ANTHONY ALBANESE MP
PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA

MARK BUTLER MP
MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND AGED CARE

SENATOR MALARNDIRRI MCCARTHY
MINISTER FOR INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS
SENATOR FOR THE NORTHERN TERRITORY

ANIKA WELLS MP
MINISTER FOR AGED CARE
MINISTER FOR SPORT

LUKE GOSLING MP
MEMBER FOR SOLOMON

Anthony Albanese and Labor are building the Northern Territory’s future, today unveiling Labor’s Health and Aged Care Plan for the Territory.

The new plan will deliver a record amount of new health and aged care funding for the Territory.

We will invest up to $60 million through the Aged Care Capital Assistance Program to support the construction of a new residential care home in Darwin, delivering no less than 120 new residential care beds. Darwin has the lowest number of aged care beds in the country. This funding will directly address critical supply shortages.

In addition, a re-elected Albanese Government is committed to:

• Delivering $10.1 million to CareFlight to purchase a plane to support medical evacuations and transportation in the Top End. Patients in very remote NT do not have reliable access to timely emergency medical retrieval services, especially during the wet season. This plane would provide emergency retrievals and care for up to 700 patients a year;
• Delivering an upgraded Medicare Mental Health Centre in Alice Springs, a headspace Plus and a Youth Specialist Care Centre in Darwin.

This is on top of what the Albanese Labor Government is already delivering in health;

• Delivering $560 million, a 30 percent increase, in hospital funding for the Northern Territory next year – the largest increase of any jurisdiction;
• Delivered eight Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the NT that have already had more than 50,000 visits; Ali Curung; Alyangula; Galiwinku; Lajamanu; Maningrida; Mparntwe; Palmerston and Wurrumiyanga. We will deliver a ninth urgent care clinic in Darwin;
• Making the largest investment in Medicare since its creation 41 years ago, so more Australians can see a doctor for free. This will mean an additional 170,000 free GP visits for NT residents and boost the number of bulk billing clinics to more than 80;
• Make cheaper medicines even cheaper, with a PBS script to cost no more than $25 next year – providing important cost of living relief on top of the $6 million that the Northen Territory has already saved from cheaper medicines.

This investment in health and aged care is in stark contrast to Peter Dutton, who was voted the worst Health Minister in Medicare history by Australia’s doctors, after he cut $50 billion from public hospitals and tried to end bulk billing with a fee for every GP visit.

The decision to allocate $60 million towards a new Darwin residential aged care home from the Aged Care Capital Assistance program was made prior to the Caretaker Period. CareFlight and mental health services are election commitments.

As at 11 April 2025.