Media Release: South Australians pay more to see their GP because of payroll tax

The President of the Australian Medical Association in South Australia (AMA SA) Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam is calling on the Malinauskas Government to follow Queensland’s lead and ‘axe the tax’ on frontline healthcare.

‘The payroll tax on GPs was abolished with bipartisan support in Queensland last year, because both major parties recognised it was costing patients more and costing the system more,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.

‘We’re now calling on the Treasurer and the Premier to consider the evidence – from interstate as well as from what is emerging here in South Australia - and reverse this policy.

‘This isn’t just a tax on doctors - it’s a tax on access to healthcare. When patients can’t afford to see their GP, they get sicker. That puts pressure on overcrowded emergency departments, adding to the stress and costs on the system.’

General practices have told AMA SA that the cost of seeing a GP in South Australia has increased by roughly $10 per visit as a direct result of the payroll tax. That’s a cost Queenslanders are not paying.  

AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim, who’s in Adelaide for the AMA’s National Conference, says the case for scrapping payroll tax is strong.

‘The interpretation of payroll tax legislation across most Australian jurisdictions changed without warning in 2021,’ Dr Yim says.

‘Practices were hit with unexpected, backdated tax bills that threatened their viability. As is the case in South Australia, Queensland GPs were faced with an impossible choice: pass these new costs on to their patients or close their doors.

‘After years of campaigning by AMA Queensland, both major political parties finally listened to doctors’ concerns and promised to abolish the payroll tax on GPs at Queensland’s October election.

‘The solution to increasing access to GPs is increasing Medicare rebates, not taxing practices and their patients.
‘Payroll tax relief has given thousands of GPs around Queensland certainty, and we encourage the SA government to grant that relief to its own doctors.’

The South Australian Liberal Party has already committed to removing the tax on GPs if elected at next year’s election. A/Prof Subramaniam is calling on the Treasurer and the Premier to do the same.

‘The cost of delivering care has increased. General practices – like other small businesses – are paying increasingly high rents, utility bills and wages,’ A/Prof Subramaniam says.

‘The majority of practices operate on narrow margins, and they cannot afford this additional tax burden, which is why they have to pass on the cost to patients.

‘Taxing the frontline of healthcare is a retrograde step that costs patients more and will cost the system more than is gained in revenue.  

‘If the Treasurer and Premier reverse this policy, it will not be a sign of failure or weakness – quite the opposite. It will demonstrate that this government is responsive to the unintended consequences of this tax.’

For more information please contact Media Advisor Ben Terry on 0478 847 604.