Medicare Urgent Care Clinic planned for Tweed region

A MEDICARE Urgent Care Clinic is set to open in the Tweed region if the Albanese Labor government is re-elected, local MP Justine Elliot has announced.

Elliot said the clinic would provide free, bulk-billed urgent care for non-life-threatening conditions, reducing pressure on hospital emergency departments.

“If Labor is re-elected, the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in the Tweed region will begin operating in the 2025-26 financial year, providing bulk billed care for urgent but non-life-threatening conditions, seven days a week, for extended hours, and with no appointment needed.

“All you will need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.”

Urgent Care Clinics operate within existing medical centres, offering faster access to treatment for injuries and illnesses that don’t require hospital care.

The Tweed clinic is part of a $644 million expansion of urgent care services, which includes 50 new Medicare Urgent Care Clinics nationwide.

The federal government has already opened 87 clinics, treating more than 1.2 million Australians.

The expansion aims to ensure four in five Australians live within 20 minutes of a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic once all new sites are operational.

Elliot said the investment reflected Labor’s broader commitment to strengthening Medicare, describing it as “the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation over 40 years ago”.

“Only a re-elected Albanese Labor government will deliver a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic in the Tweed region so you can get the free, fully bulk billed, urgent care you need,” she said.