Health Reform

A Healthy System for the 21st Century

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Reform of Australia's health system will mean better health outcomes for Australians. Taking action now will ensure we can manage the health challenges of the 21st Century, such as obesity and diabetes, and will ensure that the system is sustainable into the future.

That is why the Australian Government is committed to:

Delivering on the biggest health reform program undertaken in Australia since the introduction of Medicare;
Increasing our health workforce - the backbone of our health system;
Relieving pressure on our hospitals; and
Building our primary healthcare system because we know that a strong primary care system results in the best outcomes for our community.

Reform of Australia's health system will mean better health outcomes for Australians. These reforms will transform the way we deliver health care in Australia so that it provides us with the right care in the right place from the right health professional when we need it.

These reforms will deliver better outcomes for Indigenous Australians, rural Australians and those with mental illness.

Labor will make sure our health system can serve the needs of all Australians, no matter where they live, irrespective of their income. Labor is committed to building a health system for the 21st Century. We have a real opportunity right now to re-shape and re-invigorate our health system, from the ground up.

The National Health and Hospital Reform Commission Report makes it clear that providing services ‘business as usual’ will not be sustainable as our population ages and chronic disease increases. For many people, our hospitals have become the first, and for many, the only port of call for health services, which is not how we should be delivering health services in the 21st century.This has led to a situation where our hospitals are bursting at the seams, and Australians are left waiting at the gate.

We are committed to building a health system that, from the maternity ward to the aged care home, focuses on keeping people healthy and in their own homes and communities for as long as they desire, and ideally out of hospital.

Some Key Achievements

We’ve negotiated a new Healthcare Agreement with the States and Territories which will invest $64 billion into our public health system. This is a 50 per cent increase on the last agreement.

We’ve taken action to slash elective surgery waiting lists, by delivering an additional 41,000 elective surgery procedures in 2008 – 16,000 procedures above target.

We are injecting $750 million to take the pressure off our public hospital emergency departments.
We are delivering on our commitment to build 31 GP Super Clinics, and have added an additional 5 communities that will benefit.

We said we would build a health system to serve future generations, which is why we established the Health and Hospitals Fund to make long-term, inter-generational investments in our national health infrastructure. This fund has made its first down payment of $3.2 billion in 32 projects around the country.
We are investing $2 billion into building a world class cancer care system, where the needs of the patient are paramount.
We have committed to closing the unacceptable life expectancy gap for Indigenous Australians within two generations and backed this up with an investment of $1.6 billion in Indigenous health, an increase of 57 per cent.
We are taking action to address dire workforce shortages, - a legacy of the Howard Government. With more than $1 billion being invested to train more doctors, nurses and allied health professionals, we have started the serious job of turning around these shortages that limited access to vital health services.
We are providing more attractive incentives and retention bonuses for doctors to work in rural and regional Australia, because we know that these areas are the lifeblood of Australia.