Labor commits to more subsidised MRI scans

Hundreds of thousands more life-saving scans will be funded by Medicare under a plan announced by Labor.

Labor have released their plans for funding more life-saving MRI scans under Medicare. (AAP)

Labor has revealed details of where it will roll out more subsidised life-saving medical scanning machines if it wins the next federal election.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said on top of the already-promised four Medicare-subsidised MRI licences in WA and Victoria, a Labor government would deliver machines in Mt Druitt, Katoomba and Bateman's Bay in NSW, Redcliffe and Gladstone in Queensland, and Monash Children's Hospital in Melbourne.

In May this year, the opposition promised to invest an extra $80 million to deliver 20 licences in locations of pressing need.

When Labor was last in government 238 MRI licences were awarded to deliver subsidised scans.

"By stark contrast to Labor's record, the Liberals have awarded just five licences in their first five years in power - including two in marginal Liberal electorates during the 2016 campaign and one in WA as a result of a dodgy deal with One Nation," Mr Shorten said.

"There has been no opportunity for other communities to apply for a licence."

MRI scans are used to detect and diagnose conditions that affect soft tissue, including tumours and cancer.

But they only attract a rebate if they are performed on a machine with a licence, with many Australians travelling long distances or experiencing significant wait times to access a machine.