Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to support the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. This bill amends the National Health Act 1953 and the Health Insurance Act 1973 to allow authorised nurse prescribers who meet strict criteria to prescribe certain pharmaceutical benefits under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The types of medicines that can be prescribed will be clearly specified by the minister, and there will be appropriate safeguards in place. This includes oversight by the Professional Services Review, which will now extend to PBS prescribing by authorised nurse practitioners. These changes are not radical; they are sensible, evidence based reforms that flow directly from the recommendations of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce and the Scope of Practice Review, both commissioned by the government following the 2022 election.

At its core, this bill recognises something that many Australians already know to be true: our nurses are highly skilled professionals and are more than capable of working to the full extent of their training and expertise, and we want them to. Empowering healthcare practitioners, particularly nurses, is essential for our healthcare system to remain resilient in the face of an ageing population, rising rates of chronic illness, a growing mental health crisis and increasing demand in regional and rural communities. These pressures are not going away; if anything, they are intensifying, and we cannot meet these challenges by relying on outdated modes of care. We must be innovative in the ways we deliver health care, and we must make better use of the resources and talent we already have.

Even if our healthcare system didn't have these constraints, I would still support this bill because it allows nurses to work to the full extent of their capacity, and does that in a safe way for patients but also in a way that gives professional satisfaction for nurses. These highly trained individuals, these important members of our community, should have the satisfaction of being able to work to the full extent of their training and their capability. That reason alone is enough to support the bill, but at the same time this will provide important support for our healthcare system. This will mean that patients and members of our community can more easily access the health care they need when they need it, and that is another incredibly important reason to support this bill. We know there is international evidence that these models of care can work safely and effectively around the world. I've seen some of this personally, in my own experience working in the UK healthcare system.

I believe this bill strikes the right balance. It expands the scope of practice while maintaining strong safeguards. That's what I think Australians want from us. They want to feel safe, they want to feel in good hands when they go to a GP service or to any of our hospital or healthcare services, but they also want to make sure that our nurses, who we respect and whose care we value, get to work to the full extent of their practice.

Let's be honest. There are a couple of other things. For those people who might be nervous about this bill, it expands the scope of practice, but it does have strong safeguards. Only appropriately qualified nurse prescribers will be authorised, and there will continue to be oversight to ensure prescribing is safe, appropriate and accountable. This reform will not solve every challenge facing our healthcare system, but it is a practical and necessary step in the right direction. It reflects the trust that we have in our healthcare workforce, supports better patient outcomes and helps build a more flexible and sustainable healthcare system for the future. For these reasons, I support the bill.

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