Charlotte Walker (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025. I note that this is not my first speech. This bill, whilst primarily technical in nature, is part of this government's pivotal agenda to strengthen Medicare. Almost all Australians have come to see Medicare as very precious. We know how precious they see it by how they react whenever it is threatened by conservative governments, and also by how overwhelmingly they voted in an Albanese Labor government, with strengthening Medicare as one of our central promises.

Labor cares about Medicare and making it work better for all Australians. That little green card we have in our pockets or on our phones is one of the most powerful symbols of how Australians provide for each other in a fair society. Our government is making the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation 40 years ago, with $8.5 billion to deliver more bulk-billed GP visits each year, hundreds of nursing scholarships and thousands more doctors. Australian patients and families will save hundreds of dollars a year in out-of-pocket costs because we will expand bulk-billing incentives and create a new incentive payment for practices that bulk-bill every patient. There is little doubt that the undermining of bulk-billing and Medicare was an agenda of the former conservative governments. So, when Labor came to government in 2022, bulk-billing was bordering on being obliterated. We want nine out of 10 visits to GPs to be bulk-billed by 2030, and we are investing to make that a reality.

We have delivered 87 urgent care clinics around Australia. Already, over 1.5 million patients have gone to these clinics for free urgent care that they need. They have got access to free care seven days a week, using that little green card. Labor has also delivered the two largest increases to the Medicare rebate in 30 years. This has made a real difference, with bulk-billing rising across the country.

I come from a single-parent family. Medicare is essential to us, to our friends and to our extended family. It underpins the health of our country. So Labor is investing in the workforce, to expand access to GPs so that we can continue to expand access to health care. By 2028, we will fund 2,000 new GP trainees each year. This expansion of our medical workforce at the community level will make it easier to see a doctor whenever you need. We are also, of course, making medicines cheaper. Labor has already slashed the cost of medicines under the PBS and made over 300 medicines available on 60-day prescriptions. And there is more to come. We will now make medicines even cheaper, with a script to cost Australians no more than $25 under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

The health legislation amendment bill that I'm speaking on today is part of that large suite of reforms we are making to Medicare. This bill will work to protect Medicare by implementing some important fraud prevention measures and enhancing investigation and administrative seizure powers. It will also streamline the pharmacy approval process so that communities will be able to get quicker access to pharmaceuticals in certain circumstances.

To reduce fraud and incorrect claims, this legislation will shorten the timeframes for making bulk billing claims. By reducing the timeframe to submit bulk-billing claims, to one year rather than two years, we will reduce the number of incorrect and fraudulent claims. Maintaining the integrity of Medicare is critical to protecting it into the future, so it is important to crack down on potential fraud, and this reduction in timeframes is an administrative pathway to doing this. Importantly, to make sure patients aren't disadvantaged, there will remain a discretion to extend the timeframe to pay bulk-billing claims.

This bill will also improve investigative powers across Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. The bill will improve investigative powers and allow them to be used consistently and effectively across Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme to deal with potential misuse and fraud. It will also allow investigation of Criminal Code offences so that the department will not need to involve the AFP to execute warrants for suspected offences. This will strengthen our responses to anyone trying to rip off the system so that we can be assured that every dollar is going where it should be—to supporting Australia's health.

This bill also amends the Therapeutic Goods Act to improve the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing's ability to manage and alleviate therapeutic goods shortages. Currently, the department has to wait until critical therapeutic goods are not available before the secretary can approve the importation of substitutes. This change will allow the secretary to exercise this power in anticipation of such shortages.

I'm very pleased to say that this bill will also support the government's important, world leading vaping reforms. Vaping has replaced smoking as a real and present danger to young Australians. Australians of all ages vape, and this is not good for the health of our nation. Contrary to the misinformation that has circulated for so long, vaping isn't a harmless replacement for smoking. Vaping causes real harm to the lungs. Tiny particles are inhaled deep you’re your lungs when you vape, and these particles spread through your airways. These chemicals can cause inflammation, cell death, scarring and DNA damage. Due to the reforms led by the Albanese government, non-pharmacy retailers such as tobacconists, vape shops and convenience stores have not been allowed to sell any types of vapes for one year now. Vapes can only now be imported, manufactured, possessed or supplied in Australia if they are for the genuine purpose of helping people give up smoking. The bill amends the Therapeutic Goods Act to improve the investigations and enforcement action that can be taken by state governments after states adopted our important vaping reforms. It also clarifies the legal authority for the secretary of the department to make orders to cease the supply of vaping goods and make directions to stop misleading information about vaping being advertised. Vaping is an insidious threat to the health of young Australians, and I am pleased this bill will help strengthen the powers to help stop this threat. I strongly commend this bill to you as part of the package to deliver what Australians demand: a strong, universal and mighty Medicare.