South Australian GPs to pay new payroll tax, likely increasing appointment costs

The state's peak professional body for doctors says this payroll tax could increase the cost of AGP appointment by around $10.00 for private consultations. As of today, GPS will be liable for payroll tax, which comes after a NSW tribunal ruling the GPS were employees, not contractors. There was an amnesty in place for the last financial year but it will be coming into play today. There's an exception for wages earned for bulk billed appointments. Australian Medical Association SA president John Williams says that the tax will impact all clinics and could force some practices to close. The state's been facing a code yellow or internal emergency in metropolitan hospitals since late May, and we also saw a record high ramping in the state in May. Doctor Williams says that during a time where the system is under that sort of significant pressure, there shouldn't be money taken out of general practice. The state's Liberal Party says that more people will be heading to hospital emergency departments because of this payroll tax. Treasurer Stephen Mulligan says he rejects the criticisms of the AMASA and the opposition, saying it won't make ramping worse. He says there's been work to protect bulk billing in the state, and he says that around 3/4 of patients having consultations with GPS are bog build.