Children and young people have what they need
Funding in Budget 2018 reduced barriers to health care by extending:
- free GP visits and prescriptions to children under the age of 14 so that cost is not a consideration for parents and caregivers
- access to very low-cost GP visits to all Community Services Card (CSC) holders, making doctor visits approximately $20 to $30 cheaper for an estimated 540,000 people
- eligibility for CSC to all those receiving the accommodation supplement or income-related rent subsidy.
As of June 2020, 96% of enrolled CSC holders, and their dependents aged 14 years and over, are enrolled with a practice offering low cost visits. Over 99% of all enrolled children aged less than 14 years are enrolled with a practice offering them zero-fee visits.
Cross-agency scoping work is underway to look at how accessibility to the CSC could be improved for those who are eligible but are not automatically issued a CSC.