We want more GPs': Federal government seeks expressions of interest for three new bulk billing clinics in Canberra   


Sep 22 2025
ABC News


More than $10 million has been invested in increasing bulk billing across the ACT.

In short:
Expressions of interest are being sought to establish three more bulk billing clinics in Canberra.

The funding is part of a larger healthcare package of $24.3 million promised to the ACT ahead of the federal election.

What's next?
The Australian Medical Association says it's not yet clear what impact the funding will have.


The federal government has committed $10.5 million to introduce more bulk billing clinics in the ACT — but questions remain over whether it will help the capital's longstanding issues with GP availability.

Expressions of interest are being sought for organisations who are interested in establishing three new bulk billed clinics in the capital, it was announced today.

ACT Senator Katy Gallagher said the EOI was open to either existing clinics or those interested in opening a service that offered bulk billing.

"We want more GPs,"  Senator Gallagher said.
"We don't want our hard-working GPs to be just shouldering an additional load, and you've got to see this in conjunction with the work we're doing with the Medicare urgent care clinic which will open in Woden soon.

"And it'll work alongside all the nurse-led urgent care clinics, or walk-in centres, that we have across the ACT."

A woman with shoulder-length blond hair wearing a red jacket looks serious.
ACT Senator Katy Gallagher says they hope the investment will address the bulk billing issue facing Canberrans.

Bulk billing 'a constant issue'
The initiative is part of the Labor government's broader $24.3 million health package promised to the ACT ahead of the federal election, to make GP visits more accessible and affordable.

The $10.5 million would be invested as "seed funding" to establish the three clinics, as a one-off payment.

Senator Gallagher said they had a preference for the clinics to be spread across the ACT to cover different geographic regions.

"Bulk billing has been a constant issue both for the ACT government and for the Commonwealth and most importantly, for the citizens of Canberra," she said.

"We have seen this incentive operate in other places around Australia and it works.

"We're testing, over the next month, to see what the appetite is from those providers."
A man in a black suit leans against a white brick wall looking serious.
ACT Council of Social Services CEO Dr Devin Bowles says GPs need more financial incentives to bulk bill.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said Canberra had been experiencing "longstanding issues with GP availability" and that the three new clinics would "address this discrepancy".

"Our government is determined to make it easier for Australians, including Canberrans, to find a bulk billing GP with 90 per cent of GP visits nationally to be bulk billed by 2030," he said.   

But the ACT Council of Social Service says the new bulk billing clinics will likely not be enough to reach the federal government's target for 90 per cent of GP visits nationally to be bulk billed by 2030.

Devin Bowles from the ACT Council of Social Service says GPs need more financial incentives to bulk bill.

"It's a step in the right direction, but to achieve Labor's 90 per cent bulk billing rate by 2030 target we are going to need a lot more," he said.

'Time will tell' what impact funding will have: AMA
Australian Medical Association (AMA) ACT president Kerrie Aust is also keen to see what impact the funding would have.

"Time will tell whether or not there are large corporates which would like to take some of that money," she said.

"Clearly it is recognised that the current bulk billing incentives and additional payments that have been promised aren't enough, and the government feels that they need to invest a further $10.5 million as seed funding in order to get these clinics up."
A doctor in a blazer looks off to the side.
ACT Australian Medical Association President Kerrie Aust says she thinks the focus should be on quality of care.

Dr Aust said there was huge demand for GPs in the ACT and that she wasn't sure governments were "intervening in the right way" to attract doctors and resolve the issues.

She said Canberrans as a population wanted doctors willing to offer a more holistic, "slow medicine" service.

"I guess this really comes down to what's often a misunderstanding about the role of the general practitioner," she said.

"Someone might come in with a cold and people might see that as easy medicine but those are opportunities to check, you know, 'How is the family going? What's happening with the child's eczema?'

"All those kinds of things are actually part of that wraparound very, very efficient care that we start to lose with fragmentation, so it's really interesting that we're talking about the importance of bulk billing ... all down to these dollar numbers ... but not actually talking about the most important thing which is quality of care."

The EOI process is open until October 8.

Canberra looking after all those rich parasites.

How about a clinic in dubbo, orange, Bathurst , armidale ?

I suppose we need more gp clinics in Canberra.

So green senators can get their valium and  albo can get speech therapy

whiteknight wrote on Sep 22^nd, 2025 at 5:24pm:



You're supposed to write

We want the doctor that does the bulk billing.

Couldn't care less about his/her competency.

As long as it's free