What has been promised for GPs this election?

Regardless of how the vote swings in Saturday’s Federal Election, one thing is clear – Medicare is set for a shake-up, and GPs will have new options to consider once promises are put into action.
 
Election day is finally here – 7000 polling places have been set up with 80,000 ballot boxes, 100,000 temporary staff employed, and 250,000 pencils sharpened.
 
The lead up to the 2025 election has seen healthcare thrust into the spotlight, with major parties unveiling GP-centred policies which they say will deliver more affordable and accessible care.
 
Key political leaders showed consensus on the view that Medicare should be bolstered, saying all Australians should be able to access a bulk-billing GP and avoid delayed care due to out-of-pocket costs.
 
While Opposition Leader Peter Dutton pledged to ‘protect and grow Medicare’, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese dubbed Medicare ‘the beating heart of our election campaign’.
 
The Australian Labor Party began its election campaign with a big commitment to health, featuring an $8.5 billion plan to strengthen Medicare, and promising an additional 18 million GP visits to be bulk billed every year.
 
This means an expansion of the tripled bulk-billing incentive to all Medicare-eligible patients, while practices that bulk bill every patient will be eligible to receive an extra 12.5% loading payment on Medicare rebates.
 
Priming voters for the plan, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said ‘a stronger Medicare is at the heart of our Government’.
   
‘Because if you don’t have your health, if you don’t have the security of knowing that a great doctor and the best medicine are always in reach, if you have to put off seeing a doctor because you can’t afford it, then it’s not just the individual who suffers, our whole society pays a price,’ he said.
 
The move was quickly matched by the Coalition, which promised to invest a total of $9.4 billion into ‘general practice and mental health’ to increase Medicare bulk billing and up subsidised mental health sessions from 10 to 20.
 
As part of its $400 million election commitment to youth mental health services, Mr Dutton announced he will expand the role of the National Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health, boost regional services, and expand treatment to Australia.
 
Both major parties have also committed $573 million to women’s health, including new rebates, funded training, and bolstered Medicare payments for IUD insertions.
 
The Greens pledged to increase access to bulk-billed appointments by boosting incentives to GPs in a $21.5 billion investment, which includes tripling bulk-billing incentives and raising Medicare patient rebates for longer appointments.
 
Major parties also committed to medical workforce fixes. The Coalition described plans to support the rural workforce by upgrading regional medical training facilities and providing additional regional medical Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP).
 
A promised 200 medical CSPs would be guaranteed for the regions to ‘tackle the chronic rural health workforce shortage’, taking its medical CSP commitment to 350 places.
 
Meanwhile Mr Albanese pledged that ‘starting next year, our Government will deliver the biggest GP training program in Australian history’ with an extra 2000 new GPs annually.
 
Labor’s workforce and training pledges, as budgeted in its $8.5 billion Medicare plan, includes $265.2 million to expand general practice training with 200 additional training places per year, growing to 400 by 2028.
 
There will also be funding to provide paid parental leave and study leave for GPs in training, as well as 100 additional CSPs for medical students annually from 2026, rising to 150 by 2028, with demand-driven places for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
 
Easing the load on hospitals was another big election target, with Labor promising to expand Medicare urgent care clinics (UCCs), which Mr Albanese said have already helped more than one million Australians to see a doctor for free.
 
He added further support would be provided with the expansion of a free, national, 24/7 health advice line and after-hours GP telehealth service (1800MEDICARE) under a $204.5 million investment to improve existing Healthdirect services.
 
The Opposition claimed a Dutton Coalition Government would also continue to roll out UCCs ‘as they were intended’.
 
There are also gains for patients when it comes to the cost of medicines, with both Labor and the Coalition promising to drop the maximum cost of a prescription under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme from $31.60 to $25.
 
As the 2025 election campaign ends and Australians head to the polls on Saturday, RACGP President Dr Michael Wright has reflected on the ‘historical commitments on healthcare from both major parties’.
 
It comes as many initiatives from the RACGP’s comprehensive plan for accessible and affordable care for all Australia were backed by major parties, minor parties and independents. 
 
‘No matter the outcome on 3 May, the RACGP is committed to working with the next Australian Government to ensure everyone in Australia can see a GP they trust, who knows their history, when and where they need them,’ Dr Wright said.
 
‘The RACGP will continue to advocate for reforms such as increased patient Medicare rebates to support long and complex consultations, which would be the best way to ensure high-quality specialist GP care is accessible and affordable for all Australians. 
 
‘We will also keep advocating for increased rebates for mental health consults, improving access to essential medicines, funding practices to grow their teams with allied health professionals, nurses, nurse practitioners and pharmacists, and combatting racism in healthcare.’
 
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