QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator GALLAGHER (Australian Capital Territory—Minister for Finance, Minister for the Public Service, Minister for Women, Minister for Government Services and Manager of Government Business in the Senate) (14:25): I thank Senator Dowling for this supplementary. This is an important area where the government has consistently, over a number of budgets, invested in ensuring that Medicare is able to deliver the services it needs across the country.

Again, it was one of those areas when we came to government, as I think the health minister says, where Medicare was on its knees and needed significant investments to make sure that it continued to deliver accessible health care across the country. Just in the last couple of days, we've seen some of the first outcomes from the additional investment, demonstrating that when you match that investment with a particular outcome and you drive for that outcome you see improved results.

That's what we're seeing with the bulk-billing rate. For the June 2026 quarter, it rose to 84.1 per cent—that's up almost five percentage points on the same quarter last year, the largest quarterly increase in 20 years. In Senator Dowling's home state of Tasmania, the bulk-billing rate has increased to 80.8 per cent, up 5.5 percentage points, making a real difference to Tasmanian families.

The PRESIDENT: Thank you, Minister. Senator Lambie. Welcome back.