Federal Member for Bonner, Ross Vasta said unpaid carers in his electorate would benefit from $85.6 million in additional funding for support services.

Mr Vasta said the new support services were in recognition of the important contribution unpaid carers were providing to their families, the community, and the nation.

“The Turnbull Government will provide a range of new services, including peer support, coaching, targeted financial support and crisis support, to target early-intervention and build carers’ skills,” Mr Vasta said.

“Getting help early can make a big difference to a carer’s life. It can help to reduce emotional or physical strain, assist carers to stay in work or study, take breaks from caring responsibilities, and help plan for the future. We owe a big thanks to our unpaid carers, who make significant sacrifices to support the most vulnerable in our community.”

From October 2018, carers will be able to access new supports and services through the Australian Government’s Carer Gateway website, including peer support, counselling, coaching, and educational resources.

From September 2019, the Australian Government will establish a network of Regional Delivery Partners to help carers access a range of  local services such as needs assessments, targeted financial support, information and advice, tailored counselling and coaching, and crisis support where required. 

The new services will be funded by a $250,000 family income test threshold to the Carer Allowance payment.

Minister for Social Services Dan Tehan said around 99 per cent of Carer Allowance recipients would have no change to their payment under the threshold.

More patients in Bonner are seeing their doctor without paying a cent, with the bulk-billing rate increasing to a record 85.8 per cent in the first half of the 2017–18 financial year. 

This is the highest GP bulk-billing rate on record for the July to December period and is nearly 4% higher than Labor’s 81.9%, which they achieved when they were last in Government.

In Bonner the total number of GP services that have been bulk billed is 361,473, which is up from 278,183 under Labor (a total of 83,290 extra services in Bonner).

In total more than 65.9 million bulk billed GP visits were provided to patients over this time period, an extra 3.1 million services compared to last year. 

The total cost of all Medicare services during the six month period was $11.6 billion, with the bulk-billing rate for all services increasing in every state and territory. 

The Turnbull Coalition Government is investing more than ever into Medicare, with record funding increasing each and every year from $23 billion in 2017-18, to $24 billion, to $26 billion to $28 billion in 2020-21 (spending under Labor was $19.5 billion in 2012-13).

“Our commitment to Medicare is rock solid and the figures released today show that under the Turnbull Government, Medicare is providing more support to Australian patients than ever before,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said. 

Although more Australians are benefitting from these record bulk-billing figures than ever before, we must continue to drive down the cost of private health insurance and address out-of-pocket costs.

That’s why the Turnbull Coalition Government will work with the medical profession to address the large and sometimes unanticipated out-of-pocket medical fees some patients face. 

A new expert committee chaired by the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, will investigate out-of-pocket costs and options to ensure that consumers are better informed of fees before agreeing to treatment.