Jenny McAllister (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme) Share this | Hansard source

Thanks for the question, Senator Hanson. Indeed, the purpose of the bill that we're presently debating is one of a number of things that the government is doing to deal with integrity issues in the Medicare scheme. And you're right: I think everyone in this place would appreciate that it is a really important objective. It's for this reason that we have brought this legislation before the chamber.

This legislation does a range of things to enable some of the existing powers that are available to authorised officers within the government, for them to take enforcement action where they believe that fraud may be occurring. Some of these acts have been in place for a long time—since 1994—and over time various amendments have created inconsistencies between the kinds of things that may be investigated and the powers that may be used. The legislation seeks to remedy those and give additional powers to investigate fraud.

I think it is worth saying that this bill directly responds to the recommendations from the Philip review. I believe that is the place where you obtained your assessment about the scale of fraud, and the government is, indeed, concerned about that. That's why the bill is before the chamber.