Is the Federal Election a ‘turning point’ for healthcare?

Access to general practice care and a Medicare shake-up have once again been placed front and centre, as the Federal Election campaign officially kicks off.
 
On Friday morning, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called the Federal Election for 3 May, beginning a five-week race to the polls.
 
The RACGP has labelled this election a ‘turning point for improved access to essential healthcare’, as political parties back many of the college’s key asks.
 
But what does this Federal Election really mean for GPs? And what on-the-ground changes have been promised?
 
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese brandished a Medicare card while announcing the election date outside Parliament House, once again positioning healthcare as a central pillar of the Labor Party’s election platform.
 
Declaring that ‘a vote for Labor is a vote for stronger Medicare’, the Prime Minister recapped his 2025–26 Federal Budget investments, which include the controversial widening of tripled bulk-billing incentives and cheaper Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) medicines, if elected.
 
He then became emotional when speaking about his own experience of the healthcare system, saying the Medicare card is ‘part of Australian values’.
 
‘The Australian values that say when Kerry Packer has a heart attack, he goes to the emergency department at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the same hospital that I went to when I had my car accident when I was leader of the Labor Party in January 2021,’ Prime Minister Albanese said.
 
‘But more importantly than that, on that evening, I was in the same room that my mum was in when, as an invalid pensioner, she got taken up the road after having an aneurysm.
 
‘She never left RPA, but she got the same care as Kerry Packer got. They’re the Australian values and that’s what I’ll fight for.’
 
Shortly after, Opposition leader Peter Dutton responded, declaring that ‘Australia is going backwards’.
 
‘We’ll improve healthcare – reversing Labor’s decline in bulk billing and importantly reversing their cuts to mental health services,’ he said.
 
‘I want to make sure that we can protect frontline services, that we could put more money back into health and we’ve announced more money going into GP training, announced more money into mental health.’
 
It comes just hours after Mr Dutton handed down his budget reply on Thursday, saying the party will ‘deliver quality healthcare’ with a $9.4 billion health investment.
 
‘That includes incentivising junior doctors, as I announced last year, to work as GPs to address the current shortages at your local clinic,’ he said.
 
‘We will boost Medicare bulk billing. We will invest in hospitals, especially in high population growth areas where there’s the biggest strain on services.
 
‘We will guarantee cheaper medicines and lower the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme co-payment to $25. We will invest $500 million into women’s health.’
 
He added that, if elected, the Coalition will invest an extra $400 million into youth mental health services and permanently double the number of subsidised mental health sessions from 10 to 20.
 
Last month, the RACGP launched its Federal Election platform in Canberra, calling on all political parties to rollout significant investments into general practice.
 
Many of these asks have since been committed to by both the Federal Labor Party and the Coalition.
 
RACGP President Michael Wright said it is ‘heartening’ to see bipartisan political support to improve access to GP care and to grow the GP workforce.
 
However, Dr Wright said Federal Labor’s plan to expand bulk billing incentives ‘won’t work for every practice’.
 
‘This is a really important time for general practice to ensure that the increased funding that has been promised goes to support the financial viability of practices and to support our profession to continue to provide the care that our patients need,’ he told newsGP.
 
‘We need to focus on more than just bulk billing – we need to focus on quality of care, financial viability, and the sustainability of general practice to provide the care that our patients need.
 
‘We need to support the GPs who are providing this care, who, for too long, have been overlooked in Medicare.’
 
As the election race continues, Dr Wright said he looks forward to working with the next government.
 
‘I’m pleased that the election is finally underway, and I look forward to representing the members to get the best outcomes for the profession.’
 
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