The BCA and its members strongly support the Government’s ambition to improve Medicare access in rural, regional and remote Australia. The November 2025 changes reflect that ambition, but some elements warrant the Committee’s close attention.
This submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport is offered in a constructive, forward-looking spirit, with the BCA’s Health and Care Economy Blueprint attached as supporting context. It focuses on the practical levers that can improve access.
The BCA’s key points are:
- Mixed-team models of care: Ensure care models are properly resourced by enabling nurses, allied health professionals, and specialists to work to their full scope of practice, improving access and affordability in rural, regional and remote communities.
- Telehealth and digital connectivity: Strengthen telehealth as essential infrastructure for rural, regional and remote communities by ensuring policy settings improve access, particularly for mental health care, while supporting reliable digital connectivity to enable effective service delivery.
- Chronic disease prevention: Improve access to continuous, community-based care in rural, regional and remote areas to support early intervention, reduce avoidable hospitalisations, and deliver better health outcomes at lower long-term cost.
- Access and affordability: Ensure Medicare settings support both access and affordability by recognising the financial sustainability of rural, regional and remote practices, so care is both available and viable.
Read our full submission here.
Read Attachment A here – BCA Health and Care Economy Blueprint, Supporting a Healthy and Productive Nation