Fresh official data released by Australia’s Department of Health has delivered promising results for the Albanese government’s ambitious Medicare overhaul, showing a national surge in general practitioner bulk billing rates across the first quarter of 2026, though one jurisdiction continues to trail behind the rest of the country.
Between January and March 2026, the national average bulk billing rate for GP services climbed 4.6 percentage points to hit 81.9%, according to the official statistics. The Northern Territory recorded the most dramatic growth, with a 13.7 percentage point jump that pushed its total bulk billing rate to 89.8%, the highest of any Australian state or territory. New South Wales and Victoria saw moderate gains of between 4 and 5.5 percentage points, bringing their final rates to 83.7% and 85.6% respectively. Queensland’s rate rose 4.0 points to 79.5%, South Australia added 5.9 points to reach 80.4%, Western Australia gained 4.6 points to hit 74%, and Tasmania grew 5.7 points to 78%. The only outlier is the Australian Capital Territory, where growth stalled at just 1.4 percentage points, leaving the jurisdiction with a bulk billing rate of just over 54% — the lowest in the nation by a significant margin.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler framed the new data as clear proof that the government’s targeted investments to strengthen Medicare are delivering tangible results for Australian families. “This proves unequivocally that our policies are working,” Butler said. “We are transforming frontline primary care and helping households keep their health costs down — that benefits both public health and household budgets.” He added that the government has not only halted the steady decline of Medicare that occurred under the previous administration, but reversed that trajectory entirely, strengthening the public health scheme dramatically.
A key driver of the growth, Butler noted, has been the rollout of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, which have now hit a major milestone of three million total visits for non-life threatening urgent care cases. Currently, more than 3,800 bulk billing clinics operate across Australia, more than 1,400 of which converted from mixed billing models to full bulk billing under the government’s incentives. As a result, roughly 97% of all Australians now live within a 20-minute drive of a bulk billing clinic, expanding access dramatically for people across the country. Even for non-concessional patients, who typically face higher out-of-pocket costs, bulk billing rates have climbed 8.5 percentage points year-on-year to reach 72.5% in the first quarter of 2026.
Alongside the positive bulk billing results, Butler has also launched Australia’s first ever national public health campaign focused on menopause and perimenopause, developed in response to findings from the Senate Inquiry into Menopause and Perimenopause. That inquiry uncovered widespread gaps in public knowledge, rampant stigma, and limited access to trusted support for women experiencing menopausal symptoms.
Federal Women Minister Katy Gallagher explained that the new campaign is designed to address these gaps by delivering accessible, evidence-based information tailored to the diverse experiences of women across the country. “For far too long, silence and stigma have left women in the dark about menopause — it shouldn’t come as a surprise,” Gallagher said. “Every woman experiences perimenopause and menopause differently, so it is critical that this campaign meets diverse needs, makes information accessible, and ensures every woman feels seen and supported.” She added that raising awareness across the broader community, including families and workplaces, is also a core goal of the initiative, to improve outcomes for women’s overall health and wellbeing.
The multi-channel campaign will run across digital platforms, television, cinema advertising and social media through to December 2026, reaching audiences across the country with evidence-based educational content.