Dorinda Cox (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I continue the reflection of my experience of Medicare. I was mid-story, talking about having my young daughter fall off her scooter and be whisked off to an emergency department. Preserving, protecting and strengthening our Medicare system has been important for mums like me and people like me who, through their life cycle, have had the joy of experiencing and having the support of Medicare. I feel so proud to continue to be part of a government that are delivering and ensuring that we protect Medicare.

Also, on the importance of urgent care clinics, the Albanese Labor government will continue to build on their investment from their first term in urgent care clinics. Urgent care clinics are obviously critical to our health system. I also have a personal experience taking my young nephew, who was clearly distressed after a bit of a face plant in a playground, into an urgent care clinic. He was seen within 20 minutes, had an ice pack and felt nice and reassured. They're the joys of being able to do that: making sure that our families remain central to the things that we do in health care; having cheaper medicines; making sure that the 75-year history of the PBS, the easing of cost-of-living pressures for all Australians and the billions of dollars that they will save in prescriptions continue under our government; and the strong action on vaping—I talked a little bit about that in my speech—and more funding for public hospitals.

The Albanese Labor government is delivering on an additional $1.8 billion for public hospitals and health services next year. That one-year agreement also means that Australians will benefit from having better funded public hospitals. This builds on a long-term health system reform that we in the government are committed to. The total Commonwealth contribution to state-run public hospitals will reach a record $33.91 billion in 2025-26, and you will see year-on growth in Commonwealth funding for state and territory public hospitals to 12 per cent. I know that those in opposition don't like to hear this, but they were responsible for cutting $50 billion out of public hospitals and out of that health budget. That's a really important, stark contrast to the investment that the Albanese Labor government will continue to work in collaboration and cooperation with states and territories to deliver on for our public health system in five-year agreements.

The work that the Albanese Labor government are continuing to commit to is so important. We believe that no-one should be left behind and that no-one should be getting below-par health care in this country. That is why we continue to invest in, strengthen and protect Medicare. It was built by a Labor government; it will continue to be protected by Labor governments, now and into the future. Over here in the government, we are unapologetic about that. The funding and the contributions that we are making to health care will absolutely improve the quality of life of all Australians. They will tackle and address the cost-of-living pressures and challenges being faced by Australians across our country. These are important measures. These single investments and the protection against fraud and other issues within the integrity of our payment systems are critical. We want to make sure that we are protecting Australians, and this bill absolutely does that.

James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Shadow Special Minister of State) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 implements a number of public health measures intended to protect the integrity of Medicare, enhance the regulation of goods under the Therapeutic Goods Act and make minor amendments to the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act. This bill forms part of the response to the recommendations of the independent review of Medicare integrity and compliance undertaken by Dr Pradeep Philip.

The Philip review identified a range of issues that affect the effective administration of health benefits schemes, in particular, the power to detect, respond to, investigate, disclose and deter misconduct, fraud and noncompliance. As such, the bill seeks to address a range of issues that are inhibiting the ability of the department to conduct efficient, timely and effective compliance activities. We in the opposition also note that the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee reported back during the caretaker period on its inquiry into the provisions of the bill, advising that the bill should be passed. As such, the coalition supports the measures in this bill to strengthen the effective administration of Australia's important health benefits schemes.

We have a longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity of our health benefits schemes, such as Medicare and the PBS, and this bill is in line with that commitment. 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 Schedule. We believe that preserving the integrity of these systems is fundamental to delivering a sustainable and equitable healthcare system for all Australians.

However, while we support this bill and the improvements it delivers, we must also confront the broader and deeply concerning reality of Medicare under the Albanese Labor government. The government's own national accounts confirm the growing affordability crisis in our primary healthcare system. Yet what do we see from the Prime Minister? We see him waving his Medicare card around as a political prop, as a disingenuous stunt to distract from his failure to deliver affordable health care. This is not leadership; it's dishonesty, spin and a betrayal of the promises Labor made to Australians. The coalition believes every Australian deserves timely and affordable access to quality health care. That principle guided our approach in government, when we delivered record high bulk-billing rates, and it continues to guide us now in opposition.

We support the passage of this bill. It is an important step in strengthening compliance and improving integrity in our public health system. But let us be clear: this bill alone will not fix Medicare. It does not address the affordability crisis facing Australian families right now. The coalition will continue to scrutinise the government, and we will hold them to their promises on Medicare. We will continue to speak up for the millions of Australians who are currently paying the highest out-of-pocket costs on record when they get to the GP reception desk, because of this government's failures.

The coalition is incredibly concerned by the Albanese Labor government's disingenuous rhetoric about Medicare and by the current state of bulk-billing. Labor promised to strengthen Medicare, but it has only been weakened since they were elected. Medicare bulk-billing has fallen by 11 per cent under Labor. I'll repeat that: bulk-billing, under Labor, has fallen by 11 per cent. GP bulk-billing has fallen from 88 per cent to 77 per cent under the Albanese Labor government, and there have been 40 million fewer bulk-billed visits to the GP in the past year alone. Australians are now paying, from their own pocket, 45 per cent more of the cost to see a GP. Out-of-pocket costs have literally reached the highest on record. This data, from the government's own national accounts, shows that more Australians are having to use their credit card, along with their Medicare card, and they are being charged the highest amount of out-of-pocket costs on record. And yet it was the Labor Party who had the cheek, during the recent election campaign, to run another outrageous 'Mediscare' campaign when they are the ones who have been damaging the health system in Australia.

This is the sad reality of our healthcare system under Labor, and it forced more than 1.5 million Australians to avoid seeing their GP last year because they could not afford to see their doctor. This is the reality of the healthcare system in Australia under Labor. Instead of being honest with Australians about this concerning situation, Anthony Albanese continues to wave his Medicare card around as a stunt to try and distract Australians away from Labor's failures and his failures in the healthcare system. The Prime Minister is completely out of touch with the reality of the pressures that Australians are facing, including the rising unaffordability of health care over the past three years because of the actions of his Labor government. While the Prime Minister is focused on not telling the truth to Australians about Medicare, the coalition is focused on ensuring struggling families have timely and affordable access to a doctor.

During the recent election campaign, the Prime Minister continually failed to tell the truth about Medicare. The Prime Minister continually failed to tell the truth to Australians about the state of the healthcare system. He said, on numerous occasions, 'Under Labor, all you'll need is your Medicare card, not your credit card.' This is an untruth and is not the reality that Australians are facing, because of the actions of his government. The incoming-government brief from the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing, released under freedom of information, estimates that a quarter of GP clinics across Australia will not bulk-bill despite all of the promises of the Albanese Labor government. So one in four doctor surgeries across the country will not be bulk-billing, despite the Prime Minister promising, during the recent campaign, while waving that Medicare card around, to ensure that all Australians will have access to a bulk-billing doctor.

This data from the health department shows that millions of Australians will still need their credit card as well as their Medicare card when they go to see a doctor, and the worst part is that their credit card is currently being charged the highest out-of-pocket costs on record under Labor. So, at a time when they can least afford it, Australians are forking out more than they ever have before from their own pocket to access essential health care. It is damning. It is appalling that this government is willing to lie to Australians about their access to health care. It is a damning indictment of the Prime Minister that he is refusing to tell the truth to Australians, even after the election campaign. During the election campaign, the Prime Minister led a disgraceful campaign, accusing the coalition of wanting to do all sorts of things to the health system when, in fact, it is due to the Prime Minister's negligence and the Labor Party government's negligence that bulk-billing rates have decreased and that Australians are being hit in their purses, their wallets and their pockets. It's because of the Labor government's failure to adequately manage our healthcare system. Clearly the Prime Minister would have known about the health department's data before he waved his Medicare card around, telling all Australians that they could visit their doctor for free. The coalition will be watching the situation closely to ensure the Prime Minister keeps the promises he made to the Australian public. All Australians deserve timely and affordable healthcare access, but Australians also deserve to have a prime minister who will tell the truth and not a prime minister who continues to tell mistruths and to spread misinformation about the coalition and a prime minister who is not facing up to the reality of the negligence and mismanagement of the healthcare system in Australia that has happened under his watch. The Prime Minister made a lot of promises at the last election and, indeed, at the 2022 election, and the coalition will be watching the situation to ensure that those promises are kept.

The department of health's advice in its incoming brief that indicated that nearly one four GP clinics are not likely to take up Labor's Medicare bulk-billing incentive is something that should be concerning to all Australians. It should be of real concern to the Prime Minister and his health minister because this calls into question Labor's claim that, by 2030, nine out of 10 visits to the GP will be free. Clearly on the information that is before the Senate and that is before the Australian people at the moment that is another promise that will not be kept by this Prime Minister. The Prime Minister needs to be honest with the Australian people. Was this advice provided to the government prior to the election and, if so, why was it not disclosed to the Australian people before the election?

The coalition has a very, very strong record on Medicare and a very, very strong record on health care. Funding to Medicare increased every single year under the former coalition government, from $18.6 billion under Labor in 2012-2013 to more than $30 billion in 2021-22. Medicare bulk-billing was higher under the coalition. Bulk-billing rose consistently across our entire term of government. It rose to 86 per cent before the pandemic and was at a record 88 per cent when we left government. In the coalition's last year, 167 million free GP services were delivered. That is 61 million more than under the previous Labor government.

The coalition also has a very strong record when it comes to supporting a strong PBS in Australia. In government, we made 2,900 new or amended listings on the PBS to expand access to cheaper medicines. In stark contrast, Labor have a very poor record on the PBS. Last time they were in government, they had to stop listing new medicines on the PBS because they just simply couldn't afford it and because they could not manage the nation's finances. They repeated history last term when they capped the number of new medicines that could be considered for listing on the PPS, creating unacceptable delays for patients whose lives could depend on them.

The coalition is also very focused on mental health and suicide prevention, unlike Labor, who have cut Medicare funding for mental health support in half. When Labor ripped away Medicare mental health sessions from 372,000 vulnerable Australians, they went against the advice of their own review and all of Australia's peak mental health experts. It has only gone backwards since this cruel cut. Data from the Productivity Commission shows that access to Medicare mental health support has fallen to the lowest point in at least 10 years at a time when we know demand is skyrocketing. Under Labor, mental health has been completely neglected. They have cut the number of Medicare subsidised mental health sessions in half and they have abolished the National Mental Health Commission. The chair of Mental Health Australia even resigned out of frustration because of the Prime Minister's neglect of mental health and because of the Prime Minister's refusal to meet with him.

The coalition will always defend Medicare and will always fund Medicare, unlike the Labor Party. We have seen bulk-billing reduce because of their mismanagement.

Ellie Whiteaker (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Medicare is one of Labor's proudest achievements and one of Australia's proudest achievements. It's a reflection of our values: no matter where you live, what you earn or who you are, you should be able to access the health care you need. That access should depend on your Medicare card, not your credit card. But we also know that, for Medicare to keep doing what it was designed to do, we've got to protect it—not just from ideological attacks but from inefficiencies, noncompliance and fraud that quietly drain public money away from the patients who need it most. When billions of dollars of Medicare payments go missing, whether by mistake or misuse, that's money that doesn't go to a patient waiting for diagnosis. It's a consultation missed, care delayed.

Every Australian pays into this system through their taxes, through their Medicare levy, and they expect and deserve that those dollars go towards the services they count on. Medicare works only when there is trust in it, and that's what the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 is about: continuing that trust and protecting Medicare. We're making sure not only that Medicare is at its strongest but also that it's sustainable for future generations. Medicare was established by the Hawke government over 50 years ago, and we intend to honour that legacy by making the single largest investment in Medicare ever, during this term of government. This is not a government that's content to let Medicare fall behind. We are making it stronger and we are making it fairer.

Last term, the government opened 87 Medicare urgent care clinics across the country. We want to continue this momentum and we plan to establish another 50 clinics this term. This will mean that four in five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a Medicare urgent care clinic. In my home state of WA, we've already opened eight clinics: Beeliar, Broome, Clarkson, Eaton, Gosnells, Midland, Morley and Rockingham. Soon, we will open another six clinics: Bateman, Ellenbrook, Geraldton, Mirrabooka, Mundaring and Yanchep.

My local Medicare urgent care clinic is in Beeliar, and I'm sure other parents know what a relief it is to have the option of free walk-in care for all the bumps, knocks and rashes that young children get. I've been there many times with my two-year-old. When I get that dreaded call from day care that he's got a fever or a runny nose, it's good to know that help is close by, quick and free. I want to give a shout-out to the team at the Beeliar urgent care clinic, who have helped me and my community many times. Their care is always exceptional.

This government knows that Medicare is more than just a program. It's a promise that your health will never depend on your bank balance. You can't deliver better care without the people who provide it, and that's why this government is investing in the largest GP-training program in Australia's history, with 2,000 new GP trainees every year by 2028. The government is also expanding the number of overseas trained doctors entering our system, with 17,000 new doctors registered in the last two years alone. We're backing our nurses too, with paid prac to support them while they're on placement.

We want a healthcare system where every patient can find a doctor and where every doctor is backed by a system that supports them to deliver the best care. We're acting now to protect the system's integrity, cracking down on rorting and misuse, because every dollar that goes to fraud is a dollar that can't go to patients. The Independent Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance was undertaken by Dr Pradeep Philip. It is known as the Philip review. It was commissioned by the government to respond to concerns about the operation of the Medicare system. The Philip review found that between $1.5 billion and $1.3 billion is lost every year to incorrect, non-compliant or fraudulent claims. It also found that the current compliance scheme was limited in scope and outdated in its powers.

The government has already made priority amendments in response to this review, and this bill is the next step in responding to the Philip report. It will modernise investigative powers, streamline claims processes and ensure payments that are made in error can be reversed. It will strengthen compliance, improve data and ensure our public health dollars are used as intended—because we know that Medicare only works when it is used properly. We will always defend Medicare's founding purpose: universal, accessible health care for everyone.

When the Albanese government was first elected in 2022, it had never been harder or more expensive to find a doctor. Bulk-billing was in freefall—the inevitable result of a decade of cuts and neglect. That's why strengthening Medicare wasn't just part of our platform; it's at the core of what this government is here to do. We've already delivered the two largest increases to Medicare rebates in 30 years. In two years, the government has done more to strengthen Medicare than our predecessors did in nine. Bulk-billing is rising again, delivering an additional six million free visits to the GP in just over 12 months. And we are investing $8.5 billion to deliver even more bulk-billed GP visits and expand bulk-billing incentives to all Australians, tripling the number of fully bulk-billed practices across our country so that more people can see the GP for free. By 2030, nine out of ten GP visits will be bulk-billed. It's the single biggest investment in Medicare ever. That's what real reform looks like.

This bill implements a measure announced in the 2024-25 budget. It reduces the timeframe for making bulk-billed claims, from two years to one year, to support the integrity and long-term sustainability of the system. This will improve payment integrity and reduce the number of incorrect and fraudulent claims—importantly, with minimal impact on patients and practitioners. It still leaves some discretion to accept claims after one year, to ensure patients are not disadvantaged. It is a sensible change.

Another important part of our healthcare system is medicines. That's why this government is also cutting the cost of medicines, because we know that affordable care doesn't stop at the doctor's office. Australians have already saved more than $1 billion on the cost of their prescriptions thanks to Labor. We made the biggest cut to the cost of medicines in the 75-year history of the PBS, and now we're going even further, capping the cost of scripts at $25 from 1 January 2026. That is a more than 20 per cent reduction that will save Australians over $200 million every year. Cheaper medicines means better health, fewer missed doses and real cost-of-living relief.

It is our pharmacies that are integral to this. They are vital to local communities, especially in rural and regional Australia. This bill simplifies the rules that govern when and where new pharmacies can be approved to dispense PBS medicines. Right now, applications that don't meet strict location rules can take months to process, stuck in a two-stage discretionary process that's both frustrating and unnecessary. We are replacing that with a faster, single-stage process that delivers quicker decisions and better access. Making smart changes to reduce administrative burden just makes sense.

This bill also expands existing mechanisms in the Therapeutic Goods Act to help deal with shortages in medicines, biologicals and medical devices that are approved for supply in Australia. The secretary of the department will be able to approve the importation or supply to substitutable, unapproved products from overseas if they are satisfied that an approved medicine, biological or medical device may become unavailable in the foreseeable future. This is a change, because currently they can only do so if they are already unavailable, which, for obvious reasons, is too late. This is more sensible reform that ensures medicines are available for the people who need them.

The bill also supports compliance and enforcement as it relates to unlawful and dangerous products, including unapproved therapeutic goods and illegal vapes. This government is taking action to protect the next generation. Our world-leading vaping reforms are already delivering results, with vaping rates amongst 14- to 17-year-olds now in decline. We're also cracking down on the black market in tobacco, with over $350 million invested in enforcement and disruption. The legislation strengthens the powers needed to detect and respond to serious noncompliance, expanding the range of offences that can be investigated and prosecuted, including fraud, forgery, identity theft and trafficking in unapproved medicines. It gives the regulators what they need to act—to seize goods, pursue serious offenders and protect the public.

The government is also backing our hospitals, with an additional $1.8 billion for public hospitals and health services in the next year alone, because, when people are at their most vulnerable, in pain, in crisis, in hospital, they need to know that the care will be there. This legislation strengthens Medicare. It makes oversight smarter and delivers more timely care in more places, protecting public money and ensuring it's used where it matters the most. Helping patients—that's what Australians expect, and it's what Labor will deliver. We are not just repairing a system that we inherited from the former government; we are building something better, investing in care, protecting Medicare's legacy and making the system stronger. This is what practical reform looks like—cutting bureaucracy, supporting services and delivering real outcomes. I'm thrilled that the government has brought this bill to the Senate, and I look forward to seeing the work that the government will continue to do to invest in Medicare over the next term.

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The coalition supports the measures in the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025 to strengthen the effective administration of Australia's important health benefits schemes. We have a longstanding commitment to protecting the integrity of our health benefits schemes, such as Medicare and the PBS, and this bill is in line with that commitment. It implements a suite of measures designed to protect the integrity of Medicare, strengthen the regulations of goods under the TGA and introduce minor but necessary amendments to the tobacco act. It's important for us to be clear about the fact that we have long championed the need for strong and fair compliance within Medicare and other critical programs, like the PBS and Child Dental Benefits Schedule. We believe that preserving the integrity of these systems is fundamental to providing sustainable health care to Australians—to all Australians, not just Australians that can afford health care.

However, while we support this bill and the improvements it delivers, we also need to understand and acknowledge that there are some deficiencies here and the deeply concerning reality of Medicare under this Labor government. I think all of us saw through the last election campaign—and I witnessed it personally—our prime minister standing there with his Medicare card, saying, 'This is all you need to go to the doctor.' That is not a reality for most Australians. I spoke to many, many people throughout the election campaign, many women, who said they couldn't afford to go to the doctor themselves because they had to prioritise taking their children to the doctor, because they needed more than their Medicare card to get medical treatment for their families. I note Senator Whiteaker said that the government is looking at nine out of 10 medical appointments being bulk-billed by 2030. In 2022, when the coalition left government, 88 per cent were already being bulk-billed. So it's going to take us another five years to get to, effectively, where we were in 2022. That's something to have a think about.

The government's own national accounts confirm that there is a growing affordability crisis in our primary healthcare system, and that was reinforced by the many people that I spoke to throughout the campaign, yet all we have really seen from the Prime Minister is him waving around his Medicare card, which I believe is a disingenuous stunt to distract from the failure to provide Australians with affordable primary health care. That's not leadership. Australians deserve better than that, and Australian families shouldn't have to worry about which one of them can afford to go to the doctor that week. If you have three children sick that week, you should be able to take all three children to the doctor. You shouldn't have to determine which one it is going to be. That's because the coalition believes that every Australian deserves timely and affordable access for the health care that they need. That is a principal which guided our approach in government, when we delivered record-high bulk-billing rates, and it continues to guide us now in opposition.

We will support the passage of this bill. It is an important step in strengthening compliance and improving integrity in our public health systems. But let's be clear—this bill alone will not fix Medicare. It does not address the affordability crisis that I have spoken about. So we are going to continue to hold this government to account and to scrutinise this government in relation to their promises about Medicare—the promise that you don't need your credit card, that you need only your Medicare card when you go to the doctor. That is not the lived reality of Australians today. We will speak up for the millions of Australians who are currently paying the highest out-of-pocket costs on record when they get to the GP reception desk because of this government's failures. It is also one of the reasons that we have record ramping across our states, because people can't afford to go to the doctor so they go to the hospital, they go to emergency. That's not how this should work. That is a reflection of the outcomes that have been delivered by this government.

The coalition is incredibly concerned by the Albanese Labor government's disingenuous rhetoric about Medicare and the current state of bulk-billing. Let me reinforce this again: when this government came into office we handed them bulk-billing rates of 88 per cent. Today they stand at 77 per cent. You don't need a calculator—it's an 11 per cent variance downwards. It's not better, but worse. This government promised to strengthen Medicare, but it has been only weakened since they were elected. That 11 per cent that I talked about means 40 million fewer bulk-billed GP visits in the past year alone. Let's have a think about that.

Australians are now paying 45 per cent more to see a GP from their own pocket, and their out-of-pocket costs have literally reached the highest levels on record. That's not a good outcome; that's a bad outcome. This data has come from the government's own national accounts. It shows that more Australians are having to use their credit card along with their Medicare card, and that they are being charged the highest amount out-of-pocket on record. So let's stop and look at that again: the Prime Minister, during campaigning, said you don't need your credit card, you just need your Medicare card. But the national accounts tell us you need your credit card and you are going to have to spend more on your credit card for your visit to the doctor then you have ever had to before. That is shameful—it highlights that the Prime Minister is completely out of touch with the reality of pressures Australians are facing in this cost-of-living crisis. We already have a housing crisis. We have a rental crisis. We shouldn't have an affordability-of-healthcare crisis on top of it, but it appears that we do.

The Prime Minister, when he held up that Medicare card, would have known that the Department of Health's incoming government brief, released under FOI, estimated that some 23 per cent of GP clinics across Australia would not bulk-bill, despite the promises he made during the election. This data from the health department shows that millions of Australians, based on that and the other information that I've already provided, will still need their credit card along with their Medicare card, and, as I have just stated, you'll be paying more on that credit card. So not only do you still need it; you are going to be paying more on that card.

It's unfair to suggest that this government has delivered cheaper and more accessible health care to Australians when it absolutely has not. This is one of the many promises that Mr Albanese made at the last election, and we're going to watch this very closely. We've been very clear that we'll be constructive where we can but critical where we must. This is one of the areas where we must be critical because mums and dads in this country should not be making decisions about which one of their children or which family member they can afford to take to the doctor.

Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak in strong support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025. This bill is not just another piece of legislation; it is a vital step in protecting and strengthening Medicare, the backbone of our health system and one of the proudest achievements of Labor governments past and present.

The contribution that we just had from the good senator from the other side, Senator Kovacic, neglected to talk about the almost 11 years that the coalition were in government and what they did while they were in power. They neglected the health system in this country and did everything they could to run down Medicare, and they failed to train enough GPs. You've had a Labor government for one term, and we have very clearly put health back on the agenda. The Australian people overwhelmingly voted in support of the policies that we put forward around Medicare and in strengthening Medicare. They supported the urgent care clinics that we had already established. They supported the 50 additional urgent care clinics.

The point was made previously by the senator about people choosing to go to accident and emergency. She is right about that, because they were doing that for the 11 long years that they were in power. What we have now are the urgent care clinics. I would like to talk about the urgent care clinic in Launceston where I live. Knowing that Tasmanians have some of the worst health outcomes in the country, thanks to those people opposite, it has overwhelmingly had great success, with over 33,000 northern Tasmanians visiting that one urgent care clinic. It's one of the most successful urgent care clinics in the country, if not the most successful. There is stability around the GPs that are there and the services that they are providing, so much so that they have extended their hours from 8 am till 8 pm and also over the weekend. It has been a great success.

Australians, as I said, have made it very clear that they want a health care system that is fair, accessible and built on the principle that no-one should be denied care because of their bank balance. They voted for Medicare. They voted for better health outcomes. They voted for a government that puts patients first and that puts patients before profit. The Liberals and the Greens need to get out of the way and let us deliver for the Australian people. We want to deliver what they need and what they deserve. Labor has listened not just during the last term of parliament but over the previous 11 years, because we actually have lived the experience and seen our family, our friends, our community members who were denied access to the medical treatment that they needed.

Labor has listened; we've acted. We have tripled the bulk-billing incentive, making it easier for families, pensioners and concession cardholders to see a GP without paying out-of-pocket. That is nearly 12 million Australians who now have better access to care. Specifically, in my home state of Tasmania—where cost-of-living pressures have bitten hard and access to GPs can be limited—this has made a real difference, an immeasurable difference, to those people's health outcomes and their lives.

We in Labor have also made medicines cheaper. Australians can now get two months worth of medicines for the price of one prescription. Those same people on the other side, when they were in government, bowed to the pharmaceutical guild when they were advised by the department to do exactly that—to make it easier, so that you go to the GP less often and it costs you less money. Now they come in here and want to rewrite history and pretend that they actually care about Australians' health. But Australians always see through the fakeness.

We know, as the Australian people do, that it is in the DNA of those on the other side to destroy Medicare. They don't believe in universal care. If they believed in universal care and Medicare, they would have done more when they were in government for 11 long years. But what did we see during the election campaign, from Mr Dutton and those opposite? They wanted to bring American politics—the Trump philosophy—here to Australia. It's another reason why they were rejected, because Australians know that Americans have to pay for their own medications, have to pay to see a doctor and do not have universal healthcare. We don't want it. The Australian people said no.

Now, the fact that you can actually get two months worth of your medication on one prescription is actually saving Australians money; $1.5 billion will be saved over four years. For people managing chronic conditions, like diabetes, heart disease or arthritis, this means fewer trips to the pharmacy, fewer gaps in treatment and more money in your pocket. Again, in Tasmania, where we have one of the oldest and fastest-ageing populations with some of the highest rates of chronic illness in this country, this reform is not just helpful; it is essential. And we have not stopped there.

We have rolled out urgent care clinics across the country, including in Tasmania. These clinics, as I said before, take pressure off emergency departments and give people somewhere to go when they need care fast but don't need to be in hospital. When your child or grandchild falls off their bike and breaks their arm, now you can go to an urgent care clinic; you don't have to spend five or six hours in an emergency department to get an X-ray and then get a cast put on. This is less stressful for the child and certainly less stressful for their parent or carer.

These are practical things that have real impacts on people's quality of life, and Australians were crying out for them. That's why they voted for Labor.

This bill builds on that record. It strengthens Medicare and its integrity by cracking down on fraud and misuse. It streamlines processes so our doctors and nurses can spend less time on paperwork and more time with patients. It gives the department the tools it needs to manage shortages of essential medicines and therapeutic goods. And it supports our vaping reforms to protect young people from harmful, unregulated products. These are not abstract reforms. They are real, tangible improvements that will help real people—especially in communities like mine, in Tasmania, but right around our country.

But let's be very clear. We cannot take Medicare for granted. We have seen what happened when the Liberals were in charge. There was a decade of neglect; bulk billing rates plummeted; out-of-pocket costs soared; regional health services were gutted; mental health services were left to languish. And every time they had the chance to invest in Medicare, they chose not to. Why? Because destroying Medicare is in their DNA. It's what they believe in, in their heart of hearts. They do not believe in universal health care. They do not believe in equality. They do not believe in equity. They believe in a system where the size of your wallet determines the quality of your care. That is not the Australia I believe in and it is not the Tasmania I fight for.

While this bill enjoys broad support, I want to send a clear message to the Greens and others in this chamber: don't stand in the way of progress. We have seen them block or delay reforms in housing, energy, migration and more. While they may do so in the name of principle, the result is the same—Australians are left waiting. We cannot afford delays here. This bill is about protecting Medicare. Blocking it or dragging out debate will mean leaving our health system exposed, letting inefficiencies persist and failing the millions of Australians who rely on Medicare every single day.

I've just been upstairs at a function, talking about chronic pain and the fact that we still don't have enough people in the medical fraternity who actually recognise and support those who live with chronic pain. Anyone who has any form of arthritis, for instance, lives—as I do—with pain every single day. The fact that you can go and get two months worth of scripts for the cost of one makes a big difference, not only to your hip pocket. For too many people who put off getting their scripts refilled and don't have the pain medication that they need, this will change lives.

This is what a Labor government does. This is why people on this side of the chamber fight every day, and we'll continue to fight every day to protect Medicare. We know the high rates of chronic illness. We know that regional communities need this bill as much as every Tasmanian does. They need a government that will listen to them, that will then take the action that is needed, and that won't dither around the edges.

Labor is acting. We are investing in people, in infrastructure and in innovation. We are listening to healthcare professionals and acting on expert advice. We are delivering reforms that will make a difference to the lives of everyday Australians. This bill responds to the Philip review recommendations to protect the integrity of our health benefit schemes. These include the Medicare Benefits Schedule, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Child Dental Benefits Schedule. It shortens the timeframe for lodging bulk-billed claims, strengthens investigation powers and ensures consistency across the system.

Let's be clear: under the US President's free trade agreement, one of the areas that he wants to attack the most is our PBS. Why? Because we deliver through that system. A Labor government has ensured that Australians can have access to affordable medication, and we will defend that. The Minister for Trade and Tourism, Minister Farrell, who sits in this chamber, will fight—just as the Prime Minister will and just as everyone else on this side of the chamber will—to protect the PBS.

This bill improves pharmacy approval processes, helping Australians access medicines faster, and it gives the department the flexibility it needs to respond to shortages and public health emergencies. We know that during COVID there was a real issue with not having access to all the medications that people suffering from chronic illness needed, because of demand. We have learnt from that. We're about protecting Australians' access to the medications that they need when they need them.

This is what good government looks like. It's practical, it's compassionate, it's kind and it's focused on outcomes. Australians know the value of Medicare—specifically, as I said, in my home state of Tasmania, which I am here to represent alongside my new colleague Senator Dowling, who joins us as a new senator in this place. We will always stand up and fight for Tasmania because that's what we're sent here to do. That's why the Senate is made up of state and territory representatives. So I am unashamedly speaking for Tasmanians, who need this bill and need Medicare. That's why they voted overwhelmingly for a Labor government.

As for the criticism of the Prime Minister standing up and using the Medicare card, we know it worked, because that's what they complain about all the time. They were complaining about a little card that he was holding up that represented health access for all Australians, not a credit card, which is what they preach about all the time. It shouldn't matter where you live, what your postcode is. It shouldn't matter how much money you have in your wallet. It shouldn't matter how big your credit card is. You just need that little green and gold card, because that's a right of every Australian. It's certainly the right of every Tasmanian to have access to good health care, because at the end of the day it affects everyone. If you can't work because you're in chronic pain or you can't get medication or you can't get in to see a specialist or a GP, then you aren't able to enter and stay in the workforce. It affects the economy, and that impacts everyone. I'm urging people to get behind this bill and support this bill because it's good legislation. As I said—and I'll say it again—we will always stand up for Medicare and strengthen it.

Richard Dowling (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that this is not my first speech. I rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025. The bill is another example of the government's commitment to high-quality public health care—health care that is affordable and accessible. I congratulate the former assistant minister for health, Ged Kearney, for her work in progressing this bill and its reforms. The bill is about making a system that's fairer, tighter and more secure.

Labor governments have had that commitment to universal health care for decades from Whitlam, the visionary who introduced universal health care to our country, to Hawke, who restored and entrenched Medicare as a fair and accessible system, and to Keating, who further refined and funded it and made sure it is the lasting pillar of Australian life that it is recognised as today across the whole parliament. Labor prime ministers have continued to refine, improve and enhance it. This bill is part of that journey, and long may it continue. Labor built Medicare, and we're determined to keep it strong for generations to come, but it will only remain universal and sustainable if every dollar is spent where it is meant to be spent—on the care of Australians.

When we came to government in 2022, it had never been harder or more expensive to see a doctor. Bulk-billing was in freefall after a decade of neglect and cuts to Medicare. That is why strengthening Medicare was a key focus of our election platform, and it's why we've acted decisively on it in our first term. In just two years we've delivered more doctors, more bulk-billing, cheaper medicines and opened 87 Medicare urgent care clinics across the nation. Our investment in Medicare urgent care clinics is making a real difference. I know that because there are five of them in Tasmania, and every day people are asking for more accessibility and the presence of more Medicare urgent care clinics. I'm glad to see that we have committed to expanding them by three more across Tasmania.

Let's take a moment to talk about the practical difference that these urgent care clinics make to people's everyday lives. I'm reminded of hearing the story from an elderly man in Bridgewater during the election campaign. That man was forced to travel over half a day on a round trip by bus to Rosny to his closest healthcare centre. Now, with an urgent care clinic open in Bridgewater, he can walk to get the health care he needs and deserves, completely free with no appointment required. More than 1.5 million patients have received similar free urgent care, without waiting for hours in medical emergency departments. These clinics are open seven days a week with extended hours, and no credit card is required, just the Medicare card. That's exactly how it should be. Your health care shouldn't depend on the limit of your credit card. That's why investing in Medicare is so important.

The bill in front of the chamber today is another step to improving the integrity of it. It is so critical that we know that when we allocate such a large proportion of taxpayer money—public funds—it is going towards its intended purposes. That's why we're putting in place these integrity measures. It's so we can continue to maintain the trust that that great system has. Labor created Medicare, and only a Labor government will protect and strengthen it. That's what we're doing, with the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation more than 40 years ago—$8½ billion to deliver more bulk-billed GP visits, hundreds of nursing scholarships and thousands more doctors.

For the first time, we're expanding the bulk-billing incentive to all Australians and introducing a new incentive for practices that bulk-bill every patient. By 2030, nine out of 10 GP visits will be bulk-billed and the number of fully bulk-billed practices will triple to almost 4,800 across the nation—an extraordinary achievement. Bulk-billing rates are already rising again, in every state and territory, delivering six million additional free visits in just over a year.

We know regular GP care prevents serious illness and reduces pressure on our hospitals. That's the beauty of this measure. Hospitals are always going to be under pressure, but trying to keep people out of emergency departments by getting them the care they need through the urgent care clinics, so they're getting that advice and staying out of emergency departments, is systemic reform. It's not just making health care accessible and affordable, so taking pressure off the cost of living; it's systemic reform. That's why we're also investing $662 million in a workforce package to expand the largest GP training program in our history—2,000 new GP trainees every year by 2028, complemented by an unprecedented increase in overseas-educated doctors joining our system.

We're delivering cheaper medicines, with the cost of a PBS script capped at $25—the largest cut to medicine prices in the history of the PBS. We've seen discussion recently around the world about our PBS, in trade discussions. We hold it up as a source of pride; it is something that we will never compromise on. There's much to admire about the American healthcare system in terms of some of the great innovation that they produce, but, certainly, as to what they spend in relation to healthcare outcomes, it's not something we would ever seek to replicate. They spend about twice the amount Australia does per capita and they produce worse outcomes. So I think that investing in and protecting our great system, which is admired around the world, is something we should continue to celebrate. Australians have already saved more than a billion dollars on their prescriptions under this government. We've made around 300 medicines available on 60-day prescriptions and lowered the PBS safety net threshold. Again, that's real cost-of-living relief.

The bill in front of this chamber helps crack down on serious non-compliance and fraud more effectively, because we know that every dollar we stop from being misused is a dollar that stays in the system for the care of Australians, including families in regional communities like mine in Tasmania. We're also taking strong action on vaping and illegal tobacco, protecting young Australians and cracking down on organised crime.

We're investing $1.8 billion in public hospitals next year, taking Commonwealth funding for hospitals to a record $33.91 billion in 2025-26 and delivering year-on-year growth of 12 per cent. That's in stark contrast to the $50 billion cut to hospitals from those opposite, which is not mentioned very often anymore but is there in the budget papers. Colleagues, these numbers represent real improvement in the lives of everyday Australians: a Tasmanian parent who can now take their sick child to an urgent care clinic on a weekend and get seen quickly, without an appointment and for free; a pensioner who can afford all of their medicines; a young GP getting their start in a regional practice.

And you see, when these young GPs come into regional communities, how quickly they are embraced by the communities, who are crying out for GPs. I know that, in every Tasmanian community I travel to, they always ask, 'When we can get more GPs?' The University of Tasmania is training a record number of GPs right now, and there are great incentives for those GPs to move into regional clinics, serve those communities, become part of the communities and become trusted advisers—and to do it under a system that rewards them for providing bulk-billing. That's what some of Labor's reforms are all about—improving the incentives in the system so that patients get seen more quickly, with more accessibility and more affordability. Ideally, they are bulk-billed; the target for 2030 is nine out of 10 Australians being bulk-billed.

Labor's record is clear. We are making Medicare stronger, fairer and more accessible so that nobody is left behind and every Australian can get the care they need when they need it. These are responsible, forward-looking measures. I cannot see why anybody who supports Medicare would oppose improving the integrity of Medicare. We must maintain the trust in this system that has served Australia well for decades. It is such a powerful brand. Every Australian recognises it. Every Australian has a Medicare card. They should cherish that. It's not something many citizens around the world have in their wallet—a card of equivalent performance or equivalent entitlements. That little piece of plastic, or the digital card on your phone, is such a powerful vision of what it means to be an Australian. It's so entrenched now that nobody would dare challenge Medicare.

But to protect it, we must continue to ensure every dollar spent and invested towards it goes back to Australian citizens, to patients, to delivering quality healthcare through the system, from GPs right through the rest of the system. That is what this integrity process is all about—restoring and continuing to keep trust in our system where we know those dollars will flow to patient outcomes. These are responsible, forward-looking measures that protect Medicare, protect public funds and protect every Australian. That is something that I want for every Australian.

Finally, I commend the work. This wasn't just a policy process that happened overnight; the integrity measures were part of the Independent Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance undertaken by Dr Pradeep Philip, who is a respected policy official who has been around for decades in various government agencies. He knows what he is talking about. The government's ongoing investment in and improvement to Medicare will see the system continue to go from strength to strength for future generations.

There is a lot of discussion about intergenerational equity at the moment and of young people in many respects, such as housing, not having things as good as previous generations did, but one gift that previous generations will be giving to future generations is a universal Medicare system. Imagine being born today in Australia under a system of universal healthcare. You are very lucky. You have won the birth lottery, in a sense, in terms of growing up in a country that gives you universal healthcare. Your parents will be supported through the Medicare system—your mum, your dad, whatever your family makeup is. You will be supported right from your birth, and it will support you as you grow up in age. Your name will be printed on the family Medicare card, and when you grow into adulthood you will have your own Medicare card.

I hope that we never let people forget how critical that system is. It didn't just come around by accident, and it was opposed for a long, long time. It was Whitlam's bravery to put it up at the time. It was a radical idea that really was before its time. He fought on with that, and then it was sort of repealed in many respects, and it took Hawke and Keating to double down on it. Today, nobody dares challenge the system of Medicare. As I said, there are people around the world who yearn to have a similar system that delivers such great outcomes for our country, for our constituents. I don't think anybody takes that little bit of green plastic for granted.

So I do commend the work of the review panel. I commend the work of the Albanese government in making Medicare a centrepiece of its election agenda. As the Prime Minister has made very clear, this term is all about delivery. Whilst there have been lots of cries around to distract the focus of the issue of the day—there's something happening overseas—we will never be distracted from what we promised in the last election and making sure that we actually deliver, because Australians put their trust in the Albanese Labor government. Every one of us, particularly new members and senators, know we're here, in large part, because people trusted us to deliver. This measure around Medicare, in terms of backing it up with funding, is part of the delivery process. I do commend the bill. Thank you.

Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I just want to talk about a couple of colours—green and gold. They're our national colours. They're worn by the Wallabies and the Matildas. They're worn with pride because they symbolise who we are as a nation: our belief in freedom, respect, fairness, equality of opportunity and mateship—looking after one another. That's why it's very appropriate that those green and gold colours are the colours of another national icon, our Medicare card.

Each one of us in this chamber, whether on the floor or in the gallery, or people who might be listening across this great country or watching on television—every single one of us carries one of these, and we know what it stands for. This little card represents the freedom to access high-quality health care when we need it, without fear of crippling costs. It embodies the respect and dignity afforded to us at our most vulnerable moments. It enshrines the principle of fairness—that all of us, regardless of wealth, postcode or background, are entitled to the same essential care. Above all, it speaks to the equality of opportunity to access health care, because a sick child in regional New South Wales—the great state that I represent—deserves the same chance as an Australian child in the city.

We must never forget, however, how hard-won this little green and gold card was. Before Gough Whitlam introduced the first version of Medicare, called Medibank, in 1975, the No. 1 cause for personal bankruptcy in Australia was medical debt. For a moment, just imagine being forced to choose between life-saving treatment and putting a roof over your kids' head or putting food on the table. Parents were driven into crushing debt to save their children's lives. People sold their homes to get medical treatment, and, when it failed, that left families in debt, homeless and in deep grief. It wasn't good enough for us, as Australians, so Prime Minister Whitlam, a Labor prime minister, found a better way, enrolling 90 per cent of Australians into public health insurance.

Those on the opposite side can run from the truth, but they can't undo their history. It was Malcolm Fraser's government that dismantled and privatised Medibank. It took another Labor government under Bob Hawke to restore it—this time in that name that we now all recognise, with the green and gold lettered Medicare card.

Since then, Medicare has been under constant threat from those opposite—the Liberal and National parties in coalition. When Tony Abbott, in 2013, brought down his first budget, he slashed tens of billions of dollars from the health budget. This was from Medicare and from hospital funding. He froze the bulk-billing rebate. It was, effectively, a punishing regime against our GPs and their businesses. And he just didn't care. He didn't want to uphold our belief in the green and gold values. The party that says it's all about business all the time knocked hundreds of GP surgeries around this country out of business. They couldn't help but muck around with Medicare. Time and time again, they've done it.

During that particular period of time, I chaired the health committee. We travelled the country, holding hearings in every state and territory. We saw that our values and respect for that green and gold were completely disappearing. We found people waiting longer in hospitals, we found people paying more for GP visits and we found people struggling to get the care that they deserved. That's why, in government, Labor has acted decisively to strengthen Medicare, and it's why we remain committed to doing even more in this term of parliament.

In 1975 Whitlam imagined a country where no-one would go broke to see a doctor. He was followed up in recovering that vision by Bob Hawke, who made it real. Labor governments have defended Medicare ever since, and it's Labor under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that will protect your Medicare card, strengthen your Medicare access and give you a chance to get the bulk-billing that you need and deserve, because that is the vision for all Australians that began with Labor and will be reinstituted with Labor.

In our first term we tripled the bulk-billing incentive—it was frozen for years under the coalition—but we didn't stop there. That was the incentive to get the doctors to begin to bulk-bill again, particularly for children, the aged and people who just needed a bit of a hand. We reduced the cost of PBS medicines to just $7.70 for pensioners to get the medical attention they need and the ongoing medical care of proper medication. Importantly, we prioritised women's health for the first time, with a new network of 22 endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics, and we'll increase that to 33.

I want to acknowledge the great work of my colleague here in the chamber Senator Marielle Smith from South Australia for her leadership on matters medical, particularly for women, in the last period of time we were in government here, the period between 2022 and 2025—hard work so that we could get a plan to make sure Medicare works better for all Australians. That includes women, who are too often left out and cut out by the policy decisions of the Liberal and National parties. You can understand why. While there's a smattering of women here in the Senate, there's barely a woman for the Liberal and National parties in the House.

As duty senator for much of the country west of the Great Dividing Range in my great state of New South Wales, I've seen the damage that coalition cuts inflicted, but I've also seen the differences that Labor reforms are making. In Wagga Wagga and Bathurst and across this vast country there are 61 Medicare mental health centres that are coming into being, changing lives and bringing judgment-free, cost-free medical mental health care to the regions. I want to congratulate my good friend in the other place the minister for mental health and member for Dobell, Emma McBride, for her incredible policy leadership and for bringing that to bear. Going out and visiting those sites is giving me incredible confidence that people who need mental health care right across this country—region or city—can finally walk through the door when they need the care and get the care that they need.

There's also the roll-out of 87 urgent care centres. These clinics are easing pressure on emergency departments, and they're helping Australians get free, fast care where and when they need it. My good friend and colleague Dr Gordon Reid is the member for Robertson in the Terrigal-Erina-Gosford region of New South Wales where I happen to live. He got one of these urgent care centres established at Umina. People in the community that I live in, when they were coming to vote, were telling me how much this changed their access to a doctor. I know that where I live 18,908 of my fellow citizens have now been able to access the health care they needed, and all they had to do was show up with their Medicare card to get the care they needed. There were no urgent care centres when Labor came to government in 2022—zero, zip, none. We brought them into being, and it's affecting, in a very positive way, millions of lives across this country. Out in Farrer, the seat of the Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley, since that centre was opened, 11,054 people who live in and around the area of Albury have been able to go to an urgent care centre with that green and gold card, walk in and get the care they needed—because Australians believe they have a right to that and because this Labor government is determined to make that reality. We're on our way to rebuilding Medicare after the decimation of nine long years of the life being sucked out of Medicare under the Liberal and National parties.

Every taxpayer in this country wants us to make sure that every dollar we receive is spent really well. When you've lived life for a little while, you know that, apart from the amazing, wonderful people who do great work for us in every sector, particularly the health sector, there's always some shonky, greedy person who tries to rip us off. Labor cannot turn a blind eye to that. We have to stand up for the integrity of the system, and we need to make sure that your taxpayer dollars really work hard and that nobody rips off the system that we need to keep Australians healthy. That's why Minister Butler showed great leadership in 2022, commissioning Dr Pradeep Philip to create an independent review into the Medicare integrity and compliance structures. In response, we've established the Medicare Integrity Taskforce. That was a commitment we made in the 2023-24 budget. It probably wasn't on the front page of any newspaper, and you probably haven't heard about it, because some things aren't—can I say—sexy enough to go in the newspaper. But you want us to make the system works, and that is one of the things we have done. There's a lot of work the government does to maintain integrity. So, with funding provided then and more funding in this year's budget, we are enabling the taskforce to deliver the Philip review's recommendations.

The bill before us that I'm addressing today, the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025, is a health bill to do the work that's been recommended by that taskforce and the review. What it does is close the loopholes, streamline enforcement and strengthen the investigatory powers to tackle fraud, especially in relation to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, which we often just call the PBS—all of us know what that means in Australia. A warning: if you are a fraudster or a rip-off merchant and you are trying to take money from your fellow Australians unethically and illegally, there's a cop on the beat now, and they'll be coming after you. We know you're a minority, but we're not going to leave you to continue to rip off your fellow Australians.

This bill aligns Medicare compliance powers across the system, and it makes it easier to conduct the kind of investigations that need to happen and to collect evidence in particularly serious criminal cases. Sadly, we have to do this because of the shonks, the dodgys, the rip-off merchants and the people who aren't of good faith in our nation. Let me be clear: these measures do target this minority—the small minority who abuse the system, whether by mistake or by deliberate deception.

The bill also improves the process for pharmacists under the National Health Act, it cuts red tape and enables faster essential access to medicines, and it aligns advertising restrictions for e-cigarettes across both the Therapeutic Goods Act and the Public Health (Tobacco and Other Products) Act 2023, following the government's recent vaping reforms. It's a really big and important clean-up and integrity measure. I do note and acknowledge that, in a spirit of bipartisanship, this bill is going to be supported by those opposite. I'm glad. Maybe they've seen the error of their ways. Maybe they'll stick with Labor going forward in providing proper health care to Australians—fair, equitable and decent access to the care we need. It's great that they're voting for this bill today.

Medicare is not just a line item in a budget; it is a national green and gold treasure. It represents who we are and what we believe in. With this legislation, we honour that legacy, we strengthen that legacy and we say, clearly and proudly, 'The green and gold of Medicare is here to stay.' Under Labor, we will always protect it and enhance your access to healthcare, and I commend the bill to the house.

Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on the Health Legislation Amendment (Improved Medicare Integrity and Other Measures) Bill 2025. Our doctors and health professionals in Australia do life-saving and life-changing work every single day. They are hardworking professionals, committed to patient care, and, of course, we know that most of these health professionals do the right thing every day. In fact, they go above and beyond to serve their fellow Australians.

But we also know that some are not; not all are abiding by the Medicare rules. We place an enormous amount of trust in our healthcare professionals. In fact, we place our lives and the lives of the people we love the most in their hands. The Australian people too place an enormous amount of trust in us as a government to oversee the system of Medicare, which is so important and so embedded in the Australian way of life and all that we value in terms of our healthcare system and in choosing what we fund in a public policy sense. So it is essential that Medicare is not just always in a process of continual improvement but that we're working to protect the system to make sure that it is strong against any kind of threat or risk of misuse and that it's financially stable over the long term. Strengthening Medicare isn't just about expanding services and building the system; it's also about upholding the integrity of the system that millions of Australians rely upon every single day.

In November 2022, our Minister for Health and Ageing, Mark Butler, commissioned health economist Dr Pradeep Philip to lead an independent review of Medicare integrity and compliance. The findings of that review were clear: while most practitioners are doing the right thing, our systems need strengthening to better detect and prevent fraud, errors and misuse. In response to that review, our government established the Medicare Integrity Taskforce, funded through the 2023-24 and 2024-25 budgets to implement the Philip review's recommendations.

That's what this bill before us is seeking to do. It amends the National Health Act, the Health Insurance Act, the Human Services (Medicare) Act and the Dental Benefits Act and covers health insurance, Medicare, dental benefits and more to respond to a range of the issues identified in the Philip review. It ensures we can better detect and respond to fraud, strengthen investigative powers and reduce the Medicare claim window from two years to one, maintaining flexibility. Importantly, these changes will only affect a small number of providers, and it's those providers who already aren't doing the right thing. These changes will help us build a more protected and more sustainable Medicare system, one that delivers safe, high-quality care now and into the future.

These changes are very important. Strengthening Medicare is in our DNA as a Labor movement. We built Medicare. We are incredibly proud of the impact it has had on lives in Australia. In fact, we are the envy of the world. But we are also deeply ambitious for our Medicare system because we know how important it is for Australians, how hard it was to build and how important it is that we defend it. Medicare is the pride of Australia, a proud Labor legacy, and it will always be our mission in government to strengthen it and to build on it.

Indeed, when we came to government, this work was more urgent than ever after a decade of neglect by the previous coalition government. When we were first elected, it had never been harder or more expensive to find a doctor. Bulk-billing was in freefall. General practice was under pressure after a decade of coalition cuts and neglect, and we took swift and decisive action as the custodians of Medicare in this place. In our first term, we delivered the largest investment in Medicare since its creation and promised $8.5 billion to restore bulk-billing, expand the GP workforce and improve access to care.

Matt O'Sullivan (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Smith, you will be in continuation at a later time.