← All case studies
Real data Health · National For: Commonwealth health planners & Primary Health Networks

GP access nationally: affordability and reach are two different stories

Bulk-billing and "GP deserts" are often discussed as one problem. EquiMap brought together 8,081 GP locations, Medicare bulk-billing rates, and SEIFA profile across 515 areas to separate two questions that usually get merged: can people afford a GP, and can they reach one?

515
areas analysed (LGAs)
80.9%
average bulk-billing rate
19.1 km
average distance to nearest GP
8.1k
GP practices mapped
What EquiMap revealed
They point in different directions. Bulk-billing is actually higher in modest areas (88% vs 73%), affordability follows need, a real system strength. But physical reach is harder there (28 km vs 13 km to the nearest GP). The opportunity is less about cost and more about distance.

Explore the live map

Every analysed area, coloured by equity gap, bulk-billing rate, or distance to the nearest GP. Switch layers to see how affordability and access differ across the country.

Colour by
Basemap

The data, several ways

Four complementary views, affordability and access gradients, an area-by-area scatter, and a ranked reach shortlist, plus a side-by-side summary.

Why this matters

Treating affordability and access as one number hides the real picture. Separating them shows that the system is doing well on affordability for those who need it most, and that the clearest opportunity is bringing services physically closer in remote and regional communities.

For a Primary Health Network or Commonwealth planner, that’s a precise, fundable insight: a ranked list of where a clinic, outreach service, or telehealth program would have the greatest equity impact.

Method & data: GP locations from the National Health Services Directory (via Geoscience Australia, 2025), spatially joined to areas. Bulk-billing rates from AIHW Medicare data (12-month average to March 2026). Modest level from ABS SEIFA 2021. Reach uses straight-line distance from area centroid to nearest GP, a transparent baseline; drive-time and GP-to-population ratios are natural next layers.

Continue exploring

See your sector’s equity picture clearly.

Whatever the service, EquiMap separates "can people afford it" from "can people reach it", and shows you exactly where to act.

Start a conversation →