Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-05-13 Daily Xml

Contents

Bulk-Billing

In reply to the Hon. J.S. LEE ().19 March 2025).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector, Special Minister of State): The Treasurer has advised:

There is no general practitioner (GP) payroll tax. Payroll tax is collected on the taxable wages of all businesses liable for payroll tax in South Australia.

As part of the 2024-25 budget, the government announced that from 2024-25, medical practices will be eligible for an exemption on the wages of GPs based on the proportion of bulk-billed services relative to total services provided by GPs. The measure is intended to provide protection for current bulk-billed patients and an additional incentive for GPs to bulk-bill patients.

Commonwealth data indicates that the average GP bulk-billing rate in South Australia is currently around 75 per cent. The federal Labor government has recently announced an initiative to extend bulk-billing incentives from November 2025, expanding the eligibility for incentives to all Australians and introducing a new bulk-billing practice incentive program. It has been stated that these measures are expected to increase bulk-billing rates to around 90 per cent.