News

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Federal Budget 2025–26: Full breakdown for GPs

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Big ticket healthcare promises were already public, but there was plenty of detail in the Budget handed down on Tuesday for investments impacting general practice.
 
The most significant remains the previously announced funding targeting an increase in bulk-billing rates – with Federal Health and Aged Care Minister Mark Butler aiming for nine in 10 GP visits to be bulk billed. The policy has had a mixed reception among GPs, and is likely to benefit some clinics but not others.
 
As part of its $8.5 billion commitment to Medicare and general practice, the Federal Government also confirmed details of its pledge to train more GPs and incentivise students to become specialist GPs.
 
These measures are also backed by the Coalition.
 
One pledge announced by the Labor Government but not supported by the Coalition is a proposed increase in the number of urgent care clinics (UCCs) to 137 nationwide, before any detailed evaluation of the existing clinics. The RACGP has instead called for investment to go to existing general practices, which routinely provide urgent care.
 
The college also reiterated its call for a 25% boost to patient rebates for mental health care consultations, and 40% for consultations longer than 20 minutes, with RACGP President Dr Michael Wright describing the Budget as ‘a missed opportunity’ to ensure affordable access. 
 
According to the college, more support is also required to build general practice-based multidisciplinary care teams through the Workforce Incentive Payment; to establish a national practice-based research network; and to reduce the impact of racism in healthcare.
 
From Medicare funding to workforce and technology investment, here is the full Federal Budget detail.

Medicare
The investment in Medicare includes $7.9 billion to expand bulk-billing incentive programs. It builds on the Government’s previous move to increase access to children and healthcare card holders with the tripled bulk-billing incentive that came into force in November 2023. There will be an additional 12.5% loading payment on Medicare rebates for fully bulk-billing practices.
 
While the college welcomed the ‘long overdue’ investment in general practice, it queries whether it will lead to the outcome the Government hopes for.
 
Dr Wright described the increases as ‘still too low to cover the cost of care’ and expressed concern that the Budget does not include enough measure to manage chronic disease and complex healthcare needs.
 
Another flagship Labor Party policy – this time not supported by the Coalition – is a commitment to invest $657.9 million for 50 more Medicare UCCs, which would take the total to 137 if implemented as planned.
 
The new clinics are earmarked to open during the 2025–26 financial year across all states and territories. If the Labor Party is re-elected, the investment will also extend the opening hours of the Batemans Bay and Launceston Medicare UCCs, and ensure ongoing support for the Alice Springs clinic.
 
There will also be $4.1 million over two years from 2025–26 to help urgent care services funded by state governments to access MBS items.
 
The RACGP also opposes the policy.
 
‘We have now seen more than $1 billion committed to setting up these clinics but still have no evaluation to prove if UCCs are providing value for taxpayer dollars or keeping patients out of hospital,’ Dr Wright previously told newsGP.
 
‘We do not support ongoing investment without the evidence that it works.’
 
Other Medicare-related announcements include $7 million to upgrade the Medical Costs Finder website to display accurate information on fees charged by non-GP specialists.
 
A further $256.2 million over four years (with $82.1 million per year ongoing) will see new and amended items on the MBS. These include adding severe speech and language disorders to the MBS item group for complex neurodevelopmental disorder and disability services; $57.9 million over four years from 2025–26 to provide faecal calprotectin tests to manage inflammatory bowel disease; and $43.6 million to support treatment of advanced neuroendocrine tumours.
 
Women’s health
This has been a prominent issue in the run-up to the election, and the Budget confirmed details of several previous announcements, which now total $792.9 million.
 
These included $26.3 million over three years from 2025–26 for an MBS health assessment item for women of all ages experiencing perimenopause and menopause, and $20.9 million over three years from 2025–26 to support 33 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics.
 
There will also be $134.3 million over four years from 2025–26 to increase the fee for four long‑acting reversible contraception (LARC) items on the MBS, including incentives for bulk billing.
 
Over four years from 2025–26, $25.6 million (and $7 million per year after that) will help establish eight ‘LARC Centres of Training Excellence’ to provide LARC services and training.
 
A total of $4.4 million has also been set aside for the development of national clinical guidelines for perimenopause and menopause, as well as for professional development for health professionals.
 
RACGP Vice President Dr Ramya Raman noted that much of the health package met the college’s previous calls and called the investments ‘a crucial step towards health equity’. 
 
Workforce
The previously announced funding injection to boost the GP workforce has been welcomed by the RACGP.

The Budget measures include $265.4 million over four years from 2025–26 (and $94.8 million per year ongoing) to expand GP training through the Australian General Practice Training (AGPT) Program and the Remote Vocational Training Scheme, which will deliver 200 new training places each year from 2026, increasing to 400 from 2028.
 
A further $248.7 million over four years from 2025–26 (and $83.6 million per year after) will go towards salary incentives encouraging junior doctors to specialise in general practice, and to provide paid parental leave and study leave for GPs in training.
 
Other measures include $44 million for an extra 200 rotations for junior doctors in primary healthcare per year from 2026, increasing to an extra 400 per year from 2028, and $45 million over four years from 2025–26 (and $29.9 million per year ongoing) for 100 new medical Commonwealth Supported Places per year from 2026, increasing to 150 per year from 2028,
 
There will also be $3.2 million set aside over four years from 2025–26 (and $2 million per year ongoing) to uncap the number of medical Commonwealth Supported Places for First Nations students from 2026.
 
From 2024–25, funding of $16.5 million is committed over five years (and $4.6 million per year ongoing) for costs updating the Modified Monash Model and Distribution Priority Area (DPA) classification systems. The college has been strongly critical of recent changes to the DPA, which it says are taking GPs away from rural areas.
 
In Canberra, on Ngambri and Ngunnawal Country, for Budget night, Dr Raman welcomed some Budget measures.
 
‘The RACGP applauds the Budget’s significant injection of funding into the GP workforce, from the expansion of GP training to the important initiative which matches the wages, and parental and study leave entitlements of GPs in training to those of hospital-based doctors,’ she said. 
 
‘These initiatives will mean more Australian communities can access GP care close to where they live, removing barriers to junior doctors choosing a career in general practice and boosting the GP workforce across Australia.’
 
Medicines
Big-ticket items announced in previous weeks include major initiatives around the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). One of the most high-profile sees $689 million set aside to reduce the cost of most PBS medications to a maximum of $25, down from $31.60. Pensioners and concession cardholders will continue to pay $7.70. This is backed by the Coalition.
 
The Government also committed $1.8 billion over five years from this financial year for new and amended listings, covering the PBS, the Repatriation Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, Stoma Appliance Scheme and Take-Home Naloxone program.
 
It included the following new listings, all of them previously announced:

• Estradiol and progesterone co-pack (sold as Estrogel Pro), and estradiol (Estrogel) and progesterone (Prometrium) from 1 March 2025, as menopausal hormone therapy for estrogen deficiency symptoms
• Drospirenone with ethinylestradiol (Yaz and Yasmin), from 1 May 2025, the first PBS listing for new oral contraceptives for more than three decades
• Relugolix with estradiol and with norethisterone acetate (Ryeqo), from 1 May 2025, for treatment of patients with moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis

The Budget also confirmed $109.1 million over four years from 2025–26 to support two national trials designed to make it cheaper and easier for many women to get contraceptives and treatment for uncomplicated urinary tract infections.
 
Digital healthcare
The Budget had detail of $228.7 million funding for 2025–26, which it said would go towards modernising My Health Record and supporting the digital health reform agenda.
 
There is also $15.6 million over two years from 2025–26 to continue My Health Record initiatives under the Health Delivery Transformation Program, and $5.7 million in 2025-26 to improve electronic prescribing infrastructure and services.

The RACGP’s full ‘Summary of Federal Budget 2025–26’ is now available online.
 
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Federal Budget general practice MBS Medicare urgent care clinics

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