More doctors to bulk bill under new support scheme in NSW

Finding a doctor who bulk bills will be easier in NSW thanks to a new tax rebate for payroll tax on the wages of contractor GPs.

A $189m support scheme for GP practices that bulk bill 80 per cent of their patients in metropolitan Sydney.

Finding a doctor who bulk bills will be easier in NSW after the peak medical bodies won their long battle to get a tax rebate for payroll tax on the wages of contractor GPs.

The Minns government has introduced a $189m support scheme under which GP practices that bulk bill 80 per cent of their patients in metropolitan Sydney – and 70 per cent in the rest of the state – can claim a full tax rebate for the payroll tax they otherwise would have to pay for the wages of contractor GPs.

No clinic will have to pay any back-taxes they owe on a contractor GP’s wage, making NSW the first state to legislate a full retrospective waiver for past unpaid payroll tax liabilities for contractor GP wages.

Last year, the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners claimed that failure to address the payroll tax issue could lead to GPs charging patients as much as $20 extra per appointment

The measure will cost the government $188m over the next four years.

“Free health care is supposed to be the birthright of every Australian but until the Albanese government recently increased payments to GPs, bulk-billing rates have been in freefall,” NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey said.

He said GPs were facing pressure arising from uncertain payroll tax obligations. “We prefer GPs to spend more time with their patients than with their accountants.”

The measure is also designed to reduce the strain on hospital emergency departments, with estimates that a 1 per cent decrease in bulk-billing equates to around 3000 additional emergency presentations. The government claims a recent survey revealed that almost half of all adults in NSW (48 per cent) are cutting back on healthcare appointments due to affordability.

Emergency departments will get an extra $480m in a bid to reduce wait times and improve patient outcomes for the more than three million people who attend EDs in the state every year, and a $112m allocation to mental health, with the creation of a dedicated “single front door” for those needing help.

The Emergency Department Relief Package is aimed at avoiding an estimated 290,000 visits to emergency departments each year once fully implemented

Hospitals across NSW will receive a further $275m to hire 250 healthcare workers, including cleaners, nurses and doctors.

Last year, the NSW government announced a pause on payroll tax audits for GPs after several practices received retrospective tax notices, including one for $450,000.

Both the AMA and RACGP welcomed the payroll decision.

“Legislating ‘no retrospectivity’ will provide certainty for practices and will minimise the risk of more closures of general practices in NSW,” the AMA’s Michael Bonning said.

RACGP NSW & ACT chair Rebekah Hoffman applauded the exemption from retrospective payroll tax.

“This gives GPs across NSW certainty that they can continue to operate and keep their doors open for patients, without fear of being hit with a huge tax bill that will shut them down,” Dr Hoffman said.

“The tax arrangements going forward will reduce future liabilities and will go a long way to ensuring NSW practices remain viable and open for patients, and those that are bulk-billing may continue.”