- Published:
- Monday 4 May 2026 at 8:06 pm
The Allan Labor Government is making it easier, faster and more accessible for Victorians to get the care they need.
The Victorian Budget 2026/27 will invest more than $174.8 million to deliver more care closer to home.
Only Labor backs our health system, delivering new solutions to support our busy workforce and save families time and money.
Keeping Victorians at home and out of hospital
The Budget invests $130.3 million to boost the Better at Home program.
Delivered by 47 health services across Victoria, it provides hospital‑level care safely in their own homes.
This frees up hospital beds for the sickest Victorians and makes it easier for patients living in the outer suburbs or regional Victoria.
Since it began, the program has saved our hospitals more than 326,000 hospital bed days.
Extending the Virtual Hospital
We’ll also extend our Virtual Hospital pilot – investing $3.1 million to keep delivering this service.
Digital technology is used to deliver better access to safe, high‑quality specialist virtual care including:
- Virtual wards – focused on heart failure and post-cardiac surgery patients
- Regional support services – virtual wards and secondary consultations, partnering with regional hospitals
- Foetal medicine – to give regional women access to timely specialist assessment.
This will mean more Victorians can receive care and recover at home, freeing up hospital beds for our sickest patients.
Since December, more than 260 patients have been treated safely – saving the equivalent of more than 1,000 hospital bed days to date.
Led by Austin Health and the Royal Melbourne Hospital, we have recently expanded the pilot to support up to 400 patients by the end of June.
Strengthening access to life‑preserving dialysis care
We are making treatment more accessible for Victorians on regular dialysis.
$20.5 million will expand home-based and local care – removing the need to travel and reducing the burden on patients and their families.
The investment will support 100 more patients every year.
Continuing our Urgent Care Clinics
We’ll also deliver $20.9 million to continue funding our nine Urgent Care Clinics (UCCs).
Delivering care closer to home, they are reducing pressure on EDs by treating urgent, non-emergency cases.
UCCs are free for anyone with or without a Medicare card and provide care for things like sprains, broken bones, mild burns, and minor infections.
More mental health care, closer to home
We are investing $8.4 million to deliver a new Mental Health Hospital in the Home program at Monash Health.
This means Melbourne's south east can soon access free mental health care at home, close to family and friends.
It will free up hospital beds, meet the growing demand and ensure people get care in the most appropriate place.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Health Harriet Shing
“We’re making it easier, safer and more affordable for millions of Victorians to get the care they need closer to home.”
“Labor has continued to invest in new solutions and more options for care – including our Virtual ED, virtual women’s clinic or the Virtual Hospital.”
“We are continuing to deliver healthcare that provides game-changing virtual and at-home services – unlike the Liberals who will cut services, sack workers, and scrap the programs that Victorians rely upon.”
Quotes attributable to Minister for Mental Health Ingrid Stitt
“Sometimes the best place to receive mental health care and support is in the home.”
“We're delivering additional mental health care at home for people in the south east – because it means they can stay close to family and loved ones.”