Sarah Witty (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in support of the National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025. This bill delivers one of the Albanese Labor government's election commitments, reducing the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme general patient co-payment from $31.60 to $25. From 1 January next year, Australians will pay no more than $25 for their PBS medicines. This is a saving of more than 20 per cent, and it is the first time in over two decades, since 2004, that the cost of PBS medicines will be this low. This matters. This matters to me, and it matters to the people of Melbourne. It matters because it will put more than $200 million back in the hands of Australians every single year. It matters because cheaper medicines help people manage their health, and staying well keeps people working, caring for their families, contributing to their communities and simply living their lives.

We all know that families are feeling cost-of-living pressures. Household budgets are pushed higher by housing costs, power bills and groceries. Medicines are not an optional extra; they are essential. By cutting the PBS co-payment to $25, this government is taking another practical step to relieve that pressure. We are making medicines even cheaper. In 2023, the government delivered the largest reduction in PBS history when it dropped the general co-payment from $42.50 to $30—and this wasn't a one-off.

This bill is the fifth wave of reform to deliver cheaper medicines. Over the last three years, Labor has reduced the PBS safety net threshold for concession card holders, giving them free and cheaper medicines sooner. That has saved pensioners half a billion dollars. In the last three years we have also cut the maximum cost of a general script from $42.50 to $30, saving patients $770 million. We froze PBS co-payments for all Australians for the first time in 25 years, stopping them from rising with inflation, and introduced 60-day prescriptions for common medicines, saving patients time and money and cutting out 35 million unnecessary trips to the chemist.

I just want to reflect on that for a moment. This measure has been transformational for so many, especially for women's health. By cutting out unnecessary GP visits for routine and ongoing conditions, women in particular now have more control over their health care—less time lost to appointments and more money left in their pockets. We know that women are more likely to manage chronic health conditions, more likely to be primary carers for children or elderly parents and more likely to have less flexibility at work. That means every extra doctor's appointment and every trip to the chemist falls harder on them. By cutting out unnecessary GP visits for routine and ongoing conditions, we have helped free up women's time, reduced pressure on family budgets and removed a barrier that too often leads to missed appointments or delayed treatments. This measure is not just about cheaper medicines; it's about fairness. It recognises that women carry a greater share of the health burden and it helps to close the gap.

Together, all these measures have already saved Australians $1.5 billion in the cost of their medicines.

I want to bring this down to what it means for the people I represent. According to the most recent data, as of 31 July 2025 the people of Melbourne have already saved $18,845,129. This is simply fantastic. That is almost $19 million that has stayed in the pockets of families, pensioners, students and workers in my community—money that would otherwise have gone on medicine costs. That is a tangible, direct benefit of Labor policy. For women in their 40s and 50s, it means better access to perimenopause and menopause treatments, helping them manage what can be life-altering symptoms with less financial stress. For students and young workers in my electorate, too, this reform makes a real difference. Many are living on tight budgets, trying to balance study and part-time work. Cheaper medicines mean they are far less likely to skip their prescriptions because of cost. When people in Melbourne tell me about the cost of living, this is what they mean: choosing between filling a prescription and paying for food or delaying treatments because the medicine feels too expensive. Every dollar counts and every cheaper script helps.

Cheaper medicines aren't just good for the hip pocket; they're good for people's health. When medicines are affordable, people fill their scripts. They take the medicine as prescribed, and they manage their conditions properly. That means fewer hospital admissions, more avoidable GP visits and better health outcomes for the whole community. It means a person with asthma no longer stretches their inhaler to last an extra month. It means a parent with diabetes is not skipping doses to make the prescription last longer. It means a pensioner with heart disease can stick to their treatment without anxiety about the bill at the pharmacy counter.

As someone who lived with asthma from childhood through to my early 20s, I know how terrifying it can be when you cannot access the medicine you need. I remember moments of real fear when I didn't have my puffer—my tightened chest, my burning lungs, the desperate gasps for air. It is an experience that strips away everything else in those minutes. School, work, even friendships don't matter. The only thing that matters is finding a way to breathe again. That's what the medicine gives you: not just relief but life itself.

That is why the reforms in the bill are so important. Cutting the PBS co-payment to $25 means fewer pensioners skipping the medicine they need. It means fewer anxious nights wondering whether the pills in the packet will last until payday. It means dignity, security and health for those who built this country and now deserve to be looked after.

It is not just the pensioners themselves who carry that burden; it's also their adult children, who worry every day about whether Mum is taking her heart tablets or whether Dad is stretching out his insulin. I have spoken with families who tell me they check their parents' pill organisers and are frightened to see doses missed because the medicine was too expensive to fill or because their parents have been rationing to make it last longer. When medicine is unaffordable, the stress does not stop with the patient. It ripples through entire families. It weighs on adult children trying to balance their own mortgage or rent, trying to raise kids and at the same time fearing that a parent's health could collapse because the medicine was just too expensive. No family should live with that fear.

This bill lifts that weight. By making medicines cheaper, we give older Australians peace of mind and we give their children and grandchildren relief from the constant stress of worrying whether their loved ones are quietly sacrificing their health. Cheaper medicines mean healthier parents, stronger families and communities that can focus on living rather than on the cost of staying alive.

I note that the opposition is expected to support this bill. That is welcome because Australians want certainty when it comes to their health care. They don't want political pointscoring. They want the cost of their medicines brought down. This is a chance for the parliament to speak with one voice on an issue that touches every household.

This bill also protects the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme itself. The PBS is one of the cornerstones of Medicare, providing over $18 billion worth of subsidised medicines in 2023 and 2024. By asking patients for a fair contribution and having the government meet the rest, the PBS remains sustainable while ensuring that no Australian is denied access to the medicines they need. Importantly, the bill also preserves pharmacy discounting. Pharmacies will still be able to offer medicines below the co-payment level, giving patients the full benefit of competition and choice. From 2027, indexation of the co-payment will begin from the new, lower $25 base, ensuring savings continue to flow well into the future.

Cheaper medicines sit alongside bulk-billing, more doctors and nurses and more urgent-care clinics as pillars of a stronger Medicare. Each of these reforms is designed to make health care more affordable, more accessible and more sustainable. It is this government that is firmly committed to upholding Medicare's founding principle that health care should never depend on wealth. That's why we have invested billions to reinforce bulk-billing, ensuring we can all see a doctor with our Medicare card, not out-of-pocket costs.

This government has also rolled out Medicare urgent care clinics, bulk-billed walk-in clinics with extended operating hours, open seven days a week and able to treat urgent but not life-threatening conditions. You do not need an appointment, you do not pay a cent and you will not wait hours in the emergency department. For my constituents in Melbourne, the Inner Melbourne Medicare Urgent Care Clinic opens its doors at 221 Drummond Street, Carlton. It offers fully bulk-billed urgent care with extended hours, alleviating pressure on the nearby Royal Melbourne Hospital and delivering immediate access to care for local families.

I cannot overstate how transformative urgent care clinics have been for families. During the election campaign I spoke with a family whose son, a sports-mad but accident-prone boy, had taken them to the emergency department far more often than they would have wished. With the introduction of urgent care clinics, their experience changed. Instead of being stuck in emergency for hours, they could get the care they needed quickly, be back home earlier and avoid the stress of trying to juggle three restless kids in a waiting room. By keeping people out of emergency—especially on weekends, when sport injuries surge—urgent care clinics are easing pressure on our hospitals. They are delivering real relief for families and making an enormous difference for our dedicated health workers.

The truth is that, when Labor is in government, Medicare is stronger. The National Health Amendment (Cheaper Medicines) Bill 2025 proves that once again.

This bill delivers immediate relief on medicine costs for more than 5.1 million Australians from 1 January next year, over $200 million in savings every year for patients—more than $8.8 million in savings already for the people of Melbourne—and a stronger, fairer PBS that will keep medicines affordable for decades to come. It delivers on the promise we made to the Australian people in the 2025 election. It shows a government doing what it said it would do, and it demonstrates the values of fairness, health and opportunity that Labor stands for. Cheaper medicines are good for households, good for the economy and good for the health of the nation.

It is this government that is firmly committed to upholding Medicare's founding principle that health care should never depend on wealth. That's why we have invested billions to reinforce bulk-billing, ensuring we can see a doctor with only our Medicare card and no out-of-pocket costs. I commend the bill to the House.

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