Victoria's 2025–26 State Budget claims frontline care record

Victoria’s 2025–26 State Budget has been announced and includes an extra $11.1 billion for health. “We’re focused on what matters most — opening new hospitals, delivering better care and backing our health workforce — because free, accessible and lifesaving care is what every Victorian deserves,” Victoria’s Minister for Health and Ambulance Services Mary-Anne Thomas said.

This year alone, the government said it is providing more than $31 billion to its health system, which it says is the biggest investment ever in frontline care. This includes a record $9.3 billion boost for hospitals and $634.3 million to open and operationalise nine new or expanded hospitals.

Victoria’s Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs) and Community Pharmacy program is receiving an additional $48.2 million — the UCCs receiving more than 800,000 visits and the Community Pharmacy program more than 45,000 consultations since each began. Developed in partnership with the Commonwealth Government, Victoria has 29 UCCs, which are free, open seven days and accessible without an appointment.

This year’s plan to open and operationalise nine new or upgraded hospitals across Victoria includes bringing online the new Footscray Hospital, Frankston Hospital, and Maryborough and District Hospital, with this Budget also supporting the opening of three community hospitals in Cranbourne, Craigieburn and Phillip Island.

A further $58.4 million investment is intended to help EDs see patients sooner, increasing the capacity of access to short stay units for patients requiring short-term treatment, observation and assessment of patients in EDs. Investment will also see the Victorian Virtual Emergency Department significantly increase its capacity, enabling the service to handle 1750 calls per day by 2028 — or more than 600,000 calls every year.

In its mental health investment, the government said that the network of Mental Health and Wellbeing Locals will establish seven new locations — adding to the 15 Locals available — and that an additional $47.1 million will deliver the psychology registrar program, continue the government’s Junior Medical Officer psychiatry rotations and strengthen its psychiatry registrar and supports program.

In aged care, Public Sector Residential Aged Care Services — the largest state-funded aged care network in Australia — will receive $34.6 million to provide the highest-quality aged care, as well as $7.5 million to improve facilities across the sector. To support better management of medication in residential aged care homes, $7.6 million will also be delivered.

Image credit: iStock.com/Jacob Wackerhausen