New Requirement for Rural and Regional Health Districts to Provide Timely In-Person Care

NSW New Requirement for Rural and Regional Health Districts to Provide Timely In-Person Care

Health Services Amendment (Right to Primary Health Care) Bill 2026

Independent Bill

6 Aug 2026: This bill was voted against and will not be discussed further (Defeated).

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

Share this bill

Email Facebook X Bluesky

Topics

community health healthcare access primary health care public transport regional health rural health

Introduced by: Joe McGirr MP (IND)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

rural and regional local health districts have a new statutory duty to ensure residents have appropriate and timely access to in-person primary healthcare services (GP, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, Aboriginal health workers)

accessibility is assessed against two criteria: whether a service is reachable within a 2-hour drive of the resident's home, and whether public transport can get the resident there and back

the six metropolitan Sydney health districts — Nepean Blue Mountains, Northern Sydney, South Eastern Sydney, South Western Sydney, Sydney, and Western Sydney — are excluded from this duty

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Charishma Kaliyanda ALP

“I continue my contribution to debate on the Health Services Amendment (Right to Primary Health Care) Bill 2026. As I was saying, it is up to the States to ensure the Commonwealth does its share of the heavy lifting in the important work of adequately resourcing primary health care for parts of our community—not just in rural and regional areas but in metro areas as well.”

Official source →

Joe McGirr IND

“I acknowledge all the contributions to debate on the Health Services Amendment (Right to Primary Health Care) Bill 2026.”