STRENGTHENING MEDICARE: $120 MILLION TO DELIVER BIRTHING SERVICES AT ROUSE HILL HOSPITAL

A re-elected Albanese Labor Government will work in partnership with the Minns Labor Government to build Australia’s future, today announcing a joint commitment to see maternity services delivered at the new Rouse Hill Hospital.

We will invest $120 million to deliver a birthing service at Rouse Hill Hospital, including:

• Birthing rooms

• A maternity inpatient unit

• Additional staffing areas

This is in addition to the existing plan to have post- and pre-natal maternity services at the new hospital.

This funding is on top of the $700 million the Minns Labor Government has already committed to develop Rouse Hill Hospital – the first major adult hospital to be built in Western Sydney in over 40 years.

This joint investment by a re-elected Albanese and Minns Labor Governments will ensure that women in northwest Sydney will be able to give birth closer to home, in one of the city’s fastest-growing areas.

Under the Australian health system:

• States and territories run public hospitals

• The Federal Government pays its share of the cost of hospital activity

The $120 million investment is a decision of government that will be reflected in the 2025 PEFO. Funding has been accounted for in the 2025–26 Budget.

This investment builds on the Albanese Labor Government’s commitment to deliver free, quality healthcare for New South Wales. We are:

• Boosting funding to NSW public hospitals next year by 11% to $9.88 billion, to help cut waiting lists, reduce emergency room times, and manage ramping

• Opening another 14 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in NSW, building on the 22 that have already treated close to 250,000 people

  • This is free healthcare – all you need is your Medicare card

• Making the largest investment in Medicare since its creation 40 years ago

  • This will enable an additional 5 million free GP visits for NSW

  • It will also boost the number of bulk billing clinics to around 1,650

• Making cheaper medicines even cheaper, with a PBS script to cost no more than $25 next year

  • This provides important cost of living relief, adding to the nearly $400 million already saved by people in NSW from cheaper medicines

This investment in public healthcare stands in stark contrast to Peter Dutton, who was voted the worst Health Minister in Medicare history by Australia’s doctors, after he:

• Cut $50 billion from public hospitals

• Slashed $18 billion from NSW hospitals

• Tried to end bulk billing with a fee for every GP visit

Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:

“We’re working with the Minns Labor Government to build Australia’s future.
Western Sydney is one of our fastest growing areas, and we will deliver $120…”