  2. Cheaper medicine
  3. Women’s health
  4. Mental health
  5. Hospitals
  6. Aged care
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Seeing a doctor for free

When you’re sick, seeing a doctor shouldn’t be a struggle.

With the biggest ever boost to bulk billing, we’re helping more Australians see a general practitioner (GP) for free.

Already, more than 1,400 GP clinics across Australia have moved to fully bulk billing, so all you need is your Medicare card.

  • We’ve opened 137 free Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the country and made them a permanent part of Medicare
  • We’ve also set up 1800 MEDICARE for free, 24/7 health advice wherever you are. 
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Cheaper medicine

You should always be able to get the medicine you need, without worrying about the cost.

That’s why we’ve cut the cost of medicines on the  Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), so the most you’ll pay is just $25.

And we’ve made hundreds of expensive medicines cheaper for everyone with new PBS listings covering conditions like breast, prostate and lung cancer.

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Women’s health

For too long, women’s health wasn’t taken seriously. Pain was dismissed. Conditions went undiagnosed. And vital medication was out of reach. We’re changing that with the biggest ever investment.

  • We’ve opened 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across Australia. We have also expanded them to cover menopause and perimenopause.
  • For the first time in 30 years, we’ve added new contraceptive pills to the PBS. We have also brought down the cost of menopause and endometriosis medicine to just $25 a script.
  • We’ve rolled out more bulk billing for long term contraceptives like intrauterine devices (IUDs), saving women up to $400 a year. 
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Mental health

We’re making sure Medicare is there for your mental health too.

We’re rolling out 92 free, walk-in Medicare Mental Health Centres, with 55 already open.

We’re expanding headspace to support young people.

And you can now get free therapy from home with our new Medicare Mental Health Check In. No cost. No referral. All covered by Medicare.

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Hospitals

We’ve made a record investment in public hospitals to help you get the care you need.

This funding focuses on:

  • helping improve surgery wait times
  • reducing crowding in emergency departments
  • getting ambulances back on the road faster
  • freeing up hospital beds.

Ensuring Australians get quality healthcare when they need it most. 

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Aged care

Every Australian deserves dignity and respect as they get older, and every family deserves confidence that their loved ones in aged care are being well looked after.

That’s why, in our first term, we put nurses back into nursing homes, ending a decade of neglect.

We announced the biggest reforms to improve aged care in a generation. And now we’re building on that with more home care packages, more beds and more choice.

If older Australians want to stay at home, we’ll help them get the care they need to maintain their independence for longer.

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