Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026

Mr GEORGANAS (Adelaide) (13:20): It gives me great pleasure to stand here to talk about health policy, especially from this side of the House, because I'm very proud of Labor's record when it comes to health. We know that we are the party of Medicare, while they on the other side tried to destroy it. It's interesting listening to the previous member speak about certain promises that were made et cetera.

I recall very well the promise made in this place by the then leader of the opposition, Mr Abbott, who said there'd be no cuts to health. In the first budget, in 2014, there was $2 billion in hospital cuts—$2 billion! You can't say that that doesn't have an effect for years to come.

That wasn't all. There was also a proposal for a $7 co-payment to Medicare a $5 reduction in Medicare rebates, and there was a proposed higher contribution for the PBS, at $5 per prescription. And not only that, let's not forget the freeze on the Medicare rebate.

If they want to come in here and lecture us about health, they should have a memory of what they did whilst they were in government. Every time that the coalition has been in government, there have been cuts to health. Whether it was the abolishment of the original Medibank—and it took a Labor government to come back and reintroduce Medicare—or the cuts of the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments that pretty well destroyed our rebate system when it came to Medicare rebates for clinical visits to the doctor, it's taken this government to reintroduce many of the things that were cut and to ensure that we get health back on track.

Whether it be with additional funding—for the clearest examples, there's the $1.7 billion hospital top-up for 2025-2026, paid through the Commonwealth agreement with the states and the territories; multi-year commitments such as the $8.5 billion to the Medicare package; longer-term hospital funding in 2026; and many, many other things. You don't have to go that far back to recall what the cuts of a coalition government were doing for pensioners and older Australians when they were visiting a doctor, visiting the hospital or wanting to see a health clinic.

So I'm not going to sit here and listen to their lectures about health to us on this side of the House when we know very well that every coalition government that's come in here has looked at destroying Medicare and making cuts to health, and there's evidence of this continuously. Sometimes it's not about spending money either. This bill is about investing where money can make the greatest difference to people's lives.

This Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026 is founded on that principle. If you listen to the coalition, you'd think that the rebate is being cut completely and there is no rebate. Well, there still is.

There's 24 per cent rebate for private health funding, just like there is for all Australians if they're under $104,000 income per year for a single. I've had people ring me in my office, thinking that there is no rebate, that the rebate's being cut, because of what has been promulgated by the other side. This bill is about ensuring the government's support is targeted where it is most needed.

It's about making the difficult but responsible decisions necessary to strengthen those aged-care services—money going into aged care—for generations of Australians who rely upon it. Australians are living longer than ever before, which is a fantastic thing; something that we should celebrate. But with an ageing population comes that growing demand for aged care: aged-care services, home-care support, residential aged-care places and workforce capacity.

Every Australian wants to know that, when they or their loved ones need aged care, the support will be there. They want shorter waiting times. They want quality care.

They want more options to remain independent in their own homes and they want dignity as they age. Meeting those expectations requires investment, and it requires the government sitting down, investing in this area—and significant investment. This bill helps deliver that investment.

Under current private health insurance rebate arrangements, Australians aged 65 and over receive a rebate. Where they have exactly the same income as everyone else, they receive a slightly higher rebate. What this bill is doing is making it fair for all Australians to receive the same amount of rebate.

In other words, two Australians with identical incomes can receive different levels of government support simply because one is older than the other. That's where we currently stand, and this bill addresses that. It ensures that all Australians receive the same private health insurance rebate based on their income rather than their age.

It is a very modest reform but an important one because government assistance should be targeted according to the need and capacity to pay, not determined solely by age. Importantly, this legislation does not remove the private health insurance rebate. There's 24 per cent which remains—far from it.

Australians aged 65 and over will continue to receive that significant government support towards the cost of their private health insurance—unlike the other side, who froze the Medicare rebate and basically had doctor's costs when you were visiting go through the roof. That's what we saw under their government. In this case, individuals still qualify for the rebate.

They'll continue to receive subsidies of up to 24 per cent of their premiums, just as other Australians do. The rebate remains. What changes is that the system becomes fairer.

As I said, the other side are promulgating that the rebate is gone. I've had people come and speak to me thinking that they will be getting no rebate. When it's explained to them, they understand it and they actually accept it and agree with us.

I've had many, many discussions with constituents in my electorate. As I said, if you're under $102,000 per annum and you're over 65, you'll still receive the 24 per cent rebate. The savings that are generated are going to be reinvested directly into something that benefits older Australians: aged care.

It'll be redirected into aged care. That's why this reform really matters. The government has made that conscious decision to redirect approximately $3 billion into improving aged care services.

That will mean that this change will mean more residential aged-care places, more Support at Home packages, reducing waiting times for care, and better services and support for older Australians. This is a substantial investment, and it will make a real difference to people waiting for the care that they need. When we talk about aged care, it's easy to focus on budgets and programs, but behind every aged-care package is a person, a parent, a grandparent who wishes to remain independent at home or a family trying to ensure their loved one receives the care that they deserve.

For those Australians, access to aged care is not an abstract policy debate; it is deeply personal. Every improvement we make to the aged-care system has a direct impact on people's lives. The government estimates that these changes will result in an average increase of around $250 per year for affected individuals, which is less than a dollar a day.

At the same time, the savings generated will be invested directly back into aged-care services that benefit older Australians across the country. This is a case of asking those who are able to contribute a little more to help strengthen the services for everyone, and I believe most Australians understand that principle. As I said, when I've had discussions in my electorate with constituents who are over 65 and think that the rebate is going and it's explained that 24 per cent will still remain and that if they're under $102,000 of income for a single per year they still will receive that rebate, most of them basically accept it and are quite pleased about it.

Australians are fairly fair. We understand, and we understand the principle. Australians are fortunate to have one of the best public health policies in the world.

Those who choose to maintain private health insurance will continue to receive the government's support—24 per cent; that's still approximately a quarter of the premium being paid for by the government—unless they're earning over $102,000. Those who choose to rely on the public system— The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Claydon ): The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43.

The debate may resume at a later hour, and the member will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.