Around the world, blended funding has become a common way to fund general practice. It combines a flexible budget for each patient with a fee for each service. This policy brief argues that Australia should move to blended funding for general practice. But how much funding should be flexible, and how much should remain fee-for-service?

The report provides insights into how proportions of bulk billing clinics and average out-of-pocket costs have changed across Australia's 150 Commonwealth electoral divisions over the past four years. It provides insights into general practice accessibility at the local electorate level since the 1 November 2025 Medicare changes came into effect.

Assertions that the Australian working medical workforce supply is low are common. However, this report finds that Australia’s supply per 1,000 of the population is nearly the highest in the OECD. The report proposes that the challenge for Australia is to shift acute medical care into the community and downsize hospitals.

Following cohealth's decision to close Melbourne clinics, this review examined service delivery, governance arrangements and financial sustainability, and considered options to support continued access to these services. It found that cohealth provides essential services to communities with complex health and social needs, but identified significant challenges in governance, service delivery and financial sustainability.

The study presents long-term projections of supply and demand for medical practitioners. The key challenge with the Australian medical workforce is that, while estimates suggest that there may be enough medical practitioners, they are not optimally distributed across specialties, sectors, settings and locations to meet the needs of the Australian community.