Month: September 2024

The NSW Department of Education is partnering with TAFE NSW to deliver a $10 million Early Childhood Professional Learning Program, providing NSW early childhood educators and teachers  with fully subsidised professional learning.

This landmark investment is a key election commitment by the Minns Labor Government that aims to address workforce burnout and support retention. It will ensure the early childhood workforce has access to fully subsidised professional learning to enhance skills and knowledge, so all children get a strong start in life and learning.

Professional learning will be open to all Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) educators and teachers that work at a service or live in NSW. 

The first phase of the program is expected to launch in Spring 2024 with a series of short online microskills and webinars designed by sector experts. These short courses will be free, self-paced and available through TAFE NSW’s online learning platform.

The second phase will deliver a leadership development program that aims to increase workforce retention by supporting early childhood education and care professionals to thrive as leaders.

The program will include tailored offerings for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders, and those working in rural and regional areas of NSW. It will be offered through a combination of online learning and face-to-face sessions to be rolled out in 2025.

Applications will be open next year to educators and teachers who want to strengthen their leadership capabilities.

TAFE NSW is seeking sector representatives to help design and deliver the professional learning program to ensure it is informed by evidence, best practice, and is responsive to skills needs.

The professional learning program builds on TAFE NSW’s commitment to train early childhood educators, care educators and teachers using Vocational Education and Training and Higher Education qualifications.

To express interest and for more information, visit the TAFE NSW website.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“The NSW Government is committed to maintaining and retaining this highly skilled and valued workforce, and fee-free professional development is one of the ways we are doing this.

“There is clear evidence about the benefits of investing in early education for our children, families and communities. A strong early education can be life-changing.

“TAFE NSW is well placed to support our early childhood educators and teachers to deepen their practice, advance their careers and support our youngest learners.”

Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education, Steve Whan said:

“As the state with the largest early childhood education and care workforce in Australia, it’s vital for NSW to build and maintain a steady pipeline of workers for the sector.

“We know that the first five years of a child’s life are pivotal in their learning and development, and early childhood educators play a crucial role in nurturing a lifelong love of learning.

“TAFE NSW is working closely with the early childhood education and care sector to ensure these training programs meet the skills needs of the sector, now and into the future.”

The Minns Labor Government is investing $11.5 million to improve safety on a six-kilometre stretch of the Oxley Highway about 50 kilometres west of Gunnedah.

Work will start on Monday 16 September and includes:

• widening and rehabilitating the pavement
• widening nine culverts and
• sealing the section of road.

Changed traffic conditions while the work takes place include single lane closures and reduced speed limits of 40 km/h through the work zone.

Work will be carried out over the next eight months on weekdays between 7am and 6pm and on Saturdays between 8am and 1pm, weather permitting.

Motorists should follow the directions of all traffic control and all signs, including reduced speed limits.  For the latest traffic information, visit www.livetraffic.com, download the Live Traffic app or call the Transport Management Centre on 132 701.

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said:

“This pavement improvement work will deliver a stronger and more resilient road surface, safer turning at the Oxley Highway intersection with Goolhi Road and reduced ongoing maintenance costs.

“These improvements will benefit all road users, including drivers of heavy vehicles who regularly use this route hauling freight across NSW.

“Crews were relocated from this job in 2021 to provide support to the urgent flood repair work required at various locations across the state.

“Rehabilitating the road surface to make it more resilient will reduce the need for ongoing pavement maintenance and improve the experience for road users, as well as reducing disruptions due to roadworks.”

Independent Member for Barwon Roy Butler said:

“In recent years the Oxley Highway has proven to be particularly prone to floods, this work will help improve the road’s ability to resist future flood events and remain open.

“As I have often said, it is important not just to rebuild roads after natural disasters but also to build them back better than they were. This work will continue the process of making our regional road network safer and less likely to be cut off during heavy rains.”

NSW Labor’s spokesperson for Barwon Stephen Lawrence MLC said:

“Regional NSW makes up a third of the NSW population but two thirds of deaths on our roads happen on country roads.

“This investment will improve safety on the Oxley Highway and will work towards achieving the goal of ensuring everyone gets home safely every time to their loved ones.”

The new look of St Marys station has been revealed for the first time, as the 162-year-old railway station is set to transform into a train, metro and bus hub.  

This is part of the Minns Labor Government’s plan to make Western Sydney an even better place to live and work.

A new footbridge is being planned to connect the current St Marys Station with the future Metro station, which will whisk passengers from St Marys to the brand new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport.

The new footbridge providing access for people with disabilities, prams and luggage will be located at the eastern end of the current station platforms. A new northern plaza off Harris Street with green space will become a major entry to the upgraded station precinct.

The existing footbridge will remain, connecting T1 Western Line passengers to Queen Street.

A city-shaping project, the 23-kilometre new metro railway line will connect the Bradfield city centre in the south with St Marys in the north – where customers can connect to the existing rail services.

A Place, Urban Design and Corridor Landscape Plan has been prepared to guide the design of the new footbridge and landscaping for the northern entry on Harris Street.  

The community is invited to provide feedback on the plan up until 15 September 2024.

Visit http://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/stmarys for more information about the project and explore our digital interactive newsletter.

Transport for NSW in partnership with Laing O’Rourke will deliver the new footbridge and northern plaza at St Marys Station as part of the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project.

Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport is set to open ahead of the first passenger services at Western Sydney International Airport.  

Deputy Premier and Minister for Western Sydney Prue Car said:

“I spend a lot of early mornings at St Marys station, and I know passengers at the station are going to love having a front row view of this transformational work.  

“Soon St Marys will have a direct link to the new airport and this new accessible footbridge will ensure that everyone on the Western line has easy access to the new Metro.” 

Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:

“This is the biggest transformation St Marys station has seen in its 162-year history. Soon it will bring together rail, metro, and buses with simple connections between the three via the new bridge.

The new station will improve accessibility, incorporate bicycle parking and taxi and car drop off zones.” 

The Minns Labor Government is continuing work to create a safer New South Wales and address sexual, domestic and family violence in communities, with the state’s first standalone primary prevention strategy launched today.

Pathways to Prevention: NSW Strategy for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence 2024-2028 sets out the framework to address the underlying beliefs and cultures that tolerate and, in too many cases, condone the use of violence against women and children.

Developed in consultation with over 200 individuals and organisations, including Domestic Violence New South Wales, Aboriginal stakeholders and Our Watch, the strategy identifies three priorities for prevention in New South Wales:

1. Progressing prevention in priority settings.
2. Supporting Aboriginal-led prevention.
3. Providing centralised support to prevention efforts across the state.

To date, most government actions to address sexual, domestic and family violence have focused on early intervention, crisis response and recovery. This work is critically important but responds to existing violence or indicators of violence.

Primary prevention is about stopping violence before it starts. It is about programs that, over the long-term, help to shift the dial on community attitudes and behaviours underlying these types of violence.

The Minns Labor Government has committed $38.3 million for the implementation of the strategy through a range of initiatives to address the drivers of domestic, family and sexual violence

The launch of this strategy is an important milestone for the state as work continues to address the unacceptable rates of sexual and domestic violence against women and children in New South Wales.

Priority 1: Progressing prevention action in priority settings

The strategy aims to address drivers of violence through place-based work across four high impact settings – local communities, schools, workplaces and sporting clubs. 

Local community organisations

The NSW Government will work with councils, community organisations and with existing local networks to establish primary prevention initiatives designed specifically for their communities.

This will include establishing a formal network of councils, relevant government agencies and non-government organisations to allow streamlined information sharing and learning.

The primary prevention capacity of councils and community organisations will also be boosted through staff training.

Schools and early childhood education

Early childhood learning centres, preschools and schools across the state have near universal reach to children and young people, providing the greatest opportunities for successful primary prevention.

Work in this space will include the recruitment and training of specialist respectful relationship education roles, supporting schools to implement age-appropriate and evidence-informed respectful relationship education.

The Minns Labor Government has also separately committed $8.8 million to expand the early childhood ‘All-In’ pilot project empowering childcare professionals and families to actively challenge gender stereotypes which drive gender-based violence.

Workplaces

Workplaces play an important role in preventing and responding to domestic and family violence.

The NSW Government will develop and expand the delivery of workshops for employers across NSW on the drivers of workplace gender-based violence, and actions they can take to both prevent and respond to it.

Sporting clubs

Sport reaches and influences people in many settings and at all ages, including employees, sponsors, supporters, volunteers, players and their families.

Under the strategy, a dedicated team will be established within the Office of Sport to drive the coordination and implementation of primary prevention activity within the sporting context in NSW.

Further, the NSW Government will establish a coalition of state sporting organisations, Sport NSW and Our Watch to guide initiatives focused on building the capacity of sports organisations to address gender inequality and drivers of sexual, domestic and family violence using their collective influence.

Priority 2: Supporting Aboriginal-led prevention

Aboriginal women and girls are 31 times more likely than non-Aboriginal women and girls to be hurt by domestic and family violence assaults so badly they need to stay in hospital. The NSW Government is committed to addressing this to help ensure Aboriginal families are healthy and safe.

To make sure primary prevention is effective and culturally relevant for Aboriginal people, the NSW Government will co-design initiatives that centre on Aboriginal priorities, strengths and knowledge. A dedicated team will be established within Government to work alongside Aboriginal communities and sector partners to drive the coordination and implementation of this activity.

A dedicated NSW Aboriginal Domestic and Family Violence Plan is also being developed, with a draft to be released in 2025.

Priority 3: Providing centralised support to prevention efforts across the state

To ensure the strategy is effective and delivering outcomes, the NSW Government will embed implementation monitoring and evaluation metrics within the program.

This will ensure best practice is being undertaken and effective strategies are consolidated and shared across the state.

The NSW Government will establish a Primary Prevention Advisory Council to guide the implementation of the strategy. The council will include representation from priority groups, including people representing regional, rural and remote areas, Aboriginal people and people from the LGBTIQA+ community.

An evaluation of the NSW Government’s primary prevention work will be published annually by the NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner, Dr. Hannah Tonkin.

Pathways to Prevention: NSW Strategy for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence 2024-2028 can be found here: https://dcj.nsw.gov.au/service-providers/supporting-family-domestic-sexual-violence-services/domestic-family-sexual-violence-plans-and-strategies/nsw-strategy-for-the-prevention-of-domestic-family-and-sexual-violence.html

Chris Minns, Premier of New South Wales said:

“We have a long road ahead of us to catch up to where we should be in terms of a comprehensive statewide approach to primary prevention – but not doing this work is simply not an option, the stakes are far too high.

“The state’s first dedicated primary prevention strategy is an important step for New South Wales as we continue our work to create safer communities for women and children.

“We need to invest in this work now, to help prevent more lives being ended or ruined in years or even decades to come.

“This framework will be the foundation of our efforts to not just respond to violence once it has occurred, but to stop it before it starts.”

Prue Car, Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Early Learning said:

“When young people are taught in their early formative years about resilience, respect and safety in relationships, it has an incredible impact on the people they grow up to become.

“When you teach a child respect and resilience at an early age, and build their self-esteem, it becomes a part of the fabric of who they are. They grow up knowing what healthy, respectful and equal relationships look like.

“Education is one of the most powerful tools we have to change behaviours and attitudes, leading to a positive society where women and children are able to live in a safer New South Wales.”

David Harris, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Treaty said:

“We know that domestic and family violence does not discriminate – it impacts every single community across our state.

“However, we also know that Aboriginal communities experience domestic violence at much higher rates than other communities.

“Closing the Gap is a top priority of the NSW Government and we cannot and will not take a one size fits all approach in this space.

“The priorities, views and knowledge of Aboriginal communities will be central as the New South Wales Government continues work in this space.”

Jodie Harrison, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault said:

“Domestic, family, and sexual violence is preventable, and the NSW Government is determined to deliver on a vision where all people in NSW can live free from violence.

“For too long we have focused on a crisis response to sexual and domestic violence, picking up the pieces of broken families and lives that have been shattered.

“The Pathways to Prevention strategy provides a holistic approach to stop violence before it starts and complements ongoing initiatives which support victim-survivors and ensure perpetrators are held to account.

“We all have the right to be safe and respected and to live a life free of domestic, family and sexual violence.”

NSW Women’s Safety Commissioner, Dr. Hannah Tonkin said:

“Eliminating domestic, family and sexual violence is a complex challenge which requires concerted effort from all levels of government, advocates, frontline workers and the broader community.

“NSW’s first dedicated primary prevention strategy is a critical step to acknowledging that we can no longer continue to simply respond to the crisis. We must act early and collaboratively to disrupt the drivers of violence permanently.”

CEO Domestic Violence NSW Delia Donovan said:

“Domestic, family and sexual violence is preventable. It’s with a great sense of hope that Domestic Violence NSW welcomes the state’s first primary prevention strategy as a crucial step in the long-term prevention of violence against women and children. 

“It takes real leadership to acknowledge the existence of a problem and to acknowledge the work to be done. The NSW Government has consulted on the creation of this strategy. Domestic Violence NSW recommended prioritising prevention efforts led by grass roots and First Nations communities – the strategy launched today inspires confidence with the knowledge that our feedback has been heard. 

“We’re pleased to see schools and early learning centres, workplaces, sports clubs and grassroots community organisations central within this strategy and this change-making journey. We also welcome the focus on supporting Aboriginal-led domestic, family and sexual violence prevention efforts and self-determination.

“Incredible prevention work is already happening led by local communities, and we look forward to these initiatives receiving recognition and sustainable resourcing via the strategy and the funding that has been committed by the NSW Government.”

CEO Full Stop Australia Karen Bevan said:

“Full Stop Australia welcomes the NSW Government’s Strategy for the Prevention of Domestic, Family and Sexual Violence 2024–2028 which seeks to address the harms of gender-based violence in NSW. It will take every community and all of us to make the change we need to end sexual, domestic and family violence in NSW.

“We welcome the strategy’s focus on sexual violence and the attitudes that underpin its prevalence – Full Stop Australia has been supporting people impacted by sexual violence in NSW for 50 years. A focus on preventing sexual, domestic and family violence is much needed and can real change.

“We encourage the NSW Government to continue its efforts to end sexual, domestic and family violence in the state.”

CEO No to Violence Phillip Ripper said:

“Men’s use of domestic, family and sexual violence is not inevitable. NSW’s first standalone primary prevention strategy outlines how we can work together to address the underlying causes of domestic, family and sexual violence and stop violence before it occurs.

“Collective commitment to these actions can help reduce the burden on services that provide crisis responses to domestic, family and sexual violence.

“NTV particularly welcomes the focus on supporting Aboriginal-led prevention to ensure there are culturally safe and strengths-based approaches that centre the knowledge, culture, and resilience of Aboriginal peoples.”

The Minns Labor Government is delivering on its election commitment to improve rental laws and help make renting fairer, announcing new laws to end no-grounds evictions.

This change will be the one of the biggest reforms to the rental market in a decade and will help to ensure we get the balance right between renters and homeowners.

We have a housing crisis in NSW. In fact, housing is the largest single cost of living issue facing the people of NSW.

More people are renting than ever before, with around 33 per cent of the NSW population renting, an increase of 17.6 per cent since 2016.

However, the current rental market in NSW is the toughest that renters have seen for decades with historically low vacancy rates, median rent prices increasing by around 7 per cent over the last 12 months, and a system that leaves them vulnerable to eviction at any time.

These changes bring NSW into line with other states including the ACT, South Australia and Victoria who have legislated their own model to end no grounds evictions.

Ending no grounds evictions

Under the existing law, the owner of a rental property can choose to end a residential periodic lease at any time for any reason or no reason at all.

This creates insecurity and financial pressure for renters whose lives can be upended at any time.

Under our proposed reforms, homeowners will now need a reason to end a tenancy for both periodic and fixed term leases.

These will include commonsense and reasonable reasons such as:

• The existing rules where the renter is at fault, because of a breach of lease, damage to the property, or non-payment of rent.
• Where the property is being sold or offered for sale with vacant possession.
• Where significant repairs or renovations make inhabiting the property too difficult, or it will be demolished.  If a homeowner seeks to renovate or repair a home, it cannot be relisted for a period of at least 4 weeks.
• If the property will no longer be used as a rental home, i.e. a change of use.
• Where the owner or their family intend to move into the property.
• If the renter is no longer eligible for an affordable housing program or if the property is purpose-built student accommodation and the renter is no longer a student.

If the homeowner wishes to end a lease, evidence must be provided with a termination notice, with penalties payable by homeowners providing non-genuine reasons.

For those on fixed term agreements of less than 6 months, the termination notice period to tenants will be increased from 30 days to 60 days.  For fixed term agreements of more than 6 months, the termination notice period will be increased from 60 days to 90 days.

There will be no change to notice periods for those on periodic agreements.

The package follows a comprehensive consultation process with more than 16,000 submissions and survey responses received from the general public and multiple sector-based roundtables.

The Minns Labor Government will now begin stakeholder engagement on these reforms and will aim to introduce new legislation in the September sittings of Parliament to end no grounds and provide more security and stability for renters.

The new reforms are set to begin early next year, subject to this consultation.

Premier Chris Minns said:

“Bad tenants will still be able to be evicted. We don’t want homeowners to have to put up with bad behaviour.”

“But anyone who rents in NSW knows just how anxious and challenging renting can be at the moment. We’ve all seen the lines on a Saturday morning with hundreds of people waiting to inspect new properties.

“We believe this reform gets the balance right, but importantly, this will give both homeowners and renters more certainty, more peace of mind, so they can build a home and a life on surer ground.”

Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading Anoulack Chanthivong said:

“Around a third of the people in NSW rent and they deserve secure and fair housing.

“Getting this model right has been a long journey but the overwhelming message from the community has been that people rent a home, not just a house.

“There’s no national consistency on these rules, so we’ve been careful to design a package that works for the NSW market.”

Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Minister for Youth Rose Jackson said:

“Creating a fairer rental system in NSW is crucial to rebuilding our housing system.”

“For too long renters have faced an unprecedented amount of uncertainty – making it harder to secure jobs, start families and develop community links.

“Renters who do the right thing – pay their rent, look after the house – should not have to be in a constant limbo with the possibility of an eviction for no reason just around the corner.

“They deserve more security and ending no grounds evictions is an important first step.”

NSW Rental Commissioner Trina Jones said:

“Putting together this package has required bringing together renters, owners, agents, advocates, and industry leaders to make renting fairer in NSW.

“The commitment to ending no grounds evictions is a major step in a broader effort to create a fair, quality, and affordable rental market where both tenants and landlords are treated with respect and fairness.

“It’s about striking a balance that upholds the rights and responsibilities of all involved.”

Teacher vacancy numbers in NSW public schools have fallen to a three-year low under Labor as the Minns Labor Government works to address the teacher shortage, with 24 per cent fewer vacancies at the start of Term 3 than the same time last year.

The continuing improvement in teacher numbers comes alongside new data indicating resignations and retirements have dropped, as changes made by the Minns Labor Government stem the flow of teachers leaving NSW schools.

It follows a 20 per cent drop in teacher vacancies at the start of this year compared with the previous year, indicating a firm downward trend.

With teacher vacancies across the state’s 2,200 schools now numbering 1,698, there is more work to do to turn the shortage around – but it’s a 35 per cent drop in vacancies compared to the same time in 2022 when the Liberals and Nationals were in office, and the lowest number since 2021. 

At the height of the teacher shortage crisis under the former Liberal National government, vacancies rose above 3,000 and resignations outstripped retirements for the first time. Now, the rate of attrition is trending down for both as more teachers – including those with decades of experience – see the value of remaining in the profession.

The numbers also reflect the success of the Government’s election commitment to provide permanent roles to more than 16,000 temporary teachers and support staff, who were left with insecure work by the Liberals and Nationals.

Permanent teachers now make up 72 per cent of the teaching workforce, up from 64 per cent in 2022.

The Minns Government is pulling out all the stops to address the teacher workforce shortage, including by:

• Delivering NSW public school teachers the biggest pay rise in a generation.
• Improving teachers’ workload and conditions, including by making more than 16,000 teachers and school support staff on temporary contracts permanent.
• Attracting and retaining teachers through programs such as the Grow Your Own Teacher Training program, which supports aspiring teachers to study while working in a local public school, and the Teachers in the Field program, which supports regional, rural and remote schools to access teacher relief cover.
• Expanding the department’s Priority Recruitment Support model from 79 to more than 110 schools, including an additional 26 in regional, rural and remote areas, providing targeted support to fill vacancies.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said: 

“Labor was elected to rebuild essential services after a decade of neglect under the former Liberal National government, and while we still have much to do to turn around the teacher shortage, we have seen a sustained drop in vacancies since the start of this year.”

“These further improved figures show the steps we are taking to address the teacher shortage crisis, ignored by the former Liberal National government, are making a difference.”

“These include delivering a once-in-a-generation wage rise to NSW public school teachers, focussing on easing teacher workload, and improving student behaviour.”

“The drop in resignations and retirements shows teachers are hearing that we value their work and are supporting them to focus on delivering quality teaching and learning.”

“Having a qualified teacher at the front of every classroom is vital to delivering improved academic outcomes for our students.”

The Minns Labor Government’s $189 million Bulk-Billing Support Initiative commences today, helping ensure the cost of seeing a GP remains accessible for families and households across NSW.

Introduced in the 2024/25 NSW Budget, the program protects bulk-billing for people needing a GP and reduces the strain on our emergency departments. It is the first time the NSW Government has made a direct intervention to protect bulk-billing rates.

The package provides a new, ongoing payroll rebate to clinics for contractor GPs that meet the bulk-billing thresholds of 80% of services in metropolitan Sydney, and 70% in the rest of NSW.

Clinics will also benefit from the waiving of $104m of historical payroll tax liabilities, which began accruing for contractor GPs under the previous government.

There are more than 2,300 GP clinics across NSW. The NSW Government’s Bulk-Billing Support initiative will protect the bulk-billing rates at GP clinics for families across the state, saving households money and reducing the strain on emergency departments.

NSW Health estimates that a 1 per cent decrease in bulk-billing equates to around 3,000 additional emergency presentations.

For large clinic networks like ForHealth, with 37 clinics across NSW, the Bulk-Billing Support Initiative will enable them to continue to serve their communities and keep bulk-billing rates high. ForHealth bulk-bills roughly 5 million patient visits each year around Australia, 2.5 million of which are in NSW. They are the largest bulk-biller in the country.

GP clinics in metropolitan Sydney must bulk-bill at least 80% of their patient services to be eligible for the ongoing payroll tax rebates. For GP clinics outside of metropolitan Sydney, a lower bulk-billing rate threshold of 70% applies to ensure broader access to the initiative.

Since the announcement in June, Revenue NSW, the AMA and RACGP were engaged in a specially formed working group to develop a practice note to assist clinics, their accountants and legal advisors.

Following these discussions, Revenue NSW released a comprehensive list of LGAs and suburbs in NSW where the 80% threshold is applied, as well as the Commissioner’s Practice Note and a flow-chart to assist clinics.

Previously, the AMA’s Dr Michael Bonning said of the Bulk-Billing Support Initiative that: “Legislating ‘no retrospectivity’ will provide certainty for practices and will minimise the risk of more closures of general practices in NSW.”

With this Initiative, the Minns Labor Government is keeping GP clinics open and appointments bulk-billed for families and households amid the cost-of-living crisis, while also reducing the strain on emergency departments.

Minister for Health Ryan Park:

“We know that the federal Coalition’s freeze on Medicare rebates as well as the NSW Liberals and Nationals’ inaction on GP payroll tax had severe consequences for the access of GPs in NSW.”

“With GPs becoming more difficult to access, people are either putting off seeing a doctor and allowing their conditions to deteriorate, or they are presenting to hospitals with non-urgent conditions.”

“The lack of GP access is having severe impacts on our emergency departments.”

“The Bulk-Billing Support Initiative will stem declining bulk-billing rates, and foster greater access to GPs, and in turn, relieve pressure on our busy hospitals.”

Minister for Finance Courtney Houssos:

“The Bulk-Billing Support Initiative comes after extensive consultation and cooperation with the peak-bodies to deliver a solution that alleviated financial stress for GP clinics and delivered real cost-of-living relief for families.”

“This is the first-time the NSW Government is making a strategic investment to support bulk-billing rates and protect family budgets.”

CEO of ForHealth Andrew Cohen:

“At ForHealth we understand how important access is in healthcare, and especially in the current economic context. We are proud to be one of the largest bulk-billing general practice providers in NSW with roughly 2.5 million bulk-billed patient visits each year.”

“This initiative from the NSW Government will help protect bulk billing accessibility at clinics like ours, throughout outer metropolitan and regional NSW. In many of these practices we are expecting the level of bulk-billing to increase as a result.”

“The removal of any retrospective payroll tax liability for all medical centres is a weight off the shoulders of the industry as clinics will no longer be at risk of closure due to large historic tax bills.”