EP#157: More accessible healthcare for all: Australia’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinics

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics offer free, walk-in care for urgent but non-life-threatening health issues. In this episode, we explore how the Department of Health and Aged Care turned a good idea into a service that’s taking pressure off busy emergency departments across Australia.

Since opening in June 2023, Urgent Care Clinics have cared for over 2 million people and grown rapidly from an initial 50-clinic commitment to more than 90, with 137 expected by the end of 2025–26. It’s an impressive example of delivery at pace in the public sector, earning the Urgent Care Clinics team the 2025 Spirit of Service People’s Choice Award.

Led by Adam Nettheim, Chief Customer Officer at Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation, Sarah Sinclair, Assistant Secretary, Urgent Care Branch and Sarah El-Sabagh, Director, Urgent Care Policy and Evaluation from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, this episode unpacks the practical decisions and partnerships behind this scale-up, with lessons you can apply in any service or program. They dive into what it takes to stand up quickly, build confidence with partners and providers, and make access easier for communities.

*The People’s Choice Award is proudly sponsored by Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation.

Key Tips

1. Design around the user: build services to fit real lives, remove friction, make access simple, and focus on what people need in the moment.
2. Move at pace by partnering well: strong relationships across the system are the engine room of delivery.
3. Keep listening after launch: build feedback loops early so you can improve in real time, not “set and forget”.
4. Stay anchored to outcomes: success is a better experience for people and less pressure on frontline services.

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