Boost for after-hours care as national cabinet meets

After-hours access to primary medical care will be extended as state and territory leaders meet to discuss improving health outcomes. 

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will convene national cabinet in Brisbane on Friday to consider health, housing, the NDIS, skills and the transition to net-zero emissions.

Ahead of the meeting, the government announced it would extend funding for after-hours programs that were due to end in June.

Funding will also go towards new programs in conjunction with local community organisations to improve access to primary care services.

The money will come out of the Strengthening Medicare fund, to which the government committed $750 million in its October budget.

Health Minister Mark Butler said bolstering Medicare and rebuilding general practice were the government's priorities.

"Being able to access a doctor after hours is critical for patients to get what they need, when they need it, taking the pressure off hospitals," he said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his priority was ensuring people in his state had access to fast, free and local GPs.

"We urgently need to pay GPs more so Victorians pay less, increase university places to get a pipeline of new doctors across the nation, attract GPs from overseas to Australia faster and break down the barriers between primary care and our hospital system," he said.

Mr Albanese said he has already had constructive discussions with premiers and chief ministers.

It will be the first national cabinet meeting for newly elected NSW Premier Chris Minns and the last before the federal budget in May.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said the government would need to work closely with its state and territory counterparts after announcing an overhaul of Australia's migration system.

"While the federal government controls our migration settings, a real partnership with states and territories is crucial to us getting this right," she said.

"The fact that there is no genuine mechanism for us to plan for population changes, as a country, is a bit startling. 

"When national cabinet meets, the prime minister will begin a conversation about how we could work together, as a federation, to plan better for housing, services and infrastructure."

The Greens are calling for a national rent freeze to be on the national cabinet agenda as well, in a bid to quell rising rents and housing costs. 

Leader Adam Bandt signalled a rent freeze needed to be on the table for the minor party to consider lending its votes to pass the government's signature housing fund in the Senate, where it has stalled.