Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Cunningham very much for her question and for her interest in advocacy for women's health. I also acknowledge both the previous and current assistant ministers who have done such a magnificent job in promoting women's health policy. This government is building Australia's future through strengthening Medicare, and delivering cheaper medicines is part of that. These investments will deliver more choice, lower cost and better health care for women and will also help with the cost of living and lifting women's living standards.

This week, of course, is Women's Health Week, and it is a chance for the whole parliament to focus on the issues that affect over half of our population. Earlier this year, Labor announced an historic $790 million women's health package to bring more choice, lower costs and better health care to women. We introduced cheaper contraceptives, including for some of the most used contraceptive pills that are now listed on the PBS. Thousands of scripts have been issued since we made that decision, making a real impact on women's cost of living. We've also expanded support for women experiencing menopause, with greater Medicare support and a new Medicare rebate for menopause health assessments. Those are now available, alongside new training for professionals and the first-ever clinical guidelines and a national awareness campaign on menopause. We've also opened over 22 endo and pelvic pain clinics go, with 11 more of them to come, again making a significant and material difference for women across this country. From 1 July 2025, as I said, two new Medicare benefits schedule items were introduced for menopausal and perimenopausal health assessments, with approximately over 2½ thousand women already accessing that scheme. We've delivered the first PBS listing of a new menopausal hormone therapy in over 20 years, and now thousands of women are able to access that.

From 1 July this year, greater support has also been provided for women who have complex conditions such as endometriosis and pelvic pain, with two new MBS items also introduced. This means Australian women are getting the medicine that they need. We know that, last week, legislation to see scripts costing no more than $25 from 1 January next year passed this House. We hope that it passes the Senate this week. The last time scripts were this low was back in 2004, over 20 years ago. Over the last three years, we've worked incredibly hard to make sure Australian women are heard when it comes to their health care, to help with the cost of living, to lift standards of living for women and to strengthen Medicare. It makes a difference for women across this country.

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