Queensland will be home to 10 more free Medicare Urgent Care clinics under a plan to increase the number of centres nation-wide to more than 130.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said $644 million would be committed to opening another 50 centres across the country.
Minister Butler said the new Queensland clinics would be in Brisbane, Buderim, Burpengary, Cairns, Caloundra, Capalaba, Carindale, Gladstone, Greenslopes and Mackay.
He said the new clinics would open during the 2025-26 financial year.
“Once all the clinics are open, 4 in 5 Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, according to analysis by the Department of Health and Aged Care.
“All you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.”
Minister Butler said more than 1.2 million Australians had already been treated at one of the existing 87 Urgent Care Clinics, which provided bulk billed care for urgent, but non-life-threatening conditions, seven days a week, for extended hours, with no appointment needed.
