Caring for People with Universal Free Healthcare

South Australia remains the only state in the country that does not provide free emergency ambulance services to people receiving the full age pension. The Greens will provide immediate relief and peace of mind to some of SA's most vulnerable by offering free coverage for those on the Age Pension, as well as other concession-holders. Ambulance coverage costs $59.90 per year for a single pensioner concession and $118 for a family. The Greens’ waiver will be available to approximately 215,000 households in South Australia¹.

If someone is not covered, a single emergency ambulance trip currently costs $1,171, plus a per-kilometre fee of $6.70².  

Council on the Ageing South Australia (COTA SA) has called on the State Government to address this inequity and ensure that older South Australians are not deterred from seeking emergency care due to cost.

^{1. https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/employment-and-unemployment/retirement-and-retirement-intentions-australia/2018-19#income-at-retirement}   &   ^{https://www.premier.sa.gov.au/media-releases/news-archive/time-running-out-to-apply-for-2024-25-cost-of-living-relief-with-concessionssa}

^{2. https://saambulance.sa.gov.au/membership/ambulance-cover/#cb-4}

The Greens also call on the State Government to fully subsidise the provision of PrEP (preexposure prophylaxis) in South Australia. This is a simple step that would make a significant contribution toward the goal of eliminating HIV transmission in our state. While PrEP is highly effective in preventing HIV, cost remains a barrier for many, particularly those on low incomes.

The Federal Labor Government will be increasing the number of bulk billing GPs across Adelaide to around 185 across Adelaide – six times the current 31 practices.³

Disparities between service provision means rural, regional and remote communities don’t receive the same level of care as metropolitan communities. Living outside the city, people should have access to the same quality of services. 

 Provide accessible, co-located and community-controlled service in rural and regional areas with a full range of comprehensive specialist services including drug, alcohol, disability, mental health, homelessness, and family violence services. 

 Where economies of scale severely restrict service viability then substitutes such as fast reliable internet services, rural transaction centres and shared facilities in public libraries and community centres are supported.

^{3.  https://www.health.gov.au/ministers/the-hon-mark-butler-mp/media/more-free-gp-visits-in-adelaide-with-more-bulk-billing}

From both the perspective of the GP and of the patient, the model of care in Australia is expensive and unsatisfactory. Most people still need to pay to see a GP and the appointment time that is provided is inadequate to provide meaningful care. 

The Greens will establish 50 free local healthcare clinics across South Australia, which have a GP, dentist, psychologist or nurse. The entire cost of the consultation will be bulk-billed, with no out-of-pocket costs. The clinics will not just be in Adelaide but distributed across the state so that people in rural and regional areas can see a practitioner without having to travel long distances. 

Currently, the Australian Government subsides 10 sessions with a psychologist per year. We propose to double this amount by funding an additional 10 sessions for South Australians – taking the total to 20. This will cost $5 million over 4 years.

The Greens want to create a safe, healthy and connected community by reducing the harm caused by the stigmatisation and criminalisation of people who use drugs. We believe that drug use is a health issue - not a criminal one.

Across Australia, pill testing trials have been conducted successfully at both fixed sites and music festivals. When young people have access to pill testing services, they’re much less likely to take drugs or be at risk of overdose. Unfortunately, South Australia is falling behind when it comes to adopting sensible, harm minimisation approach to drugs. The Greens will establish a trial of drug checking at music festivals, and a 6-month trial at a fixed-site.

There is broad community support for pill testing across the country, with a growing number of people seeing the sense in this public health measure. 71% of people surveyed support the introduction of pill testing/drug checking services at events and fixed sites in South Australia⁴.

The Greens view drug use as a health issue not a criminal issue, and pill testing will ultimately save lives. At trials across Australia, evidence shows that when people get better information about the potentially harmful ingredients in a pill, they choose to not take it.

In 2022, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) established a trial for a fixed-site health and drug-checking service. In the first six months, 498 service visitors used to check their drugs. Half of the drugs were found to contain a substance not expected by the service user, evidencing the need to check drugs for safety⁵.

Testing at music festivals have been successful at Groovin’ the Moo festival in ACT and Beyond the Valley Festival in Victoria. The majority of patrons who discovered dangerous substances in their drugs chose to discard them using amnesty bins, rather than consume them as initially planned.

The Greens will legalise the production, sale and use of cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes. 

<sup>4. https://www.robertsimms.org.au/greens_renew_call_for_pill_testing_as_new_poll_reveals_overwhelming_support
5. https://cantest.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/CanTEST-Final-Evaluation-Report_2023.pdf</sup>

Prevention is better for our health and keeping costs of health care down and we must find ways to keep people healthier throughout their lives rather than just treating illnesses once people get sick.  The Greens will increase the remit and funding for Preventative Health SA⁶ that includes additional funding to support patients with chronic health conditions. This initiative has been previously supported by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP)⁷.

<sup>6. https://www.preventivehealth.sa.gov.au/about/
7. https://www.racgp.org.au/gp-news/media-releases/2019-media-releases/may-2019/greens-commitment-to-preventive-health-would-benef</sup>

Despite multiple measures put in place by the State Government, ambulance ramping is still a problem here in SA with ramping reaching a record high of 5800 hours in June 2025, double the time than when Labor came to power.

The Greens are also calling for the government to implement the recommendations of the Ambulance Employees Association to tackle ramping:

Transit wards at major Adelaide hospitals to expedite ambulance patient transfers. A state-wide bed manager to oversee all patient transfers and ensure pre-arranged bed availability. Rapid off-load procedures for transferring patient care within 30 minutes of arrival at emergency departments.