Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to invest $204.5 million to create a national 1800-Medicare hotline should his government be re-elected on May 3.
The new hotline will expand the existing state telehealth services into a national platform under 1800-Medicare.
It would provide 24/7 health advice and also an after-hours GP service covered by Medicare starting from 2026, according to Labor.
“Life isn’t 9 to 5. With 1800-Medicare, neither is healthcare,’’ Mr Albanese told the media.
“Whether your family needs urgent or ongoing health care, under Labor, Medicare will be there for all Australians, in every community.”
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told Sky News Sunday Agenda that the initiative was about ensuring “people can access to healthcare when they need it”.
“People will ring up, they’ll get a nurse who answers the phone, and they’ll be able to take advice from that if,” she said.
“If, through the triaging, the nurse believes that they need to have a session with a GP (then) that will be able to be provided.”
The move builds on Labor’s wider health pitch, which includes the $644 million expansion of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs).
The Albanese government has also announced an additional $8.5 billion investment—matched by the Coalition—to deliver an additional 18 million bulk billed GP visits each year.
However, more than two thirds of doctors told the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners they were “unlikely to change their billing practices” despite the investment.
Meanwhile, the urgent care clinic rollout has faced mounting criticism after the government failed to deliver on its promise that all clinics would be open for extended hours.
Sky News Australia found that barely half of all of the existing 87 clinics achieved the promise of 8am-10pm opening hours.
An interim evaluation by the Department of Health also revealed that each visit to a Medicare UCC costs taxpayers an average of $246.50.
This amounts to more than five times the $42 subsidy for a regular GP consultation.
Health Minister Mark Butler has defended the UCC model, arguing it has provided urgent relief to over 1.3 million Australians.
Mr Albanese has trumpeted the rollout of 87 clinics — exceeding the original promise of 50 — although questions remain over the consistency of operating hours and staffing.
The new 1800-Medicare announcement comes as the latest Newspoll data published by The Australian shows Labor strengthening its electoral position.
Healthcare has remained a relative strength for Labor, with 42 per cent of voters saying they trust Mr Albanese over Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at 22 per cent to deliver on healthcare.
Mr Dutton was judged better placed to defend the nation and manage the economy but struggles to convince voters of his plans on cost-of-living relief, housing and tax.
As Labor enters the final Sunday of the campaign, it is leaning heavily into its perceived advantage on health.
The Coalition, meanwhile, will spend the final days focusing squarely on the cost of living, before the election on May 3.
