Western Victoria’s two urgent care clinics had more than 30,000 consultations last financial year, giving breathing space to hospital emergency departments (EDs) and ambulances in Warrnambool and Ballarat.
In Ballarat 70 percent of patients said they would have otherwise attended an ED or called an ambulance. In Warrnambool it was 40 percent.
What are urgent care clinics? Urgent care clinics were introduced in Victoria in September 2022, with Ballarat’s clinic opening in November the same year and Warrnambool in July 2025.
The clinics’ longer opening hours allow doctors to provide treatment for non-life threatening medical issues like minor bone fractures, sprains, cuts, burns, sports injuries, gastroenteritis or minor infections and illnesses.
No appointment, GP referral or Medicare card is required to be seen and all treatments are bulk billed.
The service is delivered through local health networks like the Western Victoria Primary Health Network and largely funded by the federal government.
Local stats: According to the federal department of health, Ballarat Medicare Urgent Care Clinic saw more than 20,000 presentations in 2025-26 compared to 17,900 in 2024-25.
Warrnambool Urgent Care Clinic saw more than 11,000 presentations in 2025-26.
Review into program: The program is currently being evaluated by the federal government, with the government publishing an interim report. It found the clinics are reducing emergency department presentations by 10.6 percent between April 2024 and March 2025.
Boosts for health: The government committed $10 million in ongoing funding for 137 clinics across Australia in the 2026-27 budget.
The Victorian Labor government has also announced a $31 billion investment into the state’s health system this year.
Not yet convinced: Victoria’s Liberal Party has not made any recent pledges to increase funding or the overall numbers of urgent care clinics across the state.
Instead, the party has criticised the condition of major hospitals and committed more than $1.4 billion towards four upgrade projects across centres in Hamilton and Mildura.
Image: Warrnambool Urgent Care Clinic