Why after-hours care is important
After-hours care is accessible primary health care outside of normal general practice opening hours and outside of hospital emergency departments.
After-hours care is important to ensure Australians have access to appropriate care when treatment can’t wait. This is particularly in cases where treatment may not require a visit to a hospital emergency department.
After-hours care should not be a substitute for primary care that could otherwise occur 'in hours'.
What we’re doing about after-hours care
After Hours Review
The After Hours Review looked at how we could improve the primary care after-hours system. Read more about the review and final report.
GP care
We support after-hours primary care through a GP incentive program. This program supports general practices to provide their patients with appropriate access to after-hours care.
Some practices provide the after-hours care themselves, while others arrange for another medical service to offer it.
Primary Health Networks (PHNs) also fund or provide after-hours care services. Learn more in the 2020 PHN after-hours evaluation report.
Medicare Urgent Care Clinics offer bulk billed urgent care. Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are open extended business hours and do not require an appointment or referral.
Helplines
We fund helplines for advice and support during and after hours. These include:
- healthdirect helpline (1800 022 222) – 24-hour service where you can speak to a registered nurse for advice on managing your health issue or seeking medical care. Callers to the helpline who are advised by the nurse to see a GP within 24 hours may be offered a telephone or video call back from a 1800MEDICARE GP in the after hours period.
- Pregnancy, Birth and Baby hotline (1800 882 436) – access to a maternal child health nurse from 7am to midnight for expecting parents and parents of children, from birth to 5 years of age.