A new fully bulk-billed Medicare Urgent Care Clinic (UCC) will open in Darwin after it was confirmed a provider had been selected through a competitive tender process led by Northern Territory Health.

FCD Health Limited — currently operating the Palmerston GP Super Clinic — has been chosen to run the new Darwin Medicare UCC.

The service will be located at 8 Osgood Drive in Eaton, will operate seven days a week with extended hours, and will be fully bulk billed. It is expected to begin providing urgent care services to the community in the coming months.

The facility is designed to reduce pressure on Royal Darwin Hospital, where around 43 per cent of presentations in 2024-25 were for semi-urgent or non-urgent conditions. It will join eight existing Medicare Urgent Care Clinics across the Northern Territory, including services in Lajamanu, Galiwin'ku and Alice Springs.

Minister for Indigenous Australians, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the announcement delivered on an election commitment.

"Building on the success of the Palmerston clinic, the new Eaton address will mean more people are living closer to the healthcare they need, when they need it," Ms McCarthy said.

"With over 109,000 visits that could otherwise have ended up in an emergency department, Urgent Care Clinics are delivering healthcare for Territorians and taking pressure off our hospitals."

More than 126 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics are operating nationally, recording over 2.5 million presentations since the first sites opened in June 2023. Of those, more than 109,900 visits have been to Northern Territory clinics.

Minister for Health, Mark Butler, said the clinic will "take pressure off the local hospitals, including the Royal Darwin Hospital, and will fill an important gap in services across extended hours and over the weekend".

Local MP Luke Gosling said the Palmerston Medicare UCC has "already helped tens of thousands of Territorians get free care close to home and now Darwin families will have that same option".

"It's free, walk-in, fully bulk-billed care and open seven days a week, taking pressure off Royal Darwin Hospital and giving families another trusted option when they need it fast," he said.