Payroll tax driving up GP costs despite bulk-billing carve outs, doctors warn
GP practices are prioritising short consults to maximise revenue in the face of payroll tax, says the AMA SA president.
Slapping payroll tax on practice payments to GPs is costing more state revenue than it generates, doctors say.
The ACT has joined Victoria and SA by applying payroll tax to GPs’ ‘wages’ but exempting payments linked to bulk-billed consultations.
However, since the SA system took effect a year ago, some GP practice owners had reported raising fees by $10-$25 for a non-concessional standard consult, according to AMA SA president Associate Professor Peter Subramaniam.
“We see practices going, ‘This is too tough and we are going to have to change our model,'” Professor Subramaniam told AusDoc.
