Premier Daniel Andrews says the country’s healthcare system is “broken” and needs an overhaul.Credit:Scott McNaughton
Payroll tax specialist Peter Tobin,from Tobin Partners,said the tax already applied in most circumstances,whether the doctors were contractors or employees,even if the revenue office had only recently caught on.
“This is not something that’s just happened,” Tobin said. “It’s always been[in the Payroll Tax Act].”
Fearing widespread closures and higher patient bills as a result,the RACGP,the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association and the Australian GP Alliance have demanded an urgent meeting with Premier Daniel Andrews to seek exemptions for the industry.
Otherwise,Dr Anita Munoz,the chair of the Victorian RACGP,warned patients would end up paying about 15 per cent more for an appointment to see their GP.
Dr Anita Munoz,a Melbourne GP and the Victorian chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners.
“It certainly means bulk-billing would become a thing of the past,” Munoz said. “We’re really on the precipice of seeing clinics just close.”
Ultimately,the Melbourne GP warned,fewer Victorians would visit their doctor because of the cost and more people would flood emergency departments in deteriorating conditions.