Accelerated hospital funding is needed to shorten wait lists, doctors warn, as the clock ticks for the nation’s leaders to strike a deal. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will meet with state and territory leaders in Sydney on Friday as the Federal Government seeks to lock in a new five-year hospital funding agreement. Up to one-in-10 Australian public hospital beds were being taken by stranded patients needing alternative accommodation in aged care and disability support, an independent report released in 2025 found. The actual share of Commonwealth funding is understood to be well short of those targets. “More funding to ‘just keep pace’ will not lessen wait lists ... what matters with hospital funding is the fine print,” she said.