Health Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Measures No. 1) Bill 2025
Ms CAMPBELL (Moreton) (16:20): The Bonded Medical Program provides Commonwealth supported places in a medical program in exchange for working in regional, rural and remote areas of Australia after graduation. That is because this is a Labor government that prioritises ensuring that there are incentives for medical practitioners and medical professionals to work in the bush.
Currently, former Medical Rural Bonded Scholarship Scheme medical professionals who did not complete their service within the designated period are required to repay their scholarship and face a six-year Medicare ban. The amendments will ensure that the consequences of breaching the conditions or withdrawing from the program balance the personal circumstances of the participant with the broader interests of the community.
Furthermore, all work completed by a participant in good faith and in relation to the program guidelines will count towards their return of service obligation. The six-year Medicare ban has a direct negative impact on the provision of services in regional, rural and remote communities—areas that are already the most impacted by workforce shortages. Such bans are not in the interest of either the community or individual medical professionals.
The proposed amendments will extend the student's withdrawal period without penalty from the HECS census date in their second year of study until the award of their medical degree. The measures included in this bill will ensure enhanced administration and delivery of the Medicare services that we all rely on each and every day. They are the behind-the-scenes fixes that form the foundation of Labor's commitment to strengthening Medicare.
And the Albanese Labor government has made this a priority. The 2025-26 budget made the most significant investment in Medicare since its inception more than 40 years ago. Labor is continuing to back bulk-billing.
From 1 November we are implementing an additional new 12.5 per cent payment—the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program—for practices that bulk-bill every patient. And we are working towards nine out of 10 GP visits being bulk-billed by 2030, with the number of fully bulk-billed practices nationally increasing to around 4,800. This $7.9 billion investment will result in 18 million more bulk-billed GP visits annually, saving Australian families $859 million every year.
Right at the start of this speech I mentioned urgent care clinics, and I'm constantly receiving feedback from my local community on how convenient these clinics are, saving people from long waits in hospital and from emergency departments—and of course they are fully bulk-billed. There are now 90 in operation across the country, with more on the way. When the rollout is complete, 80 per cent of Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a clinic, and two million people are expected to use this service annually.
It would be easy to continue talking about Labor's commitment to strengthening Medicare and ensuring universal health care. And I could talk about how we are increasing support for public hospitals with an additional $1.8 billion of funding. Or I could mention wage increases in the care economy, such as $2.6 billion to increase pay for vital aged-care nurses.
But I do see that I'm running out of time, and what you really need to know is that only Labor guarantees a future where your Medicare card and not your credit card gives you access to quality care every day and that Labor will always continue to increase and drive better access to Medicare.