Portfolio — 31 May 2026

Assistant Minister Rebecca White announced a new Medicare Urgent Care Clinic for the northern suburbs of Hobart, to be fully bulk-billed and open seven days a week [TA-260601-health-210770ff01aa]. The clinic will be awarded through an open tender process, with the government targeting operation before the end of 2026. The announcement brings Australia's total to 137 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics nationally, including eight across Tasmania, which have collectively served more than 3 million Australians and over 170,000 Tasmanians [TA-260601-health-210770ff01aa].

The portfolio frames this expansion explicitly around two policy objectives: cost-of-living relief for households facing out-of-pocket health costs, and reducing pressure on hospital emergency departments in regional and outer-suburban communities [TA-260601-health-210770ff01aa]. The Hobart northern suburbs clinic is the first new urgent care announcement in that area within the current reporting window, following no recorded ministerial activity on 30 May.