EASIER ACCESS TO HEALTH SERVICES PLAN
- LNP will axe Labor’s Patients’ Tax to save you money.
- Plan will protect regional GP services and ease pressure on struggling emergency departments.
- The LNP will Stop Labor’s Patients’ Tax as one of the first acts in government, saving Queenslanders and protecting local GP services, if elected next month.
Labor’s Patients’ Tax starts collecting from July 2025 and the Australian Medical Association Queensland warns it will see an exodus of General Practitioners, end bulk billing in Queensland and increase the cost of a doctor appointment by up to $30 per visit.
The LNP will Stop Labor’s Patients’ Tax by axing payroll tax for General Practitioners, saving Queenslanders paying more when seeing their local doctor and safeguarding access to local GP services across the state.
Labor’s Patients’ Tax will:
- Make doctor visits more expensive and scarce.
- End bulk billing and ensure the closure of more GP clinics.
- Reduce after-hours care.
- Put more pressure on Queensland hospitals meaning more ambulance ramping and longer waits.
- LNP Leader David Crisafulli said the LNP would act to Stop Labor’s Patients’ Tax which would drive up costs for Queenslanders and drive down access to GPs.
“The LNP will Stop Labor’s Patients’ Tax, immediately and permanently, to save you money and protect your local health services,” Mr Crisafulli said.
“Labor’s Patients’ Tax is a short-term money grab that will lead to long-term ailments in our health system.
“We will use every lever available to ease the crises Labor created and this is just one part of our plan to restore health services when you need them.
“The LNP will deliver easier access to health services by stopping Labor’s secret tax on your doctor visit, investing more to clear wait times and training a pipeline of doctors and nurses for the long-term.
“In the middle of a Health Crisis, the last thing Queenslanders need is extra costs at the doctor, but only the LNP will stop you paying Labor’s tax.
“Only the LNP has the Right Plan for Queensland’s Future and will stop you paying Labor’s Patients’ Tax.”
Shadow Treasurer David Janetzki said Labor’s priority was to tax more in a Cost of Living Crisis instead of delivering the relief Queenslanders needed.
“Next month, the choice is clear: a Labor Government taxing your doctor visit or an LNP Government which will Stop Labor’s Patients’ Tax,” Mr Janetzki said.
“Labor’s Cost of Living Crisis has left Queenslanders struggling to put food on the table and costs will only get worse with Labor’s Patients’ Tax.
“Labor’s Patients’ Tax will put more pressure on our emergency departments and drive up ambulance ramping and wait times.
“It says everything you need to know that Labor’s solution to their budget blowouts is to tax your visit to the doctor instead of reining in their expensive mistakes.
“Nothing will change unless we change the government by voting for the LNP next month.”
AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim welcomed the LNP’s announcement.
“We welcome this commitment. AMA Queensland has been fighting for this since 2021,” Dr Yim said.
“We need all parties to commit to this exemption so GPs and their patients have certainty.
“We are in a cost-of-living crisis and we should be making it easier for patients to get healthcare.”