Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the House) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Health Insurance Amendment (Incentive Payments and Other Measures) Bill 2026 is an important step in strengthening the integrity, transparency and sustainability of Medicare primary healthcare funding.

Medicare is the very best of Australia. It allows Australians to receive high-quality health care, regardless of their bank balance.

The Albanese government is strengthening Medicare, the heart of universal health care, to make it easier for Australians to see a GP for free.

Primary-care incentive programs are a central part of how the government is strengthening Medicare. They support better access, affordability and quality in Australia's primary-care system.

These programs are an integral part of Medicare and provide targeted support to healthcare providers to improve patient outcomes, to expand access to care, particularly in rural and regional communities, and to encourage innovation in service delivery.

These programs include those introduced by this government. That includes the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program, which supports practices to provide bulk-billed Medicare services to their patients, and the general practice aged-care incentive, or GPACI, which supports the delivery of high-quality primary care to older Australians in residential aged-care settings.

These programs are working, with bulk-billing rates increasing in every state and territory since the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program was introduced last November. Thanks to this program, now approximately 97 per cent of the population are within a 20-minute drive of a bulk-billing practice.

They also include longstanding programs such as the Practice Incentives Program, which supports quality improvement and better health outcomes through targeted payments to general practices, and the Workforce Incentive Program, which supports a stronger multidisciplinary primary-care workforce, particularly in rural and regional areas.

Together, all of these incentive programs represent over $1.4 billion of this government's annual investment in Australia's healthcare system.

However, these incentive payment programs currently operate without a clear and consistent legislative framework tailored to their administration, compliance and oversight.

This bill addresses that gap.

It establishes, for the first time, a clear and enduring legislative framework for Commonwealth health incentive payment programs.

The bill inserts a new part into the Health Insurance Act 1973 to provide a consistent statutory basis for the establishment and administration of these programs, while retaining flexibility for operational program detail to be set through rules.

This approach ensures that the framework is robust, while remaining adaptable to evolving health system needs.

The reforms in this bill will deliver several key improvements.

First, they provide greater certainty for healthcare providers and for government by placing these programs on a stable legislative footing.

Second, they establish clear and consistent processes for program participation, administration and decision-making, including strengthened approval pathways and procedural fairness safeguards.

Third, they enhance the integrity of government expenditure by ensuring that existing compliance, information use and debt recovery provisions apply appropriately to incentive payment programs.

Together, these changes support proper administration, protect public money, and maintain confidence in incentive payment programs under Medicare.

Importantly, the bill does not alter the underlying policy settings of existing incentive programs. There are no proposed changes to substantive eligibility criteria or payment amounts for providers.

Providers currently receiving payments will transition seamlessly into the new legislative framework without the need to reapply. This ensures continuity for providers and avoids unnecessary administrative burden.

Importantly, it provides stability, so patients can continue to benefit from the outcomes of these programs and strengthened access to primary care.

The bill also modernises the legislative architecture underpinning these programs.

It enables the use of automated administrative processes, supported, of course, by appropriate safeguards, transparency and oversight mechanisms. These provisions are designed to support efficient, high-volume administration while maintaining accountability and review rights.

Australians rightly expect care when technology is used in decision-making. That's why a cautious and deliberate approach is taken for the automation of administrative processes.

The bill establishes structured review mechanisms, including internal reconsideration processes and access to independent merits review by the Administrative Review Tribunal. This ensures that providers have clear avenues to challenge decisions that affect them.

The bill also strengthens information-sharing arrangements to support administration and program integrity, while maintaining appropriate protections for personal information.

A further important element of the bill is the amendment to the short title of the Health Insurance Act 1973 to the Medicare Act.

This change better reflects the scope and purpose of the legislation and improves public recognition and understanding of the act. The renaming will occur following a transition period to allow for consequential amendments across Commonwealth, state and territory frameworks.

This bill is a foundational reform that supports the government's broader delivery of its Strengthening Medicare reforms that will improve access to high-quality primary care.

By providing a stronger statutory basis for administering, monitoring and protecting the integrity of Medicare incentive payment programs, the bill helps ensure that government investment in primary care is delivered effectively and sustainably.

This government is committed to strengthening Medicare. Measures introduced in successive budgets since 2022 have stopped the freefall in bulk-billing rates. Instead, we are now seeing them rise in every state and every territory. This bill supports improved health outcomes, better access to care, and a stronger primary care system for all Australians.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.