Rebecca White (Lyons, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum for this bill and move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Today, I introduce the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025.

Australia has a world-class health system that offers affordable, high-quality, accessible health care to all Australians. This is due in large part to the various health benefit schemes—including Medicare and its programs—that help Australians pay for the health care they need.

The government is committed to protecting and strengthening Medicare—and part of this is improving the compliance framework that ensures the integrity of these rebates.

The Independent Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance undertaken by Dr Pradeep Philip, known as the Philip review, was commissioned by the government to respond to concerns about the operation of the Medicare system.

In 2023, the Health Insurance Amendment (Professional Services Review Scheme) Act 2023 and the Health Insurance Amendment (Professional Services Review Scheme No. 2) Act 2023 made priority amendments in response to this review.

This bill implements further improvements responding to Philip review recommendations.

The bill implements a measure announced in the 2024-25 budget: reducing the timeframe during which Medicare claims for bulk-billed services can be made from two years to one year. Claims relating to bulk-billed services can currently be made up to two years after a health service has been provided.

This change will improve payment integrity and reduce the number of incorrect and fraudulently submitted claims. This will have minimal impact on patients and practitioners, as most claims are already made within 12 months.

There will be discretion to accept claims after that time, to ensure patients are not disadvantaged.

Currently, a range of legislative provisions across health portfolio legislation are creating barriers to effective compliance activities, particularly when it comes to deterring and responding to serious noncompliance and fraud.

The bill responds to these barriers by allowing investigative powers to be used consistently and effectively across Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Changes will also enable powers to be used in the investigation of Criminal Code offences and remove the need for AFP assistance with executing warrants for suspected Criminal Code offences.

These amendments will improve investigative powers in health portfolio legislation and ensure they can be put into practice consistently, effectively and proportionately to respond to behaviour that jeopardises the integrity of health benefits schemes.

Under the National Health Act 1953, a pharmacist can request that the Minister for Health and Aged Care exercise a discretion to approve the supply of pharmaceutical benefits at particular premises. This is currently a two-stage process, which can take up to six months. This is frustrating and time-consuming for the applicant and may also delay the community's access to pharmaceutical benefits.

In this bill, the two-stage process is proposed to be streamlined and condensed into a single-stage process of up to four months. This will help to reduce a significant administrative burden. And it will provide the community with more timely access to pharmaceutical benefits.

The amendments improve existing powers to obtain information about potential fraud and noncompliance and enable the recovery of amounts if they should not have been paid.

The Philip review recommended the 'expansion of powers to ensure all types of serious non-compliance can be effectively dealt with' and 'a reduction in regulation and legislation that hinders compliance activities'.

The Philip review concluded there are limitations and restrictions around current compliance processes. For example, if incorrect payments are identified, current provisions don't always enable amounts to be appropriately recovered. This is because some recovery mechanisms rely on outdated claiming processes and requests for hard copy documents. These matters are restricting the ability of the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to protect the integrity of Medicare programs and payments.

These changes will enable appropriate inquiries to be made about Medicare payments if available information suggests potential noncompliance or fraud. If payments are found to be incorrect, amounts could be recovered.

Changes will also improve the ability of regulators to protect patient safety by removing some restrictions on the admission of information obtained under the Professional Services Review's 'notice to produce' powers as evidence in relevant proceedings, including proceedings for the purposes of the national law for the health practitioner registration and accreditation scheme.

This will remove some restrictions on the admission of information obtained under the Professional Services Review Agency's 'notice to produce' powers as evidence in proceedings, including proceedings under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law.

The existing restrictions will no longer apply in respect of prosecutions related to a failure to produce documents, proceedings to recover debts relating to the Professional Services Review Scheme and some other proceedings related to non-compliance.

The restrictions will also not apply in respect of documents produced to PSR under notice and passed onto Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) or a national board under certain provisions in the Health Insurance Act, or information obtained or generated by Ahpra or a national board from its own investigation, triggered by documents produced to PSR under notice.

This will enable Ahpra and associated health practitioner boards to use PSR related material to trigger their own investigations into allegations involving risks to patient safety. This will also allow Ahpra and health practitioner boards to admit evidence in national law proceedings if it was referred to them under the legislation for the reasons of a significant threat to life or health or noncompliance with professional standards. These changes are required to ensure all appropriate steps are taken to protect patient safety and that the existing requirement to refer the information to Ahpra and health practitioner boards is not frustrated.

These changes will enhance the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's capacity to address identified risks to patient safety and manage and address the consequences of noncompliance and potential fraud.

The bill makes several sensible amendments to the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989(the Therapeutic Goods Act).

The bill enhances the capacity of the government to manage and alleviate the consequences of therapeutic goods shortages in Australia. It allows the secretary of the department to approve the importation or supply of substitutable unapproved products from overseas if the secretary is satisfied that the approved medicine, biological or medical device, in the reasonably foreseeable future, may become unavailable or be in short supply.

The bill supports compliance and enforcement activities in relation to both unlawful therapeutic goods and unlawful vaping goods.

Specifically, the bill broadens the circumstances in which section 52AAA applies to ensure that forfeiture arrangements can extend to the range of circumstances in which goods may be seized under the Therapeutic Goods Act, rather than, as currently, only the circumstance where goods are seized under a warrant issued under section 50. This amendment will help deter the trafficking of such goods by sending a strong message to bad actors operating in this space that the Therapeutic Goods Association (the TGA) will take unlawful goods permanently.

This bill lowers the threshold that must be satisfied before the secretary may give an enforceable direction to a person under section 42YT of the Therapeutic Goods Act. The current requirement is that a direction is necessary to protect the health and safety of humans. The amendment will result in a more balanced approach that a direction must be considered and issued in the interests of public health and safety. This approach ensures the more appropriate availability of such directions to protect Australians from new and emerging public health threats.

The bill enhances the ability of state and territory officers to monitor, investigate and enforce compliance with the Therapeutic Goods Act and regulations by allowing for the provision, inspection, copying and retention of documents or information.

The bill also clarifies that section 61, which authorises the release of information in relation to therapeutic goods and vaping goods in certain circumstances, is not a secrecy provision.

The bill includes other minor amendments to the Therapeutic Goods Act, to keep the act up to date and to assist with the TGA's important functions.

The bill also amends the Therapeutic Goods Act to make minor consequential amendments to support the government's ground-breaking vaping reforms.

Finally, the bill amends the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023 (the tobacco act) which commenced on 1 April 2024. These amendments clarify the intended operation of the provisions and are amendments that have been identified as necessary in the implementation phase of the legislation.

The measures in this bill will further the government's efforts to strengthen Medicare and will assist in the implementation of our world-leading tobacco and vaping reforms.

I commend the bill.

Melissa McIntosh (Lindsay, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025. The opposition will support this bill because the bill seeks to implement a suite of measures designed to protect the integrity of Medicare, strengthen the regulation of goods under the Therapeutic Goods Act and introduce minor but necessary amendments to the tobacco act. These changes form part of the government's response to the Independent Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance undertaken by Dr Pradeep Philip. Dr Philip's review revealed serious issues in the administration of our health benefits scheme, particularly in the ability to protect, investigate and respond to fraud, misconduct and noncompliance within Medicare and associated schemes. The bill takes some practical steps to improve that situation. It seeks to provide the department with the tools necessary to carry out timely, efficient and active compliance activities, measures that are essential to maintaining the public's trust and confidence in the Medicare system and ensuring taxpayers' funds are spent and used appropriately and wisely.

I also note that the Senate inquiry into this bill, which reported during the recent caretaker period, has recommended the passage of this bill. For these reasons, the coalition will be supporting those recommendations, because we have long championed the need for strong and fair compliance within Medicare and other critical programs, like the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the child dental benefits scheme. We believe that preserving the integrity of these systems is fundamental in delivering a sustainable and equitable healthcare system for all Australians.

However, while we support this bill and the improvements it seeks to deliver, we must also confront the broader and deeply concerning reality of Medicare under the Albanese Labor government. Labor promised at the election in 2022 that they would strengthen Medicare, but since they've come to power we have seen the complete opposite. Bulk-billing rates have collapsed. When we left government and Labor was elected in 2022, over 88 per cent of appointments were bulk-billed. In just three years, that number has dropped by 11 per cent, to 77 per cent, in the first term of the Albanese Labor government. An 11 per cent decline is quite a staggering thing. It meant that we saw 40 million fewer bulk-billed GP visits in the last year alone. Worse still, Australians are now paying 45 per cent more in out-of-pocket costs than they were just a few years ago. Last year, 1.5 million Australians said they did not see their doctor because they couldn't afford to do so. That is 1.5 million Australians who potentially will become sicker because they have not had the early intervention that they needed. And guess where they'll end up? They'll end up in the emergency departments of our hospitals and which are already overburdened, with ramping at some of the worst levels ever seen on record and continuing to get worse in just about every state and territory in this country.

These aren't just abstract figures being put out here by the opposition. These facts and figures are contained in reports of the government itself, in their national health accounts. More importantly, these facts, figures and statistics relate to real people, real Australians, who are having to make the difficult decision between putting food on the table and going to see their doctor. This is a crisis in our primary care system that has occurred under the watch of the Albanese Labor government in the last three years. But what did we see the Prime Minister do when he turned up to the election in 2025? We saw him waving his Medicare card around and using it as a political prop, a disingenuous stunt to try and distract Australians from his track record whilst in government for the last three years. This is absolutely not leadership. It is dishonesty and spin to try and con Australians into believing the situation isn't as dire as it really is. It has become completely and utterly catastrophic under the reign of this Labor government. It is a betrayal of the promise that Labor made to Australians and keeps on making despite the facts telling a completely different story.

The coalition, on the other hand, is absolutely, totally and utterly committed to making sure that Australians get affordable and timely access to health care. That should be fundamentally the thing that underpins our healthcare system in Australia, and that principle is what guided us the whole time we were in government. It guided us when we were continuing to list new medicines on the PBS, with 2,900 new or amended listings while we were in government. The last time the Labor Party were in government, between 2007 and 2013, they stopped listing medicines because they ran out of money. In the last term of the last Labor government, they decided to put a cap on the number of medicines listed under the PBS, a sneaky way to stop listing medicines on the PBS.

The coalition is absolutely committed to Australians getting access to timely and affordable quality health care. We support the passage of this bill because it is taking important steps towards maintaining the strength, compliance and integrity of our Medicare system. It is so important that we maintain the strength and integrity of our public health system because that is what underpins the strong health system that we deserve in this country. But let's be clear: this bill alone does not fix the mess that this government has created in Medicare.

As I have highlighted, whilst this bill does very little to address the broader issues that we are facing in our healthcare system in this country as we stand here, we will support this bill because it does go some way to improving issues around the integrity and strength of our Medicare system. We will continue to scrutinise every piece of legislation that comes to this place. We will make sure we hold the government to account for the promises that it has made to the Australian public—promises that, sadly, we don't believe it will be able to deliver on, even though we would love to see a situation where Australians are actually getting affordable and timely access to health care. We will hold them to account and we will continue to speak up for the millions and millions of Australians who have been let down by this government, who are paying the highest out-of-pocket costs that they've ever paid, who are having trouble even getting in to see a GP and who are ramped at the moment or having to attend our emergency departments because they simply can't afford to see their doctor. We will continue to fight on their behalf because we believe that they deserve affordable and timely access to health care.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This bill, the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025, is a very important one. I'm grateful to the minister for her work on this legislation and for bringing it to our parliament, as this is a vital step in the strengthening our nation's most treasured social program, Medicare.

Medicare was the backbone of my professional life for almost 40 years before I entered this parliament. It's something that Labor holds as one of its treasures delivered to the Australian people. We recognise the importance of providing health care to our constituents much more so than does the coalition. This bill is important. It was delivered to the House of Representatives during the last parliament but was delayed in the Senate and unfortunately lapsed before it could be passed.

At its core, this bill advances the importance of Medicare as a social program and provides guarantees about its continuity as a social program for all Australians. The work that was done by the Albanese government in the last term has been very important in repairing the damage caused by the coalition's 10 years in power. They didn't present one strengthening-Medicare bill in the entire 10 years they were in government. Tragically, we saw increasing pressures not just on our public health hospitals but also on our Medicare system in the 10 years of coalition government. Bulk-billing rates were beginning to deteriorate, even as the coalition were in their last years of power in this country. Unfortunately, the coalition does not understand the importance of a program such as Medicare and the importance that health care plays in having a vital functioning economy.

At its core, this bill advances three principle aims. Firstly, it safeguards the integrity of Medicare by tightening rules and strengthening the payment systems and compliance powers. This is very important in terms of not just how our medical practices function but how our pharmacies function, how our allied health programs work and how we can make sure that compliance is part of the whole system. Secondly, it modernises the regulatory framework around medicines and pharmacies, including with better tools to anticipate and manage shortages.

We know that, even before the pandemic, there were medicine shortages, but during the pandemic this was exacerbated by supply chain issues, and they are continuing to this day. A number of medications, including medications that we require quite frequently, such as some antibiotics, some cholesterol medication and some drugs that are used for high blood pressure et cetera, are in short supply. There are moderate to severe shortages in some of these areas, and it's very important that this regulatory framework allows tools to anticipate and manage those shortages by looking at different supply systems and compliance with those supply systems. It also refines and redevelops public health legislation, including those around tobacco and vaping. Whilst it's by no means perfect, there were some major advances in control of illegal tobacco and vaping made in the last parliament. It's worth noting also the work undertaken to get to this moment, as these amendments respond directly to the recommendations of the Philip review, which highlighted some weaknesses in compliance and oversight.

Having said that, overwhelmingly our medical practitioners, pharmacists, allied health and nursing staff are very diligent in compliance and very diligent in making sure that there are no deviations from appropriate and proper compliance in delivering health services and medications. In its report, the Philip review found that, whilst the majority of health professionals act with integrity, the system is not immune to abuse. We have certainly seen that some people are already being charged because of some of the compliance problems and outright fraud that have occurred in the system across some health practitioners, including pharmacists, medical practitioners and nursing staff. I must stress that the Philip review, however, found that health professionals overwhelmingly act with integrity and the system itself has been very stable in the last 20 years.

A number of reports have been made about the money lost to incorrect or inappropriate claims, but this is tiny compared with the overall scheme. There have certainly been instances of fraud; however, much more has been lost due to the complexity of the system, which can result in multiple services done across a whole range of different practitioners, most of whom are well meaning but have made mistakes in compliance.

The amendments are necessary to protect the integrity and support the ongoing sustainability of our health benefits scheme, the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. All of these are very close to my heart, and, whilst it's clear that more could be done in delivering some services, such as dental, to our constituents, the system itself has become overly complex and overly unnecessarily tied up in lack of information and in red tape. Some key areas of reform in the current legislation include reducing the periods in which bulk-billing claims can be submitted from two years to one year. I think that is very important. If you can't get your claims in within a year, it certainly seems to me that there is something wrong with your practice. In my own practice, with Medicare claims, I made sure the claims were submitted within four weeks of people presenting to me and the claims being registered. We submitted our claims very quickly, and the vast majority of practices will be able to submit their claims within that 12-month period. We're reducing it from it the two-year period because, the longer we give people to claim, the more likely there is to be noncompliance and difficulty with records. This will tighten loopholes and improve accountability whilst providing the minister with the discretion to allow claims to be submitted after one year if a case can be made.

Further, we're streamlining the pharmacy approval process to make it easier for new pharmacies to open, thereby improving patient access to the advice and the medications that they need. This is very important in an electorate like mine, Macarthur, where we have new suburbs springing up all the time. Often they don't have infrastructure, including health infrastructure. Often it's very difficult for people to open new pharmacies in those areas, and this is because of the old-fashioned rules that will be present until this legislation passes. I also note it's really important in the member for Hume's electorate, where there are new suburbs, like in my electorate, springing up all the time. I constantly get calls about the lack of healthcare resources in both his electorate and in mine.

By amending the National Health Act, we're improving the process by which the minister can exercise discretion to approve pharmacists opening pharmacies in different areas. As I said, this has been a real problem in some of the rapidly developing areas, and I applaud it. It's achieved by combining the two stages of the current process into one stage, restricting repeat applications, allowing the minister to delegate the approval of a request form and increasing the term of appointment for Australian Community Pharmacy Authority members to three years. This will streamline the process, making it much more efficient, and it will certainly take a lot of pressure off federal MPs, who are often approached by pharmacies wanting approval for a new pharmacy in their electorate. It will certainly reduce the administrative burden and support more timely access to pharmaceutical services in new electorates. This is particularly important for booming areas such as my own electorate of Macarthur as well as more rural and regional areas.

We are bringing together previously fragmented legislation and investigative tools under a more efficient system to help investigate fraudulent claims in Medicare and pharmaceutical benefits. For too long, there have been unnecessary restrictions and challenging inconsistencies that have prohibited investigators from carrying out their work efficiently and effectively. I've spoken to many of the previous Medicare compliance heads, who I've known personally, including my old friend Tony Webber, who was a GP practising in my area for many years. They have all mentioned the difficulty in dealing with the previously very fragmented legislation and its compliance measures. Importantly, this new legislation expands the reach of powers to include offences under the Criminal Code Act to ensure fraud or other criminal acts can be appropriately punished. This was previously very difficult in the old legislation. Overall, the current powers are so narrow that they impede the proper exercise of functions to detect, investigate and refer fraud or non-compliance matters to higher authorities.

We're also amending legislation regarding vaping and tobacco products and how they are advertised. Again, this is very important in an electorate like mine where there are vaping and tobacco shops appearing every five minutes and our young people are exposed to the harms of nicotine addiction and tobacco smoking. Vaping is a major scourge in our society. However, after talking to several of the high schools in the Macarthur electorate at least, I am pleased to report that they are noticing fewer problems with vaping in the last 12 months. That's a tribute to the health minister's diligence in pursuing compliance around tobacco and vaping laws.

The reforms are all important steps that our government is taking to reinforce the integrity and viability of Medicare, one of our finest institutions and part of every Labor member's DNA. Ever since it was established, successive Labor governments have worked to improve and reinforce the Medicare system, and this bill is another part of its proud history. We did a lot in the previous parliament. We couldn't repair all the damage done to the health system by the coalition's 10 years in power, but, every day, it's part of our DNA to make sure that all Australians get access to Medicare benefits and to support our health system. Ever since it was established, Labor governments have worked to improve and reinforce the Medicare system, and this bill is just another part of this very proud history. By investing in and adjusting our healthcare system to ensure it's fit for purpose, we're reducing costs and improving outcomes for all Australians. This bill is another example of our government ensuring that Medicare belongs to the Australian people, and we will protect and reinforce it.

These changes brought by the minister are crucial to ensure that every dollar allocated to Medicare is used for its intended purpose, which is to provide quality, affordable health care for every Australian. I am proud to be part of our public healthcare system. I still work in the healthcare system, although not as much as I did previously. I'm proud of the legacy of the Whitlam government with the first national public health insurance scheme, and I will fight to protect it as every Labor member will. I'm proud of this history. I know there is more to be done, and I know we need to do more with Medicare and getting people access to dental care. I know there is more to be done around the health issues with the NDIS. I know there is more to be done with a whole range of issues. I know that with the PBS there is a tsunami of new treatments and new medications being presented every day to the Australian system. We have the best system in the world. Of that there is no doubt.

It is part of my belief that if we protect our healthcare system we will have a healthier economy and a healthier social system that protects all Australians. I'm proud of this legislation, I'm proud to be part of this government, and I commend this bill to the House.

Dan Repacholi (Hunter, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025. Can I start with the member for Macarthur and his good, fine words and thank him for all the work he has done in the healthcare system over the years. People like him who come into this place make a real difference. Thank you.

This bill does two very important things. It strengthens enforcement of Medicare integrity measures and it makes sensible practical changes that have come out of our vaping and tobacco reforms. At its core, this bill is about trust: trust in our health system; trust that when you walk into the doctor's office the system is working for you, not against you; trust that the billions of taxpayer dollars that Australians work hard to put in are being spent on health care and not being siphoned away by rorts or loopholes; and trust that we as a parliament are doing everything we can to protect the next generation from avoidable harm.

Let me start with Medicare. As a proud Labor member, I cannot overstate this. Medicare is at the very heart of who we are and what we stand for, because when you walk into a GP's office or a hospital the only thing that should matter is your health, not your bank balance. Whether you are a minimum-wage worker pulling a nightshift, a pensioner living on a fixed income or a millionaire CEO, you deserve the same access to high-quality care. That is what Medicare is about, that is why we, the Labor Party, created it, and that is why we will always fight to protect it.

Now, strengthening Medicare is not just about doctors and nurses; it's about community. In the Hunter, we see how much people really rely on it. In places like Cessnock, Kurri Kurri, Singleton and Toronto, bulk-billing is not just a nice thing to have; it's a lifeline. Families who are already stretched with the cost of living do not have hundreds of dollars to spare when a child gets sick or when somebody needs regular care for a chronic condition. Medicare is there for them, and this bill helps to make sure that it stays that way.

I also want to acknowledge the work of our healthcare workers. The overwhelming majority of doctors, nurses and health professionals are doing the right thing. They are honest and hardworking, and they care deeply about their patients. Medicare integrity is not about punishing them. It's about backing them in. It's about making sure they have a system that works properly so that they can focus on treating patients, not chasing paperwork or competing with those who are, unfortunately, doing the wrong thing.

But, if we are serious about strengthening Medicare, we also have to be serious about protecting the taxpayer dollars that fund it. Every cent wasted on fraud or on mistakes is a cent that does not go to somebody in real need. And let me tell you: the people of the Hunter expect their taxpayer dollars to be spent very wisely. They expect that, when they put in, they can count on Medicare to be there when they need it. That is why integrity measures matter.

In 2022, Minister Butler commissioned a respected health economist Dr Philip to do an independent review of Medicare integrity and compliance. This was about taking a good hard look into the system. The Philip review was clear. It found that, while the system is strong, there are areas where it can be gamed. It found that claims were sometimes being made wrongly, sometimes by accident and sometimes deliberately. It found that we need stronger checks to make sure the system is robust and it reminded us that patient safety must always come first. Out of that review came the Medicare Integrity Taskforce. We set it up with serious funding, and we backed it again in the following budget, because this government is not about a bandaid fix; we are about long-term reform that keeps Medicare strong for the future. This bill takes up those recommendations and makes five important changes. Let me expand on each of them.

First, it tightens the timeframe for lodging bulk-billing claims from two years down to one. At the moment, claims can sit there for years before being checked. It makes it harder to catch mistakes, and it makes it easier for dodgy claims to slip through. By tightening the timeframe, we are making the system sharper, cleaner and more reliable. Patients will get more timely outcomes, and taxpayers will know the money is being spent properly.

Second, it updates and broadens investigative powers so they are effective and consistent across all our health benefit schemes. Right now there are gaps and inconsistencies, which means regulators cannot always act when they should. This bill fixes that. It gives regulators the right tools, no matter what part of the health system they are dealing with. That means that if somebody is gaming the system, whether in the MBS, the PBS or the child dental benefit scheme, regulators can crack down on them.

Third, it improves pharmacy approval processes. Everyone in the House knows how important timely access to medicine is. If you are waiting for a script for your child or for life-saving cancer treatment, delays are not just inconvenient; they can also be devastating. Right now, approval processes can be clunky and extremely slow. This bill cuts through the red tape, speeds things up and makes sure that medicines get to where they are needed. That is good for patients, and it's also good for pharmacists, who spend far too much time buried in paperwork instead of serving the community, which they all do so well.

Fourth, it strengthens the powers to investigate fraud, recover money that should never have been paid and keep the system honest. I'll put it simply: if you rip off Medicare, you are ripping off every single Australian taxpayer, and shame on you. You are ripping off the pensioner in Singleton, the young family in Lake Macquarie and the apprentice in Cessnock. Every dollar wrongly claimed is a dollar that should be spent on them, not be in your pocket. This bill makes sure the government can get that money back and put it where it belongs.

Fifth, it boosts the ability for regulators to protect patient safety by allowing key information to be used in professional misconduct proceedings. Patient safety is not negotiable. If somebody is putting patients at risk, regulators need to act fast and they need to know the full picture straightaway. This bill helps them do exactly that.

This bill also strengthens the Therapeutic Goods Act. That matters because it is making sure that people get the medicines they need when they need them. We've all seen what happens when there are medicine shortages. Whether it's antibiotics for kids, pain relief for older Australians or life-saving treatments for cancer patients, empty shelves cause stress, anxiety and real harm. These amendments give the department more flexibility to respond to shortages, to move medicines to where they are needed and to act quickly in the interest of public health and safety. They also sharpen compliance powers, modernise search and seizure powers and ensure state and territory officers can play their role effectively. This is practical reform that makes sure that regulators have the tools they need to keep Australians safe.

Then there is vaping. I will be blunt on this: vaping is a national health emergency. We all know the story with cigarettes. Decades ago, young people were hooked on nicotine through smoking. For many, that addiction lasted a lifetime. For too many, it unfortunately ended with them being in an early grave. Now the same thing is happening with vapes. I see it in schools across the Hunter. I hear about it from parents who are worried about their kids. I see young tradies in pubs with a vape in their hand. The marketing is slick, the flavours are appealing and the addiction is just as powerful as smoking ever was. The scary thing is that we don't even know what the full-term and long-term consequences are yet. Vapes have not been around long enough for us to fully understand what they do to us, but we know enough to know that they are dangerous—extremely dangerous. If we do nothing, we risk creating another generation of nicotine addicts.

That's why the Albanese Labor government has acted. We have already made big reforms in tackling vaping. This bill strengthens them further. It makes sure our laws keep up. It gives regulators the power to shut down dodgy suppliers, crack down on illegal advertising and stop vapes being pushed into the hands of young people around this country. It also makes practical fixes to the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act. It tightens advertising rules, clarifies who can enforce the law and ensures that tobacco companies and vape sellers cannot exploit loopholes.

Let's be clear. Smoking kills. We all know that in this country and we have known that for a very long time. But vaping also kills. If this legislation helps even one person kick the habit then that's one more child who gets to spend precious years with their grandparents, and that's a win in my books.

We know this approach works. Australia's world-leading tobacco reforms under the Gillard government saved lives. Smoking rates fell, and thousands of families were spared the grief of losing a loved one too soon. Now we face a new challenge, and it's our responsibility to act just as decisively to protect the next generation from nicotine addiction. This bill strengthens Medicare. It protects taxpayer dollars. It protects patients. It helps families and continues our fight against tobacco and vaping. When Medicare is strong, Australia is strong as well. That is why I am proud to commend this bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.