Delivering more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Brisbane and Burpengary

The Australian Government is delivering on its commitment for a further 50 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics with tender processes underway to identify providers to operate the new Brisbane and Burpengary clinics. These new clinics will give more Australians access to high-quality and free walk-in urgent health care.
 
The new Brisbane and Burpengary Medicare Urgent Care Clinics will be open over extended hours, seven days a week, with no appointment needed, and all patients will be fully bulk billed.
 
These clinics are intended to take pressure off local hospitals, including Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and Caboolture Hospital, and will fill an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend.
 
Tender processes led by the Brisbane North Primary Health Network have commenced to identify providers to operate the new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Queensland.
 
The tender processes will be open to general practices, community health centres and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services.
 
Ninety Medicare UCC have opened across Australia, which have already seen more than 1.8 million presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023, including over 350,000 presentations to the 16 existing Queensland Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.

Over 29 per cent of presentations to Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Queensland have been outside standard business hours, which means the clinics are filling an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend.
 
Over one in four visits to a Queensland Medicare UCC have taken place on the weekend, and one in four have taken place at 5pm or later.
 
And with over one in four visits treating a young person under 15, Queensland Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are giving families timely health care and peace of mind.
 
Quotes attributable to Minister Butler:
 
“The Albanese Government is getting on with the job of delivering more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics for Queenslanders.
 
“These clinics will be open seven days a week, extended hours and most importantly they’ll be fully bulk billed.”
 
Quotes attributable to Madonna Jarrett MP, Member for Brisbane:
 
“We made an election commitment to deliver an Urgent Care Clinic for Brisbane’s inner north, and we are delivering.”
 
“Our community continues to tell me how much we need more bulk billed services in the area.
 
“Once this clinic is delivered, more Brisbane locals will be able to receive free, urgent care closer to home and won’t spend long waiting times at hospitals.”