Moving to Brisbane means sorting out a new GP, and it helps to know where the nearest hospital is before you need it. Between your GP and the emergency department, Queensland has a 24 hour nurse phone line, a free video emergency service and walk-in urgent care clinics.
The steps below run roughly in the order you’ll need them. The same services cover Logan, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and the Redlands too, so it is worth reading alongside our council areas guide while you work out where to live.
Update Medicare before you look for a GP in Brisbane
Services Australia’s guide to updating your Medicare details says you sign in to myGov, select Medicare, then choose View and edit my details.
- Postal address: your postal address is linked to your Medicare card, so updating it online changes it for everyone on that card.
- Split households: if the new address does not apply to everyone on the card, Services Australia says you need to get a new Medicare card.
- Contact details: your phone number and email count as contact details and are updated in the same place.
How to find a GP in Brisbane near your new home
The simplest starting point is the healthdirect Service Finder, a national directory run by a government funded service. You type in a suburb or postcode, choose GP (General practice), and it lists clinics near you. There’s also a bulk billing filter if you’d rather start with clinics that bulk bill.
Book a standard appointment before you are unwell, if you can. A first visit is a good time to have your records transferred and to ask about repeat scripts, because the after-hours services below are not set up for routine care.
If you have school age children, it can help to look for a clinic near the school as well as near home. Our guide to state school catchments in Brisbane explains how to check which school an address falls under.
After-hours help when your GP in Brisbane is closed
Queensland runs its own nurse line. 13 HEALTH (13 43 25 84) puts you through to a registered nurse 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for the cost of a local call. The nurse assesses how urgent your symptoms are and recommends where and when to get care. It is advice, not a diagnosis.
- Child health: ask 13 HEALTH for a child health nurse, available from 7am to 9pm every day.
- Mental health: 1300 MH CALL (1300 642 255) is a confidential mental health triage line, open 24 hours a day.
- Pharmacies: the Queensland Government’s after-hours page says pharmacies can help with things like cold and flu symptoms, minor allergies and headaches, and some areas have late night pharmacies.
- Healthdirect: the national healthdirect line, 1800 022 222, also gives 24 hour health advice.
Urgent care options between your GP in Brisbane and the emergency department
Not every urgent problem needs an emergency department. Queensland’s Virtual Emergency Care Service lets you see an emergency clinician by video for conditions that are not life threatening. It is free, open from 8am to 10pm every day including public holidays, and you do not need a Medicare card or a GP referral.
The service can prescribe medicine and refer you for tests, but it does not do repeat prescriptions or routine medical certificates. Those still go through your GP.
For care in person, the Australian Government’s Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are walk-in, bulk billed and open early and late. They treat things like minor fractures, sprains, minor cuts, urinary tract infections and mild burns. The clinic finder map shows the closest one to your new address.
Queensland also has seven satellite health centres (formerly called satellite hospitals) in south east Queensland. Each has a Minor Injury and Illness Clinic with medical imaging for walk-in care of simple fractures, simple infections, toothache, minor burns and minor head injuries.
- Metro North: Bribie Island, Caboolture and Kallangur, which all sit in the Moreton Bay council area.
- Metro South: Eight Mile Plains and Redlands.
- West Moreton: Ripley.
- Gold Coast: Tugun.
Public hospitals and emergency care if your GP in Brisbane cannot help
For a life threatening illness or injury, call triple zero (000) or go to an emergency department. Queensland’s after-hours health page says Queensland emergency departments are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Chest pain, difficulty breathing, severe pain or bleeding are emergencies, according to the virtual emergency care page.
Public hospitals are run by regional Hospital and Health Services. North of the river, Metro North Health describes itself as the largest hospital and health service in Queensland. Its hospitals include:
- Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital: Herston.
- The Prince Charles Hospital: Chermside.
- Redcliffe Hospital: Redcliffe.
- Caboolture Hospital: Caboolture.
- Kilcoy Hospital: Kilcoy.
South of the river and in the outer areas, Metro South, West Moreton and Gold Coast run their own hospitals. The Queensland Government’s emergency departments page links to real time data on waiting times at major public emergency departments, and to the Health Services Directory for finding the hospital closest to you.
Ambulance cover once your GP in Brisbane is local
Queensland’s interstate ambulance page says people whose principal place of residence is Queensland, and their dependants, are automatically covered for emergency pre-hospital ambulance treatment and transport Australia-wide.
People who do not live in Queensland are charged. The Queensland Ambulance Service fee page lists a flat $1,559.57 for emergency transport from 1 July 2026. If you are sent an ambulance invoice from another state, the interstate page lists a driver licence showing your Queensland address as one accepted proof of residency. A utility bill, rates notice or Australian passport is not accepted.
For an ambulance that is not an emergency, the after-hours page gives 13 12 33, and notes that non-emergency transport generally needs a doctor’s authorisation. If you are still sorting out a place to live, our guide to renting in Brisbane covers the lease side of the move.
Questions about finding a GP in Brisbane
Do I need a Medicare card to get urgent care?
Not for the Virtual Emergency Care Service. Queensland says anyone in the state can use it, including visitors, and no Medicare card or GP referral is needed. Medicare Urgent Care Clinics bulk bill, so bring your card if you have one.
Who do I call if I am not sure how serious it is?
Call 13 HEALTH on 13 43 25 84 to speak with a registered nurse at any hour. If it is life threatening, call triple zero (000) straight away.
What can a satellite health centre help with?
Walk-in urgent care for illnesses and injuries that are not expected to be life threatening, plus some referral based outpatient services such as mental health support and kidney dialysis.
Sources for this GP in Brisbane guide
- Medicare details: Services Australia, Medicare online account help: update your personal details.
- Finding a GP: healthdirect, Service Finder.
- Nurse advice line: Queensland Government, 13 HEALTH.
- After hours: Queensland Government, After-hours medical help and advice.
- Virtual emergency care: Queensland Government, Virtual Emergency Care Service.
- Urgent care clinics: Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, Find your nearest Medicare Urgent Care Clinic.
- Satellite health centres: Queensland Government, Satellite health centres.
- Hospitals: Metro North Health, Hospitals and services.
- Emergency departments: Queensland Government, Emergency departments.
- Ambulance cover: Queensland Government, Interstate ambulance treatment and transport.
- Ambulance fees: Queensland Government, Queensland ambulance treatment and transport.
Facts on this page were checked on 9 November 2026.
