FOLLOWING months of campaigning from members of the opposition, the State Government has resolved to abandon its controversial health tax.
Last week, Treasurer Tim Pallas announced that the government will exempt contractor GPs and employee GPs who provide bulk-billed consultations from payroll tax.
Previously, Labor’s health tax applied payroll tax for the first time on contractor GPs in Victorian health clinics, adding almost 30 per cent to the cost of visiting a doctor and threatening the ability of clinics to offer bulk-billing.
State politicians, Wendy Lovell Member for Northern Victoria and Member for Shepparton District Kim O’Keeffe, have been vocal about the impact the proposed health tax would have on GPs ability to operate.
“The Victorian Liberals always stood against Labor’s Health Tax and this long-overdue backflip is a win for Victorians and for common sense,” said Lovell.
O’Keeffe said, “Bulk-billing can be the difference between a patient seeking a medical appointment. The health tax was putting people’s lives at risk and GP clinics at risk of shutting down.”
In October 2023, the Victorian Liberals and Nationals introduced a Private Members Bill in the Parliament to stop the Health Tax, and earlier this month announced they would remove the tax should they be elected to government.
The current state government’s decision to scrap the health tax was announced the same day polls showed declining support for the party and indicated that Labor would struggle to form a majority government if the election were held this month.
In addition to these tax reforms, Labor has pledged $32M to support graduate GPs, encouraging medical students to pursue careers in general practice. This initiative seeks to address the primary care shortfall, which Labor attributes to a decade of neglect under the former Federal Liberal National Government.
