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

Ms WITTY (Melbourne) (15:57): I rise to support the Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026. This bill is about a clear and simple principle: government funding should go where it can make the biggest difference. At a time when more Australians are living longer, when demand for aged care continues to grow and when families are seeking better support for ageing parents and grandparents, this government is investing more in aged care.

Aged care is one of the biggest challenges facing Australia, and, before this government was elected, for too long it was neglected. The royal commission exposed serious failures across the aged-care system. It exposed a system under pressure, a workforce stretched too thin and older Australians waiting too long for the support they needed.

The Albanese Labor government is determined to change that. That is why this reform will help fund almost $3 billion of additional investment into aged care—more aged-care beds, more support at home, better dementia care and better support for older Australians and their families. That is what this bill helps deliver.

The private health insurance rebate currently costs taxpayers around $8 billion every year. It remains an important part of Australia's healthcare system, and this government continues to support Australians who choose to take out private health insurance. The rebate itself is staying.

Income based support is staying. Millions of Australians will continue to receive assistance with the cost of their cover. What is changing is that Australians on the same income will receive the same level of government support.

At the moment, two households can have exactly the same income and same insurance policy but receive different levels of government support simply because one household is older than the other. This bill removes that difference. It means government support will be determined by income, not age.

It means people on the same income will be treated equally, and it means public funding can be redirected to one of Australia's most important challenges: improving aged-care services for older Australians. The need for that investment is clear. The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety found serious problems across the aged-care system.

It exposed long waiting times, workforce shortages and a system that had failed to keep pace with demand. Those problems did not arise overnight. They developed over years of neglect.

While the coalition spent a decade talking about aged care, too many older Australians were left waiting for support, and too many families were left carrying the burden on their own. The Albanese Labor government is determined to rebuild the system. That is why this government is investing $3.7 billion to deliver more beds, more packages and better care for older Australians.

That investment includes around 5,000 additional aged-care beds each year. It includes faster access to Support at Home places. It includes making personal care services, such as showering, dressing and continence support, available free alongside clinical care.

It includes expanding end-of-life care pathways, and it includes delivering 20 additional Specialist Dementia Care Program units and expanding dementia support services. These are real services that older Australians need. These are practical investments that will improve people's lives.

As the member for Melbourne, I am proud to represent one of the greatest health and medical precincts anywhere in Australia. My electorate is home to some of Australia's leading hospitals and medical institutions: the Royal Melbourne Hospital, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the Royal Women's Hospital and the Royal Children's Hospital.

These institutes are recognised around the world for the care they provide and the research they undertake. Every day they deliver world-class health care. They train future doctors, nurses and health professionals.

They pioneer medical breakthroughs, and they provide specialist treatment to patients from Melbourne, regional Victoria and right across Australia. They are institutions that Melbourne is proud of, but they are also a reminder that a strong health system is about more than what happens inside hospital. Health care does not begin and end with an emergency department or an operating theatre.

It includes access to aged care, support at home, dementia care and palliative care. When older Australians cannot access those services, pressure flows through the entire system. Hospitals feel it, families feel it, and carers feel it.

People remain in hospital longer than necessary because the support they need outside hospital is not available. That is why strengthening aged care is also strengthening health care. This government understands that the world-class care available in our great hospitals must be matched by world-class care in the community and in aged-care services.

That is exactly what this investment helps to achieve. This bill is also part of a broader effort by the Albanese Labor government to strengthen Australia's health system. While those opposite are focused on scare campaigns, this government is making record investment in Medicare, public hospitals and primary care.

We are rebuilding bulk-billing. We are making medicines cheaper. We are funding public hospitals at record levels.

And we have established Medicare urgent care clinics across the country. These investments are particularly important for older Australians. Older Australians are more likely to visit a GP, most likely to use hospital services and more likely to require specialist care.

That is why the Albanese Labor government is strengthening every part of the system. One of the most successful reforms delivered by this government has been the expansion of Medicare urgent care clinics. There are now 137 Medicare urgent care clinics operating across Australia.

More than 3.7 million Australians have already received treatment through them. These clinics provide urgent care that is fully bulk-billed. No appointment is required.

Patients simply walk in with their Medicare card. For families, it means another option when urgent care is needed. For older Australians, it means easier access to treatment.

And, for hospitals, it means less pressure on busy emergency departments. The impact has been enormous. Nearly half of all patients treated at Medicare urgent care clinics reported that they would otherwise have attended a hospital emergency department or called an ambulance.

One in four weekday visits occur after 5 pm and almost three in 10 visits occur on weekends. The clinics are working. That is why this government has made them a permanent part of Medicare.

Alongside that investment, the Albanese Labor government has secured a landmark agreement to deliver record funding to public hospitals. This agreement provides an additional $25 billion in funding for public hospitals over five years. Commonwealth funding for state-run public hospitals will reach a record $220 billion from 2026-27 to 2030-31.

Victoria alone has received an additional $5.8 billion in public hospital funding over five years. Total Commonwealth funding for Victoria's public hospitals is expected to reach around $53 billion over the same period. These are enormous investments.

They demonstrate the priorities of this government. We are strengthening every part of the healthcare system—primary care, Medicare, public hospitals, aged care and support in community. Unfortunately, instead of engaging with these investments and the benefits they will deliver, the opposition has chosen to launch another scare campaign.

We've heard claims that these reforms will trigger a collapse in private health insurance memberships and that public hospitals will be overwhelmed. But the evidence simply does not support those claims. Government modelling estimates that the impact on participation will be around 0.4 per cent compared with what would otherwise occur.

At the same time, private health insurance membership is still expected to continue growing, including among Australians over 65. Independent research from the University of Melbourne reached a similar conclusion. Researchers found that this reform will not cause a mass departure from private health insurance and will not overwhelm public hospitals.

The opposition wants Australia to fear change. This government is focused on delivering results—more aged-care beds, more support at home, more dementia services, more funding for hospitals and more Medicare services. Those are the outcomes that matter and those are the outcomes this reform helps deliver.

It is also worth remembering that older Australians will continue to receive support through the rebate. Australians on lower incomes will continue to receive a rebate of up to 24 per cent on their premiums. Community rating arrangements remain in place, meaning Australians pay the same premium for the same product regardless of their age or health status.

And this government has restored indexation of the rebate after it was frozen under the former coalition government. This reform does not remove support. It makes the system fairer, it makes the system simpler, and it directs funding where it can achieve the greatest benefit.

At the heart of this debate is a simple question: what kind of country do we want to be as Australians grow older? Do we want a country where people wait longer and longer for support? Do we want a country where families are left to navigate an unfunded aged-care system on their own?

Or do we want a country that invests in older Australians and gives them the dignity, care and support they deserve? This government has made its choice. We are choosing to invest in aged care.

We are choosing to invest in older Australians and we are choosing to invest in the services that families rely on every day, because behind every aged-care package is a person. Behind every home-care assessment is a family trying to help a loved one stay independent. Behind every aged-care bed is someone's parent, grandparent, neighbour or friend—somebody who has spent a lifetime contributing to their community, somebody who deserves more than warm words and good intentions when they need support.

They deserve action. The opposition wants to talk about scare campaigns. This government is focused on solutions.

While those opposite spread fear, we are investing in aged care. While those opposite defend an outdated system, we are building one that is ready for the future. While those opposite look for problems, we are delivering more beds, more support and better care, because the reality is that Australia is ageing.

Demand for aged care will continue to grow. Doing nothing was not an option. Delaying investment was not an option.

Ignoring the lessons of the royal commission was not an option. The responsible choice is to act, the responsible choice is to invest and the responsible choice is to build an aged-care system that future generations of Australians can rely on. This is what this bill helps achieve: a fairer system, a stronger aged-care sector, a stronger health system and better support for the Australians who built this country and deserve nothing less than dignity, respect and quality care as they grow older.

I commend this bill to the House.