Yes, 86% of GP visits were bulk-billed in 2017-18, up from 82% when Labor was in power. But they also rose under Labor, while the percentage for "patients" seems to be lower than the percentage for "visits".
Academic rigour, journalistic flair
FactChecks
Queensland Minister for Housing and Public Works Mick de Brenni made the claim while announcing a $2 billion housing investment scheme. But is the claim correct?
Were the Victorian Greens correct about pubic school funding? We asked the experts to check the numbers.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said "you can’t reflect society if 90% of your members of parliament were chosen from trade unions and worked in trade unions". Let's take a look at the numbers.
Victorian Opposition leader Matthew Guy said under Premier Daniel Andrews, 'Victoria has won the unenviable title as the state with the country’s highest rate of crime'. Is that right?
With just over four weeks to go until the Victorian state election, we'd like to know which topics matter to you, and what you'd most like to see fact-checked. Here's how you can get involved.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has defended the Coalition’s spending on aged care as preparations for a Royal Commission into the sector get underway. We asked the experts to crunch the numbers.
Senator Pauline Hanson raised concerns about immigration and social cohesion, saying 'more than a million people' in Australia 'cannot speak English well or at all'. Let's look at the numbers.
Minister for Finance Mathias Cormann said corporate tax cuts in the US had led to 'stronger investment, stronger growth, a lower unemployment rate and higher wages'. Let's take a closer look.
A social media post shared by GetUp! Australia suggested US real wages had dropped significantly following the enactment of Trump's corporate tax cuts in January. We asked the experts to check it out.
Was shadow minister for finance Jim Chalmers correct when he said that under the current Coalition government, net debt had doubled? We asked the experts.
Ahead of Saturday's crucial byelections, senior Labor Party figures have described a vote for Pauline Hanson's One Nation party as a vote for the Coalition. What do the records show?
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson said Australia is "the highest-growing country in the world", with population growth "double than a lot of other countries". Is that right?
In addition to the jobs claim, Liberal MP Sarah Henderson said 65,000 new businesses had started in the last year, compared to the closure of 61,000 businesses in Labor's last year. Is that right?
On Q&A, social researcher and author Rebecca Huntley said "about 30%" of homeless people have a job. Is that right?
Are claims that intimate partner violence is the leading cause of death for Australian women aged 18-44 substantiated?
On Q&A, Minister for Urban Infrastructure and Cities Paul Fletcher said South Australia's high electricity prices were "the consequence" of Jay Weatherill's renewable energy policies. Is that right?
We build in extra checks and balances, including blind peer review by a second academic expert, additional scrutiny and editorial oversight.
The Conversation's FactCheck has become the first fact-checking team in Australia and one of only two worldwide accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network at the US-based Poynter Institute.
The Conversation's FactCheck team will be in Adelaide for the next two weeks, working with academics to test politicians' claims against the evidence as South Australians prepare to vote on March 17.
The Conversation joined media organisations from 53 countries at Global Fact 4, the fourth annual fact-checking summit hosted by the International Fact-Checking Network in Madrid.
Sharing the facts
To all the Q&A viewers and Conversation readers who requested or shared a FactCheck Q&A in 2017: thank you. Here are a selection of your requests, and the responses from our expert FactCheck authors.
Australian leaders make claims, we ask the experts to test them. Can you tell fact from fiction? What's spot-on and what's spin?
FactCheck Q&A
In addition to the jobs claim, Liberal MP Sarah Henderson said 65,000 new businesses had started in the last year, compared to the closure of 61,000 businesses in Labor's last year. Is that right?
Election FactCheck
SA Liberal Party leader Steven Marshall said that state Labor policy had left South Australians with 'the highest energy prices in Australia' and 'the least reliable grid'. Is that right?
Jobs and employment
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said backpackers would be better off working in Australia with a 19% tax than in New Zealand, England and Canada. Is that true? And what would a 15% or 10.5% tax mean?
Cape York Partnership founder Noel Pearson told Q&A that Indigenous Australians were 'the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth'. Is that right?
In an article published in the lead up to Australia Day, WA Liberal Party policy committee chairman Sherry Sufi said "native title can only exist if Australia was settled, not invaded". Is that right?
Do Muslim couples in Australia have 'on average 4.5 children' while other couples have '1.5 children'? Could Australia have a 'Muslim majority' in 'a couple' of generations? Let's check the evidence.
Discussing his opposition to same-sex marriage, Liberal MP Kevin Andrews said children who are brought up with a mother and father are 'better off than those who are not'. Let's look at the research.
Did the government-funded gun buybacks introduced after the Port Arthur massacre have "no effect" in reducing gun deaths in Australia, as an audience member claimed on Q&A? Let's look at the evidence.
During a discussion on Q&A, author Nikki Gemmell said 80% of Australians and up to 70% of Catholics and Anglicans support euthanasia laws. Is that right?
The AiGroup's Innes Willox told Q&A that Australia has one of the highest progressive tax rates in the developed world. Is that true?
Christian Porter said Australia's welfare system 'was costing over 100% of all income tax raised' under Labor after the GFC, and that it's 'around 80%' under the Coalition. Is that true?
During a Q&A discussion about climate change, Tasmanian Senator Jacqui Lambie said it was four degrees hotter 110,000 years ago. Is that right?
We check the facts on how Australia's foreign aid spend has changed over time.
How many shark encounters have there been at your local beach? Explore our interactive map to see 20 years of incidents between humans and sharks in coastal waters around Australia.
The Australian Banking Association says 'nearly 80% of bank profits go straight back to shareholders', the majority of whom are 'everyday Australians'. Is that right?
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- FactCheck Q&A: did government gun buybacks reduce the number of gun deaths in Australia?
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