Over AU$100 million will be spent by the Australian government to create permanent telehealth.
The federal government has announced it will invest over AU$100 million to make telehealth a permanent fixture within the country’s healthcare system. The AU$106 million put into telehealth is part of a AU$309 million investment into Australia’s primary healthcare system. The remainder of that AU$309 million will be allocated towards supporting Australia’s mental health, improving health services in regional and rural Australia, improving access to Medicare, and supporting COVID-19 efforts. Minister for Health Greg Hunt explained that the AU$106 million telehealth investment would be spent over four years, and includes almost AU$32 million of additional funding to support general practices in their efforts to provide ongoing telehealth services.
