An independent interim evaluation of Australia’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinics has found nurses are not being supported to work to the top of their scope, despite workforce shortages and plans to expand the program.
The Second Interim Evaluation of Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, released by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, identified a clear gap between nursing and medical staff in how well they are supported within the model.
Scope-of-practice gap highlighted in evaluation
Only 63 percent of nursing staff said they are working to the top of their scope in the Clinics, compared with 80 percent of medical staff. Access to learning and development opportunities also differed, with 77 percent of medical staff reporting access to the right training, compared with 67 percent of nursing staff.
Just 52 percent of nursing staff said their workload was manageable, compared with 59 percent of medical staff.
Frances Rice, Chief Nursing Officer at the Australian College of Nursing (ACN), said the findings reinforce longstanding concerns.
‘This is yet another report confirming what we know: nurses need to be funded and supported to deliver care at the top of their scope,’ she said.
Nurses routinely perform procedures in hospitals and other settings – including applying back slabs for fractures, dressing wounds and administering immunisations – but are largely prevented from performing the same tasks in Urgent Care Clinics, where they default to GPs under the prevailing GP-led model.
The evaluation also noted that 11 nurse-led Urgent Care Clinics currently operate – five in the ACT and six in remote Northern Territory – demonstrating that alternative models of care are already in place.
‘The Clinics are failing to capitalise on Australia’s nurse practitioner workforce,’ Ms Rice said.
Expansion plans raise workforce and safety concerns
The report comes as the Federal Government presses ahead with plans to open 50 additional Clinics by June 2026.
‘The government is pressing ahead with opening 50 more Clinics by June 2026, which will only intensify shortages in the health workforce,’ Ms Rice said.
‘In a health system already stretched for qualified staff, it makes no sense to prevent nurses from using the full range of their skills. This isn’t just about professional satisfaction – it is about delivering better care to Australians.’
Despite the workforce concerns, the evaluation found the program is delivering measurable outcomes, with reduced wait times, high patient satisfaction and significant annual net savings for the health system.
The report also highlighted concerns about aggression towards healthcare workers in Urgent Care Clinics. Ms Rice called for stronger protections.
‘There must be zero tolerance for aggression and violence towards healthcare workers, in all settings,’ she said. ‘We need systems and safeguards in place now – not after someone is hurt.’
The evaluation also lands amid broader discussions about scope-of-practice reform across Australia’s health system. Recent regulatory developments, including the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal decision clarifying pathways to nurse practitioner endorsement, have highlighted how regulatory interpretation can directly influence how far advanced nursing roles are able to practise. As governments expand urgent care services, how fully advanced nursing roles are enabled to practise to their endorsed scope will remain central to workforce sustainability.
