CANBERRA, ACT, March 21 -- The Prime Minister of Australia issued the following media release:
The Albanese Government is delivering for residents in Coburg and Brunswick with the opening of the Coburg Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.
The new Coburg Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, located at 444 Sydney Road, Coburg, will open on Monday, 21 March 2026 with extended hours, seven days a week.
No appointment is needed, patients can walk in and all services are bulk billed.
The highly trained doctors and nurses are equipped to treat a range of conditions and injuries that need urgent attention but aren't life threatening, including cuts, viral infections, or a sprained ankle.
The Coburg Medicare Urgent Care Clinic will ease pressure on the busy Royal Melbourne Hospital, where around 29 per cent of presentations in 2024-25 were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions.
The Coburg Medicare Urgent Care Clinic joins the existing network of 28 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across Victoria.
This is part of the Albanese Government's commitment to deliver more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the country with 4 out of 5 Australians to live within a 20-minute drive from their local clinic.
Labor's Medicare Urgent Care Clinics have already seen more than 2.7 million presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023, including more than 565,900 presentations to Victorian Medicare Urgent Care Clinics.
Over one in four of these were patients aged under 15 years old, more than one in four were on weekends, and one in four were weekday after hours visits (at or after 5pm).
The Coburg Medicare Urgent Care Clinic is commissioned by the North Western Melbourne Primary Health Network.
Quotes attributable to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese:
"Labor is setting up a network of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics help patients get the care they need while easing pressure on hospitals.
"When you go to an Urgent Care Clinic, all you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.
"Our Government is strengthening Medicare making care more affordable and accessible for millions of Australians.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler:
"We're delivering on our promise to open more Medicare Urgent Care Clinics in Victoria.
"This new clinic will be open seven days a week, for extended hours and most importantly patients will be fully bulk billed.
"This clinic is a key part of the Albanese Government's commitment to strengthen Medicare and make health care more accessible and affordable."
Quotes attributable to Member for Wills, Peter Khalil:
"We don't offer empty promises - Labor actually deliver for Wills. Local families now have access to fast, free urgent care. That means no appointments, no out-of-pocket costs, just quality treatment when they need it.
"This clinic will take pressure off our hospitals, freeing up emergency departments while ensuring people get timely care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions.
"The former Member for Wills, Bob Hawke, created Medicare and we're honouring that legacy today by strengthening it on the ground by expanding access, cutting wait times, and making sure 4 out of 5 Australians can get free urgent medical care close to home."
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
