Ministers' media centre

People in South Australia’s Mid North region have access to free, walk-in mental health support and care with the opening of a new Port Pirie Medicare Mental Health Centre.

For the first time, evidence given before Senate Estimates and published in the Australian Financial Review has revealed how 2.2 million Australians are now either paying higher taxes or more for their private health insurance because of changes made by Peter Dutton as Health Minister in 2014.

Read Minister Butler's op ed on the Get2It bowel cancer campaign. Originally published in The Advertiser, 6 November 2024

The Australian Government is delivering on its promise to strengthen Medicare for the Hunter with a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (Medicare UCC) to give better access to high quality and fully bulk billed health care.

The Australian Government is ensuring patients get access to life changing medications and treatments as quickly as possible.

A landmark independent review commissioned by the Australian Government has found that virtually all the nation’s health professions face restrictions and barriers in working to their fullest – restrictions that are unrelated to their skills, training and experience.

Twenty of the nation’s finest health professionals and health teams have been recognised as Medicare Champions in the Stronger Medicare Awards.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's interview with Sabra Lane on scope of practice.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's press conference on 5.4 million additional bulk billed visits since tripling to bulk billing incentive; private health check; COVID-19 inquiry.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's interview with James Glenday on 5.4 million additional bulk billed visits since tripling to bulk billing measure.

Read Minister Butler's speech at the Stronger Medicare Awards.

Medicare billing data shows the Albanese Government’s record investment to strengthen Medicare has revived bulk billing and created an additional 103,000 bulk billed visits to the GP every week, on average, or 5.4 million additional bulk billed visits since November last year.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's interview with Sarah Abo on reforms to higher education, fee free TAFE and bulk billing increase

The Australian health system added one new doctor every hour last year, on average, with more doctors joining in the last two years than at any time in the past decade.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's interview with Patricia Karvelas on the most new doctors in more than a decade; bulk billing; overseas health professionals.

Private hospitals are an important part of the Australian health system, providing patients with choice and taking pressure off our public hospitals to serve the health needs of our communities, especially in the regions.

More Australians will have access to a life-saving transplant with a new strategy laying out the steps for Australia to become a world-leader in organ donation, retrieval, and transplantation.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's interview with Matthew Pantelis on the COVID-19 Inquiry; nuclear waste.

Read Minister Butler's interview with Sabra Lane on the COVID-19 Inquiry Response Report, the Australian Centre for Disease Control, long Covid and abortion access.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's television interview with James Glenday on the COVID-19 Inquiry Response Report.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's television interview with Sarah Abo on the COVID-19 Inquiry Response Report.

Read the transcript of Minister Butler's television interview with Natalie Barr on the COVID-19 Inquiry Response Report.

In Medicare’s 40th birthday year, the Australian Government is making an historic change that will finally support nurses and midwives with some of the highest qualifications to independently provide Medicare services.

Read the transcript from Minister Butler's interview on ABC Adelaide Breakfast Radio with Sonya Feldholff and Jules Schiller which covered the COVID-19 Inquiry and the Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

Read Minister Butler's speech to the AusBioTech 2024 Conference.