Nursing body warns Medicare settings are failing remote communities

The Australian College of Nursing (ACN) has formally called on the federal government to overhaul Medicare structures, claiming current policies are restricting equitable access to primary care for millions of residents in rural and remote Australia.

In a submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport, the ACN argued that recent policy adjustments have exacerbated healthcare disparities in regions where General Practitioner (GP) services are often limited or non-existent.

Structural barriers for nurse practitioners

The ACN submission highlights specific concerns regarding telehealth regulations introduced on 1 November 2025.

According to the college, Nurse Practitioners (NPs) are now subject to the same face-to-face consultation requirements as GPs but lack equivalent access to Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers.

This includes exclusions from exemptions that apply to mental health and eating disorder services.

Furthermore, the college noted that NPs remain ineligible for MyMedicare—the program allowing enrolled patients to bypass face-to-face requirements—unless they are affiliated with a practice accredited by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP).

ACN Chief Executive Officer, Adjunct Professor Kathryn Zeitz FACN, stated that the current framework does not reflect the reality of the modern health workforce.

“Medicare settings have not kept pace with the changing structure of the health workforce or the evolving needs of rural populations,” Adjunct Professor Zeitz said.

For residents across the Hay, Balranald, Carrathool, and Central Darling shires, where the distance to major metropolitan hubs often necessitates a reliance on local nursing staff and telehealth, these policy gaps are reportedly creating significant hurdles.

The ACN suggests that the exclusion of NPs from aged care and after-hours incentives—benefits currently available to GPs—is further restricting healthcare access within residential aged care settings in these districts.

“In many rural and remote areas, GP wait times exceed three months, or there is no GP service at all,” Adjunct Professor Zeitz said.

“Evidence shows underfunding nurse-led care has stark consequences – including avoidable hospital presentations.”

A call for reform

The ACN is advocating for nurse-led models to be made eligible for direct Medicare funding.

Currently, many such services must operate through a combination of block funding, government incentives, or private billing, which the ACN argues is unsustainable for remote providers.

The college maintains that without structural reform, the system will continue to struggle to meet the demand in isolated areas.

“In rural and remote Australia, where demand far exceeds supply, this gap is devastating,” Adjunct Professor Zeitz said. “The current system is failing the communities that need it most.”

“Every day, nurses and nurse practitioners are providing the only available primary care in communities across rural and remote Australia. Their work should not be structurally excluded from public funding. We need reforms that reflect the workforce we have, not the workforce we had.”

This article appeared on Back Country Bulletin on 5 April 2026.