Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) | Hansard source

I too rise to make a contribution, just as the member for Pearce just did, on the Health Insurance Amendment (Incentive Payments and Other Measures) Bill 2026. At its heart is Medicare. Medicare is built on a simple but powerful principle that every Australian should be able to access quality health care when they need it regardless of their income, their postcode or their stage of life. It's one of the Australian nation's greatest achievements. For more than four decades, Medicare has been there for Australians during some of life's most significant moments. It's been there for young families welcoming new babies and children into the world, for workers recovering from illnesses, for older Australians managing those chronic illnesses, diseases and conditions and for communities relying on trusted, local GPs and doctors. It reflects one of our most important national values.

Health care should be available to everyone, not just to those who can afford it. Many people prioritise their health and paying their everyday essentials. That is a fact. We know that people out there who wish to have private insurance health cover sometimes prioritise it, and it makes them feel safer, more secure and they know that, if it's needed, it's there.

This Health Insurance Amendment (Incentive Payments and Other Measures) Bill establishes that clear legislative framework for Commonwealth primary care incentive payment programs, including the Medicare bulk-billing practice incentive program. While these programs have played an important role in our community and an important role in supporting primary care, they've lacked a clear legislative framework—a clear direction. That has affected some of the administration and limited the ability to effectively ensure compliance, maintain the integrity and support the full expansion which this bill fixes. It creates a stronger and more transparent framework for administering incentive programs that support GPs, nurses, clinics and the healthcare providers right across Australia. It strengthens accountability, improves program integrity and provides certainty for the future.

Importantly, it ensures that financial incentives designed to improve access to health care continue to support those who need them most. That's important. These reforms are part of this government's broader commitment to strengthening Medicare and making health care more affordable and accessible for every single Australian. That commitment is not just a slogan; it has been backed by the biggest investment seen in Medicare in this country in the nation's history—an investment of $8.5 billion to strengthen bulk-billing and support the training of more doctors and nurses in our health system. This is absolutely transformational investment—investment that will make a difference. It represents a recognition that strong public health care is not just a cost to be managed but a necessity. It is an investment in healthier people, stronger communities and more, which means we will have a more productive nation.

A key part of this investment has been the expansion, as I said earlier, at the beginning of the speech, of bulk-billing incentives and Medicare. On 1 November, the government expanded the general practice bulk-billing incentive to all Australians, and, at the same time, practices that bulk-bill all their patients now receive an additional 12.5 per cent incentive payment. That certainly is an incentive. They're saying to GP clinics around the place, 'If your practice bulk-bills its patients, you'll now receive an additional 12.5 per cent on top of the incentive payment.' That's been taken up by clinics around the country. That reform was designed to make it easier for general practices to continue offering that affordable care while ensuring that patients can access treatment without worrying about those out-of-pocket expenses. It was a worry if you had a family and you were working—mum was working, dad was working, the kids were at school. If you have to be out of pocket every time you visit a doctor, it is a worrying thing. Sometimes that decision could be made where you forgo your healthcare needs for the economics of your family. That is a dangerous position to be in. We want people to be able to access the health care that they require.

We know that this 12.5 per cent incentive is working. The last quarterly figures show that the national bulk-billing rate reached 81.9 per cent between January and March this year, an absolute increase. It's going upwards. It's an increase of 4.6 percent compared to the same time last year. Every single state and territory across the nation, across Australia, has experienced an increase in bulk-billing. In my home state alone, bulk-billing has risen to 80.4 per cent across the state, representing one of the strongest improvements in the country. We heard, the other day, other statistics around the country. They are all increasing, and this is a good thing. It means people are having to fork less out of their pocket when visiting a GP. These aren't just the statistics. There are thousands of Australians who are now able to walk into a doctor's clinic to their GP; receive the care they need, the advice that they need and the prescriptions that they need; and walk out knowing that they've not been burdened with that additional cost.

The success of these reforms is also evident in the growing number of fully bulk-billed practices across Australia. What do we mean by fully bulk-billing practices across Australia? We mean 100 per cent bulk-billing within their clinic. There are now more than 3,800 Medicare bulk-billing practices operating nationally across the country. What makes this particularly significant is that more than 1,400 of these were previously mixed-billing clinics. What does that mean? It means that sometimes they bulk-billed depending on the patient, and sometimes they didn't. What they're doing now is bulk-billing every single person that walks in that front door into their clinic seeking medical advice, seeking treatment and seeking prescriptions.

That is really important because that gives the confidence to those people that I spoke about earlier, those families that are doing it tough that may have previously considered whether they received the health care that they really required and was a necessity or whether they put food on the table. This makes a real difference to those working Australians, people that are doing it tough on low incomes and paying the bills. Together with the tax incentive that they received as of yesterday, this plays a big role as well. That's something I'm very proud of on this side of the House. It also means that practices that once charged some patients are now able to bulk-bill everyone, as I said.

It's a remarkable shift from where we were to where we are. It means that Australians are seeing real improvement in access to health care. Around 97 per cent of Australians now live within a 20-minute drive of a bulk-billing practice. That doesn't include the out-of-hours Medicare centres that have been set up all across the country. That really matters because healthcare accessibility should never depend on your postcode, your income or where you live. Whether you live in a major city, a suburban community or a regional area, you deserve access to affordable health care close to home.

We're not saying everywhere is exactly the same. There are areas we have to focus on to ensure that they as well get the services that for whatever reason could be lacking in their areas. We should be focusing on that and concentrating on that to ensure that what we've seen generally across the country is actually taken to every single town and regional area and suburb of the cities across the country because, as I said, healthcare is so important.

The bill before us supports the ongoing operation of the Medicare Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program itself. This program is helping to create stronger primary care systems by ensuring clinics that commit to bulk-billing their patients are appropriately supported. What the government is saying is: you bulk-bill, and we'll support you. It's an important message to our medical doctors. It reinforces the central role that primary care plays in our healthcare system. When primary care works well, everyone benefits. People receive treatment earlier, chronic illnesses are managed more effectively, hospital admissions are reduced and pressure on our emergency departments is eased. Every dollar invested in effective primary care saves costs elsewhere in the system while delivering better health outcomes for Aussies.

The government's commitment to health care extends beyond traditional general practice; it also includes record investments in, as I said earlier, the Medicare urgent care clinics. As we've heard before in this place, the government is investing $1.8 billion over five years with ongoing funding secured into the future to ensure that Australians have access to urgent health care when they need it most. In my home state of South Australia, this provides certainty for a network of nine operational Medicare urgent care clinics. No matter where you live within the federal electorate of Adelaide, you are no more than 20 minutes away from either a doctor who bulk-bills or a Medicare urgent care clinic. We have four of them: one in Gepps Cross, just on the border of my electorate; one in Norwood; one down in Marion, at the southern end of the electorate; and, in the western suburbs, one in Albert Park, towards Port Adelaide. This means my entire electorate is surrounded by urgent care clinics—north, west, east and south—which is really good for those who require after-hours treatment et cetera.

The impact is already clear. Since the network commenced in 2023, South Australian clinics have delivered more than 172,000 fully bulk-billed visits. That means more than 172,000 occasions when individuals and families have been able to receive urgent medical care without needing to attend an emergency department or a public hospital and without needing to face out-of-pocket costs. This is important for parents whose child develops a fever at odd hours, for workers who suffer minor injuries and for older Australians needing urgent care. These clinics provide peace of mind, they provide convenience and they provide access.

Health care is ultimately about people, and behind every statistic is a story—a parent who can afford to take their child to a GP, an older Australian managing their health with confidence, a family avoiding a costly emergency-department visit and a healthcare professional able to focus on treating patients, rather than navigating administrative uncertainty. That is why this legislation really matters. It's not merely about creating administrative frameworks; it's about changing the system and strengthening the foundations of one of the most important necessities, and that is health care. It's about ensuring incentive programs are transparent, effective, accountable and sustainable. It's also about ensuring Australians continue to receive the health care that they deserve.

The bill also includes an important symbolic change. It amends the title of Health Insurance Act 1973 and renames it the Medicare act, a much more appropriate title. That is fitting because, for Australians, Medicare is far more than just a program; it is an institution, and it is a promise—a promise that health care will be there when people need it. It's a promise that quality care should never depend on the size of someone's bank account. This bill strengthens that promise. It strengthens bulk-billing, it strengthens primary care, it strengthens accountability and it strengthens Medicare itself. At a time when Australians are concerned about the cost of living, the government is ensuring that access to a doctor remains affordable. As I said, it's a necessity.

A strong Medicare system is one of the greatest expressions of who we are as Australians. It says that health care should never be a privilege reserved for a few but be a right available to every single Australian, regardless of their postcode and regardless of what their income is. The bill strengthens that principle, strengthens Medicare and ensures that future generations can continue to access the quality, affordable health care that they deserve.

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