The Burrow
Feb 17, 2026
Urgent care centres were created to take pressure off hospitals, but rising urgent care usage in Australia shows they’re increasingly becoming a go-to for everyday health concerns. As GP access in Australia becomes more challenging for many households, with longer waits and fewer available appointments, patients are making quicker decisions about where to seek help. This shift is also contributing to more non-emergency visits to the emergency department, as people act on perceived urgency rather than clinical need.
This pattern isn’t unique to Australia. In the United States, similar pressures around availability, convenience and wait times are reshaping patient behaviour. When faced with delays or limited booking options, many people prioritise speed and certainty, even if their medical issue is relatively minor.
To explore these trends, the team at health insurance comparison website Compare the Market ran a healthcare access survey that draws on nationally representative research in Australia and the United States. The study examines:
By analysing real-world choices between urgent care and GP services, our research highlights growing pressure points in healthcare systems. It helps to explain why more people are reconsidering where they turn for medical support.
Findings from the Australian arm of our healthcare access survey show that urgent care is no longer just a fallback option. For many households, it has become a routine part of managing everyday health needs.
Half of adults in Australia say they visit urgent care occasionally or frequently for non-emergency issues. Specifically, 9% report frequent visits, 41% occasional use, and 50% rarely attend.
At the household level, the average lifetime number of urgent care visits is 4.36. Notably, 39% of respondents say their household has attended urgent care three to five times. Together, these figures suggest that urgent care is no longer an occasional backup, as it has become routine for many families.
When deciding between urgent care and a GP, perceived urgency plays a major role. The top reasons given were:
At the same time, most Australians rate GP access during business hours positively. Around 72% describe access as easy, but 28% still find access difficult to some degree. This points to a structural access gap rather than just perception. Even if many people can access a GP in principle, timing and availability at the moment of need often push patients towards urgent care.
Urgent care resolves many cases on the spot, but not all care journeys end there:
The fact that nearly two in five visits lead to GP follow-up or hospital admission suggests some duplication in care pathways. In some cases, urgent care serves as a gateway rather than the final solution, which can add pressure elsewhere in the system and indirectly contribute to emergency department non-emergency visits.
Urgent care is primarily used for personal health needs, but it also plays a key role for families:
This highlights how urgent care centres are often relied on for paediatric concerns, where parents may be especially sensitive to perceived urgency.
In addition, usage patterns vary across Australian states:
Queensland shows the clearest link between GP access difficulty and urgent care dependence, reinforcing the role of local service availability in shaping patient choices and driving urgent care use in Australia.
Results from the US section of our healthcare access survey show that Australia is far from alone. Households across the United States are making similar decisions with traditional GP relationships. The pattern reinforces that this is a broader system-level trend, not just a local one.
Urgent care plays a regular role in many US households. Overall, 46% visit occasionally or frequently for non-emergency issues, including 5% who attend more than once a month and 41% who go a few times a year. Meanwhile, 54% say they rarely use urgent care.
Lifetime usage is notably high. The average household reports 5.65 visits, and 37% say they have attended three to five times. This places US households slightly ahead of Australia in terms of long-term dependence, suggesting urgent care is deeply embedded in everyday healthcare behaviour.
When weighing urgent care vs GP options, availability and speed are key drivers. The most common reasons given were:
These findings echo Australian attitudes, where urgency and timing often outweigh continuity of care.
Most Americans feel they can access a GP when needed. Four out of five (80%) say access is easy, including 35% who rate it very easy. However, one in five still has trouble getting a GP appointment.
This gap between overall confidence and real-world constraints helps to explain why urgent care remains attractive, even where primary care is generally available.
Outcomes in the US suggest urgent care often functions as a complete episode of care:
Compared with Australia, a higher share of cases are fully resolved at the urgent care level. This makes US health centres a useful benchmark for discussions about system efficiency and reducing non-emergency visits to emergency departments.
As with Australia, reliance on urgent care in the USA varies by region:
The South stands out for stronger dependence, with many citing GP unavailability or faster access as reasons for choosing urgent care. However, across all regions, when timely GP care feels uncertain, households turn to urgent care as a practical alternative.
Taken together, our US findings reinforce the Australian story. As systems face capacity pressures and patients prioritise immediacy, urgent care is increasingly becoming a normal part of how people manage non-emergency health needs.
Rising urgent care usage in Australia highlights how patient choices are evolving as people navigate delays, availability and perceived urgency. Our healthcare access survey shows that while urgent care plays an important role, improving GP access in Australia remains key to easing system-wide strain and reducing non-emergency visits to the emergency department. The takeaway is to understand your options, plan ahead where possible, and use urgent care for genuinely time-sensitive, but non-life-threatening needs.
Steven Spicer – Executive General Manager of Health, Life and Energy at Compare the Market, says:
“People aren’t trying to misuse the system; they’re trying to get timely help for themselves or their families. Having the right health insurance and knowing what services are available with your cover can make those decisions less stressful and more informed.”
Two nationally representative surveys were conducted in Australia (n=350) and the United States (n=500) by 3Gem. Respondents were asked about household usage of urgent care or emergency departments for non-emergency issues, GP access, reasons for choosing urgent care, and visit outcomes. Fieldwork was conducted in December 2025.