Parties split on GP payroll tax at Victorian health debate

Victorian Health Minister Ingrid Stitt has ruled out a full payroll tax exemption for general practice, despite renewed calls from the RACGP and AMA during the state’s first major health election debate.
 
The position leaves Labor at odds with the Coalition, Greens and One Nation, all of which expressed support for some form of exemption or relief for GP practices.
 
The call comes just weeks out from Victoria’s election, with the state heading to the polls on 28 November.
 
Airing her view at the RACGP and AMA Victoria Health Debate, held at RACGP House on Saturday, Minister Stitt reiterated that the state’s Labor Party does not ‘have a policy to abolish payroll tax for GPs’.
 
‘That’s been made very clear,’ she said.
 
‘But I am absolutely committed to continuing to work in a collaborative way with every level of our health system to make sure that we are supporting the work that you do – it’s critical.’
 
Meanwhile, Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier doubled down on the Coalition’s position to scrap the tax, labelling it ‘insidious’.
 
‘Many of you are embedded in your communities, and it’s absolutely critical that we have a strong primary care health system as part of the overall healthcare system,’ she said.
 
‘To have that continuity of care is equally important for so many families and patients that go to you every day, and that’s why we have said very clearly that we do not support this payroll tax or the land taxes that your clinics are being hit with.
 
‘I want to thank those GPs that have stood with me as we have announced that we will abolish this GP payroll tax … we stand by that commitment.’
 
Victorian Greens health spokesperson Dr Sarah Mansfield, who worked as a GP before entering Parliament, said the payroll tax on general practice is something ‘we’ve raised a number of concerns about’.
 
‘This came as a real shock to a lot of general practices when this was imposed, and a number of other jurisdictions have responded by making general practices exempt,’ she said.
 
‘What happened here in Victoria was that there was a partial exemption if you made certain bulk-billing thresholds, using this as an incentive to bulk bill is really unsustainable, and I think it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how general practice works.
 
‘We don’t believe that this is a sustainable option for general practice in the long run.’
 
One Nation candidate Colleen Harkin told the debate there is ‘double dipping going on’.
 
‘Part of the solution for us is, for example, there’s a disproportionate availability of services in the regions and that One Nation will have no payroll tax in regional areas,’ she said.
 
‘There’s all of these things that add on to the cost of doing business and the availability of services.’
 
Turning to pharmacy prescribing, Dr Mansfield raised concerns about the program, and a lack of evidence before its trial was made permanent.
 
‘We should be ensuring that different health practitioners are practicing to their full scope and making the most of our health workforce,’ she said.
 
‘But we need to make sure that that care is safe and that it’s evidence based and that it’s happening in the right context.
 
‘I don’t think that pharmacy context is the appropriate place to be delivering care that’s actually very complex, requires privacy, and requires continuity of care and follow-up.’
 
Ms Harkin agreed it is a ‘contentious issue’.
 
‘They’re obviously the issues about timeliness and availability of care for simple things, what I would consider a simple thing like a UTI,’ she said.
 
‘But the real issue is about how do we actually keep an overview of what’s happening in that situation.’
 
Meanwhile, Minister Stitt said the pharmacy prescribing program is currently running across 900 locations, with training requirements in place for each of the services.
 
‘There’s also requirements for a number of the programs to connect that information up with their GP, and in some circumstances, it’s only available for someone who’s already been diagnosed who really just needs a repeat script,’ she said.
 
‘There are a lot of guardrails in the system.
 
‘I also just want to point out that it’s not all one-way traffic, and we are also looking at ways that we can open up practice to GPs.’
 
Log in below to join the conversation.

health debate payroll tax State Election Victoria