Sophie Scamps
Mackellar · Independent · Australia
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Every year, more than 400 Australians die by suicide linked to gambling. That's more than 1,000 lives lost since the Murphy report was handed down.”
“I rise to speak about absolute legend Charlie Verco, the courageous 24-year-old Mackellar local and Newport surf club member who paddled towards the jaws of a shark to save Leah Stewart, who was being attacked at Coogee Beach on 13 June.”
“Charlie's actions reflect the very best of our community and the values that define Australia's surf lifesaving culture. On behalf of the northern beaches community and everyone across Australia, I'd like to thank Charlie for his courage, selflessness and unwavering commitment to serving others.”
“Music, film publishing and broadcasting already operate on licensed use of content at scale. The Copyright Act provides a clear and workable framework. Copyright is not the enemy of innovation; it is what allows creators to earn a living from their talent and their work.”
“This proposal is also reportedly linked to discussions with major AI tech firms about data centre investment in Australia. Investment must never come at the cost of Australian rights. The Albanese government must not sell out Australians to big tech.”
“Right now, we are at a critical crossroad for Australia's creative arts industry, one that may deeply harm this invaluable sector. At the recent AI summit in Sydney, the chair of the Tech Council of Australia, Scott Farquhar, called for copyright reform to encourage AI investment.”
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“Betting companies have campaigned aggressively against gambling reforms, most recently against the long-overdue measures recommended in the 2023 Murphy report including a full ban on gambling advertising, not three ads an hour. Meanwhile, the same companies profit from some of the most vulnerable people in our community, tearing families apart and sending people into financial ruin, mental health struggles and addiction. Meaningful reform continues to be delayed. We've seen this playbook time and time again—from the mining lobby's multimillion dollar campaign that killed off the Rudd government's super profits tax to the gambling industry's flood of donations and scare campaigns that watered down the Gillard-era pokies reform. In 2022, Australians were promised something different.”
“The Australian Electoral Commission's transparency report revealed there were more than $3 million in gambling related political donations for the 2024 financial year. Gambling industry sponsorship of parliamentary groups, particularly the parliamentary sports club, has sparked major integrity concerns, The lavish events and privileged access to decision-makers by the gambling industry have been well documented. According to Transparency International, the gambling sector has hired 13 third-party lobbying firms to influence parliament, with Responsible Wagering Australia accessing over 100 lobbyists across all jurisdictions.”
“Australians are left asking why we still haven't seen a fair tax on gas exports and why a resource-rich country like ours struggles to fund the services people rely on like the NDIS and aged care. A large part of the answer lies in the fact that the fossil fuel industry has poured significant donations into both major political parties, maintaining deep, ongoing access to ministers and decision-makers. Those financial contributions are backed by a powerful lobbying network, including former politicians and senior staffers, and a well-worn strategy of running high-pressure campaigns to warn governments off reform. This pattern also holds true for gambling reform. The influence of the gambling lobby is pervasive.”
“This decision was made despite overwhelming and broad public support for a 25 per cent tax on gas exports. Australia exports similar volumes of gas to countries like Qatar, yet Qatar collects around five times as much revenue. Norway taxes oil profits at rates of up to 78 per cent and has built a sovereign wealth fund now worth many times the size of our economy. Meanwhile, multinational gas export companies that extract gas offshore in Australia often pay no royalties—nothing—for the gas owned by Australians. The most recent budget papers show that the petroleum resource rent tax is expected to decline—not ramp up, as this government so often tells us—with forecast receipts in the 2029 financial year expected to be lower than receipts from the 1992 financial year.”
“I thank the member for Ryan for raising this important issue. When it comes to a full ban on gambling advertising and a fairer tax on gas exports, the government has simply failed to act in a meaningful way. Instead of delivering the reforms, Australians overwhelmingly support, it has chosen to bow to corporate pressure and lobbying. This failure is underpinned by a culture Australians are rightly fed up with: corporate control over our political system and the revolving door between political office and the private sector. We saw it when the Prime Minister stood before the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia, the lobby group representing major mining and energy companies, and confirmed the government would not go ahead with a tax on gas exports.”
“With rising cost-of-living pressures and the ongoing crisis of domestic violence, volunteers from the Northern Beaches Women's Shelter, Meals on Wheels and the Community Pantry continue to step up. Many go above and beyond, like William Harding. He was nominated by three organisations for his work with Bushlink, Salvos Stores Mona Vale and the Manly Warringah District Cricket Club. A special mention goes to Paul Robertson, the executive producer and force behind the wonderful Northern Beaches Music Festival. We often talk about the natural beauty of the Northern Beaches, but Volunteer Week reminds us that it is the people who make our community an incredible place to live.”
“Last week was Volunteer Week. In Mackellar, we gathered to recognise and thank our community's wonderful volunteers, and 44 outstanding volunteers received special recognition awards, having been nominated by their community organisations. Those recognised included people from local sporting clubs, disability support groups, domestic violence services, youth organisations, environmental groups and cultural organisations such as Aboriginal Support Group Manly Warringah Pittwater, the Austral-Armenian Association and the Tibetan Learning Centre. We also acknowledge volunteers from Mackellar's surf lifesaving club—including Bob Head, recognised for 70 years of service to Avalon Beach Surf Life Saving Club; and Chloe Harris, a high-school student recognised for her incredible commitment to Mona Vale Surf Life Saving Club.”
“My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, you've spoken about how the petroleum resource rent tax is designed to ramp up over time, but it seems like the government revenue the gas industry promises is always around the corner. Since 2000, prices of goods and services have doubled, Australia's nominal GDP has quadrupled, gas industry revenue is over five times higher, and yet the PRRT raises less money than in 2000. Prime Minister, why won't the government accept that this ramp-up is never coming and simply tax our gas exports?”
“Lastly, polling by YouGov, released just this week, again backs this up, with figures showing 62 per cent of people in Mackellar supporting housing tax reform. So the message is clear: Australians want a fair go restored, and this must include fairer housing tax settings.”
“In June 2024, I hosted the Mackellar People's Jury on Housing in partnership with the newDemocracy Foundation. Twenty-nine randomly selected Mackellar residents heard from a broad range of housing experts. Then they deliberated on their top policy recommendations. Prior to the day, we received 79 detailed submissions from Mackellar locals, which informed the jury's deliberations. The top recommendation, agreed upon by 28 of the 29 jurors, was for review and reform of Australia's housing taxation settings. I also conducted an online survey of people living in Mackellar. Of the 3,143 local respondents, a majority, 65 per cent, supported changing the capital gains tax discount, with only 27 per cent opposed to changing it.”
“Young Australians are working hard, saving what they can, paying down large HECS debts and living at home for longer, yet the deposit required keeps racing ahead. For many, it has become a Sisyphean task. Negative gearing is also failing to deliver new housing supply, with seven out of eight investment loans going towards established properties. Tax-advantaged investors are simply outbidding first home buyers. As more Australians recognise that our housing tax settings are fuelling intergenerational inequity, the appetite for reform is growing. So, with the government considering housing taxation changes ahead of the May budget, I want to highlight recent evidence from polling, surveys, submissions and a local deliberative democracy conference that show clear and strong support for reform within my electorate of Mackellar.”
“Australians have long been proud to call our nation the land of the fair go, a place built on equality of opportunity, mateship and the belief that everyone deserves their fair share. For those of us who grew up in the sixties, seventies and eighties, this was central to our identity and our pride. But things have changed, and it's our young people who are being left behind, something we should all find shameful. The divide between the haves and the have-nots is widening, driven overwhelmingly by access to homeownership. Since negative gearing and capital gains tax discount were introduced as paired concessions over 20 years ago, house prices have risen at twice the rate of wages. Sydney is now the second least affordable city in the world.”
“Momentum is building, and it's positive to see new modelling being requested by government on levy options and an inquiry established into windfall profits. So the call for the government is simple today. Please fix the broken system that is ripping off Australians and ensure we start getting a fair return for the sale of our gas. I'd like to now cede the second half of my time to the member for Kooyong.”
“We have massive gas exports but receive minimal public revenue. Norway has a sovereign wealth fund worth $2 trillion. We have billions in debt. Australians want answers and they want action. Some are talking about a windfall profits tax, and that has its merits, but it's not enough on its own. Windfall taxes only apply during price spikes and are easy to minimise. A flat 25 per cent gas export tax delivers revenue every time gas is exported, not just during boom years. It's stable, it's simple and it's much harder to avoid with accounting tricks. Similarly, a price royalty scheme would be comprehensive, capture windfall profits, be relatively simple to administer and implement, be low risk for taxpayers and, importantly, would not materially discourage investment.”
“Research from the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis shows Japanese companies onsold 600 to 800 petajoules of Australian LNG in 2024, more than the entire gas demand of eastern Australia. Those resales alone likely generated more than $1 billion in profit for Japan. A gas export tax would raise significant revenue. Currently, the Commonwealth makes more from beer excise and from HECS than it does from the PRRT. A 25 per cent gas export tax would generate up to $17 billion a year. In fact, figures released this week from the Australia Institute suggest Australia misses out on nearly $350 million in revenue every single week. Other countries are way ahead of us. When gas prices spike, the Saudis, Qataris and Norwegians benefit because they tax their exports properly. Australia is the outlier here.”
“Added to that is the fact that 56 per cent of our exported gas attracts zero royalties. We give away more than half of our gas for free. The system is broken and Australians know it. That's why support for a gas export tax or a Commonwealth royalty scheme is so strong. Polling from the Australia Institute shows that voters across Australia support a gas export tax, including 75 per cent support in my electorate of Mackellar, and there is broad backing across the political spectrum, with some of the strongest backing coming from One Nation voters. Right now, the gas industry uses more gas to process into LNG for export than Australian manufacturers use, combined. Meanwhile, some of our biggest trading partners are making tidy profits onselling our gas.”
“Other sensible options have been proposed—including a price based royalty, whereby gas companies would pay royalties based upon the price of gas sales, allowing tax rates to increase as prices go up and to decrease as prices drop. This option would ensure that Australians benefit from windfall profits but would also protect industry when prices drop. The successful Queensland coal and gas royalty scheme is based on such a measure. We have known for a long time that the current system is failing Australians, allowing multinational gas companies to pay little or no tax despite earning eye-watering profits. The current petroleum resource rent tax is riddled with loopholes that allow profit-shifting, compounding, carry-forwards and accounting tricks, which all equate to minimal tax being paid on company profits.”
“Australians don't like being taken for a ride, and right now they're being taken for a ride by the gas giants operating in this country. These are foreign owned corporations that treat Australia like a doormat, profiting from global conflict and raking in billions from our natural resources, while everyday Australians are left struggling with rising energy bills. That's why so many Australians are calling, right now, for a fair return for the export of our gas. The Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Australia Institute have put forward a straightforward proposal that would replace the broken petroleum resource rent tax with a 25 per cent flat tax on the value of exported gas. This would ensure that Australia actually receives revenue when our gas is shipped overseas.”
“Through remembrance, advocacy and community, you continue to stand beside and pay tribute to those who have served our nation, ensuring their service and sacrifice are never forgotten. I also want to acknowledge the government's recent increase in the DVA rebates for veterans accessing medical and allied health care. After years of neglect, this increase was desperately needed, and it was something I called for very strongly to ensure our veterans have access to the care they need when they need it.”
“Today I would like to recognise and thank the many dedicated community organisations that support Mackellar's 2,800 veterans and their families. These organisations are driven by deep care and compassion to support those who have served our nation. Thank you to RSL LifeCare, which operates both Homes for Heroes, at the RSL Anzac Village in Narrabeen, and the Northern Beaches Veteran Wellbeing Centre, which they run in partnership with Dee Why RSL. Thank you also to Saltwater Veterans, for strengthening veterans' wellbeing and mateship through sailing, and to Roses in the Ocean, for your powerful work in lived-experience suicide prevention. And, of course, an immense thank you goes to our RSL sub-branches: Pittwater, Avalon Beach, Collaroy, Dee Why, Forestville, Narrabeen, Palm Beach and the War Veterans Village.”
“I also acknowledge the work of the Australian environmental and conservation organisations, scientists and advocates who have contributed to this outcome over many, many years. Their efforts have been critical in getting us to this point. I commend this bill to the House.”
“Now it's a matter of just getting on with it. Returning to the bill before us, the high seas treaty provides an opportunity to better manage existing and emerging risks in the deep ocean, such as bottom trawling, deep-sea mining and other activities where the environmental impacts are still uncertain. Having a framework that supports precaution and proper environmental assessment is essential, and this legislation is an important step. It establishes the framework we need to better protect the high seas, and ratifying it positions Australia to play a constructive role in that effort. I commend the government for bringing this bill forward, and I support its passage.”
“This is something where there is a large degree of agreement about what needs to happen next domestically. Environmental groups—organisations like the Boomerang Alliance and Clean Up Australia, as well as the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation, which is the peak body for the packaging industry—have all called for a mandatory extended producer responsibility scheme for packaging. Put simply, this would mean making companies that produce plastic packaging responsible for what happens to it, including how it's designed to be reused or recycled and contributing to the cost of collecting and processing it. It's a practical reform, one that would make a real difference. The government has already done the consultation work on plastics policy, revealing widespread support for the extended producer responsibility.”
“In practice, the interaction between these systems is likely to be complex, and there will be questions about how decisions align and how disputes are resolved. That is something governments will need to manage carefully to ensure that conservation objectives are not undermined. And while this treaty is a landmark step, it is not the only step we must take. I would also encourage the government to continue strengthening protections within our own marine parks, including reviewing existing arrangements, expanding highly protected areas and ensuring that our domestic efforts reflect the ambition we are supporting internationally. Alongside this, there are other pressures on our oceans that we need to deal with, particularly plastic pollution. Our oceans are under strain from the sheer volume of plastic waste entering the system every year.”
“We have seen in the past how resource booms can deliver economic benefits but also leave lasting environmental damage when they are not properly managed. This is an opportunity to take a different approach and avoid the mistakes of the past. It is an opportunity to set clearer rules from the outside, grounded in international law, including international human rights law, and to implement the precautionary principle. As new industries develop, including in the deep sea, we need to make sure that we are not trading long-term environmental health for short-term gain and that the protection of these ecosystems remains front and centre. The agreement has been designed to sit alongside existing arrangements such as regional fisheries management organisations.”
“The global goal is to protect 30 per cent by 2030, which will require action at a scale and speed we have not seen before, protecting vast areas of ocean within a relatively short timeframe. This treaty will be essential to achieving that goal. The treaty also addresses marine genetic resources, ensuring that the benefits derived from their use are shared fairly. This is an important principle, particularly for countries that have not historically had the same access to these resources. It also introduces tools to safeguard against the threats of deep-sea mining, including marine protected areas and environmental impact assessments. This is especially relevant as countries like Australia expand into critical minerals and deep-sea mining.”
“You cannot address one without addressing the other. One of the most important features of this treaty is that it finally creates a pathway for establishing marine protected areas on the high seas. Until now, governance of these areas has been fragmented with no clear global mechanism to create large-scale ocean sanctuaries in international waters. This agreement changes that. It provides the legal foundation for countries to work together to establish protected areas where ecosystems can recover and biodiversity can be conserved over the long term. However, there is a significant gap to close. At present, less than one per cent of the high seas is highly or fully protected.”
“People value it for those reasons, but there is also a broader understanding that a healthy ocean underpins so much of what we rely on, from biodiversity to climate stability. The high seas cover around two-thirds of the global ocean, with the deep sea making up the majority of that area. These are rich, biodiverse, complex environments. Underwater features like seamounts support dense and diverse ecosystems which serve as important feeding grounds for migratory species such as whales and sharks. The high seas also play a critical role in regulating the climate, absorbing heat and carbon and helping to buffer the impacts of global warming. Organisations like the Australian Marine Conservation Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature have consistently made the point that ocean health and climate action are closely linked.”
“It creates a pathway for establishing marine protected areas on the high seas, it introduces requirements for environmental impact assessments before large-scale activities like deep-sea mining can proceed, and it includes provisions to build scientific capacity and support the transfer of marine technology so more countries can properly understand, manage and protect these environments. The ocean is an important part of everyday life in coastal communities like mine, on the northern beaches of Sydney in Mackellar. In Mackellar, the ocean is a part of the rhythm of the day. It is the early morning surf or the walk along the coastline. It brings a sense of perspective.”
“This is one of the most important nature protection agreements we have seen in a long time. For the first time, there is a global legal framework to protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction—in other words, the vast parts of the ocean that no one country owns but that all of us depend upon. It also establishes a system to ensure that benefits from marine genetic resources are shared more equitably between nations. Beyond that, the treaty does a number of things.”
“I rise to speak on the High Seas Biodiversity Bill 2026 and welcome this legislation to ratify the United Nations high seas treaty, the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. It has been more than four decades since the last major global agreement on ocean protection, so this is a significant moment. It won't solve everything overnight, but it is a clear step forward. For the many people who care deeply about our oceans and who have worked on this issue for years, it represents real progress. I want to speak a little about why the high seas matter and why ratifying this treaty is such a milestone. Australia signed this global ocean treaty in 2023, and this bill is about turning that commitment into action.”
“My question is to the Treasurer. For too many young people and families, the dream of owning their own home has become nothing more than a pipedream. Housing tax concessions have tipped the playing field against first home buyers, causing growing intergenerational inequity. YouGov polling done in my electorate of Mackellar and released today shows 62 per cent support for reform of these housing tax concessions. Will the government commit to reforming our housing tax concessions to address worsening intergenerational inequity?”
“Across generations, local families continue a proud tradition of service, passing down not just skills but a deep sense of responsibility to their community. RFS volunteers Mick and Sharon Green embody this spirit. During the recent flooding event at Mackerel Beach, they spent hours helping residents only to lose their own home to a landslide that night. To Mick and Sharon, every volunteer recognised last week and to all those who serve, thank you for your generosity and commitment to keeping our community safe.”
“Last week, I had the privilege of attending the Northern Beaches District awards presentation ceremony for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service. It was an honour to be part of the celebrations to recognise the extraordinary dedication of the many RFS volunteers who give so much to keep our community safe. Congratulations goes to the 13 members who received a National Medal and clasp and the 23 members who were awarded a Long Service Medal and clasp. These awards are an incredible testament to the years and, in many cases, decades of commitment. These awards represent more than just time served. They reflect courage, sacrifice and an unwavering willingness to step forward in times of crisis.”
“I commend this bill to the House and I move: That all words after "whilst" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words: "not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House: (1) notes that: (a) since 2008, average private health insurance premium growth has exceeded inflation, average weekly earnings and Medicare Benefits Schedule indexation; (b) over the six years to June 2025, insurers' benefits for in-hospital treatment rose only 18.1 per cent, while sector profits grew by nearly 50 per cent in the same period; (c) the current benefit payout ratio is still below the Federal Health Minister's 90 per cent benchmark; and (d) there are no standard terms and conditions for private health insurers' 'no-gap' and 'known-gap' contracts with doctors; and (2) calls on the Government to establish an independent Private Health System Authority to better regulate, review and oversee the private health system, to ensure value for consumers and that Australians' changing health needs are met".”
“The evidence is clear—if we are serious about protecting patient choice, keeping private care accessible and preventing spillover into the public system, then we need the next step as well: an independent private health system authority, backed by a legislated 90 per cent minimum payout ratio; fair contracting rules; stronger surprise-billing protections; and product reform that reflects the realities of chronic disease and an ageing population.”
“It lands in public hospitals, in emergency departments, in elective surgery queues and, ultimately, on taxpayers. Preserving a strong private system is not about privileging one sector over another; it's about protecting the mixed model that allows our entire health system to function. This bill deserves support. Publishing more accurate fee and rebate information on the Medical Costs Finder and closing down product phoenixing are sensible and necessary reforms. Both have been welcomed by key sector voices and both should pass. But parliament should not mistake this bill for a complete reform agenda.”
“There must be clearer rules set so that opaque contracting disputes do not keep destabilising hospitals, eroding services and limiting patient choice. Third, transparency needs to extend beyond fee publication alone. Private Healthcare Australia has backed stronger Medical Costs Finder laws and has also argued for stronger protections against surprise billing, including clearer informed financial consent and consequences where patients are not properly informed of charges in advance. This complements the AMA's position that the public deserves the full picture of what specialists charge, what Medicare pays and what insurers contribute. Consumers need all three pieces of information together. If health insurance is unaffordable and people leave the system, the pressure does not stay with the private market.”
“The major private hospital peak bodies, the Australian Private Hospitals Association and Catholic Health Australia, recently publicly backed that principle as part of a package to restore sustainability, arguing that returning to 90 per cent would inject around $1.2 billion a year into hospitals and health services. Second, we need fair contracting rules. APRA and CHA have called for a mandatory code of conduct for insurer-hospital contracting, overseen by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to improve transparency, consistency and fair terms. Whether that code is housed directly under the ACCC or developed in concert with the new independent authority, the principle is sound.”
“Its role would include: overseeing contracting arrangements across insurers, hospitals and medical practitioners; recommending and setting standard terms and conditions for fair dealing and transparency; monitoring value for money and pay-out performance across the sector; and publishing system-wide indicators on affordability, coverage and access. This is the kind of stewardship a public health system that integrates private health insurers into it requires. But the authority should not stand alone. It should sit alongside concrete reforms that deal with the immediate pressures consumers and providers are facing right now. First, there is a strong case for a legislated minimum benefit payout ratio. The federal minister for health wants to see at least 90 per cent of premiums returned to consumers as benefits.”
“When there is no independent umpire setting fair rules and minimum standards, the bargaining imbalance between insurers and providers can ultimately be felt by patients. That's why an independent private health system authority is needed. It would not replace APRA's prudential role nor duplicate the ombudsman's consumer role. It would be tasked with better regulating and having appropriate oversight of the private health system, including: providing independent, evidence based advice to government; driving reforms that deliver value for customers that meet a person's health needs and the needs of an ageing population with increasing chronic disease and multimorbidity; and also conducting ongoing reviews and continual alignment of all private health system policy levers.”
“The health department administers premium approvals and policy settings. But no one body has the mandate to do a number of other things, including overseeing the interaction between insurers, hospitals and medical practitioners; setting the baseline expectations for contracting; monitoring whether products are delivering real value; or advising government on whole-of-system reform before problems become crises. The AMA has been making this point consistently and has called for an independent private health system authority to fill that gap. The AMA has warned that selective contracting and no-gap arrangements between private health insurers and doctors may constrain patient pathways. It can affect a patient's choice of doctor and hospital, and can interfere with clinical autonomy.”
“The latest quarterly figures cited by the Australian Private Hospitals Association show the benefit payout ratio at 86.3 per cent at December 2025. That is still short of the 90 per cent level that the health minister has repeatedly said should be the benchmark the sector works towards. Another structural problem is that there is no single fit-for-purpose independent steward responsible for the overall functioning of the private health system. We do, of course, have regulation. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, APRA, has an important role around licensing and supervising insurers, setting and enforcing capital solvency, governance and risk management requirements, as well as collecting and publishing industry statistics. The Private Health Insurance Ombudsman has a consumer complaints and information role.”
“The AMA has warned that product phoenixing has made this especially acute in gold-tier cover, where new customers can end up paying hundreds more for effectively the same product. This is why I welcome the bill's action on product phoenixing. It closes an obvious loophole. It says that, if an insurer wants to bring out a new product or materially alter an existing one, that change should not escape proper public interest scrutiny. This bill is therefore necessary and overdue. But banning one bad practice does not by itself fix the deeper structural weaknesses in the system. One of those deeper weaknesses is: where is the money going? Over the six years to June 2025, insurers increased benefits paid for in-hospital treatment by only 18.1 per cent. At the same time, sector profits grew by nearly 50 per cent over that period.”
“This is not consumer choice in its fullest sense; it is consumers being priced into lesser cover, and we know what that means in practice. Gold cover is the tier that guarantees no-wait access to services such as maternity, psychiatric care and many joint replacements. When people are pushed out of gold cover, it means women and families can lose confidence that private cover will deliver maternity care when they need it. It means people needing mental health care can find that the policy that they have paid for does not give timely access. It means older Australians who have paid premiums for years can discover that their cover has narrowed just as their health needs become more complex.”
“The AMA's Private health insurance report card 2025 put it plainly. Every year since 2008, premium growth has outstripped the consumer price index as well as health sector inflation, average weekly earnings and Medicare Benefits Schedule indexation. That is not a sustainable proposition for households already under cost-of-living pressure. The impact of that pressure is now visible across the system. We are seeing more Australians hold health insurance products that do not give meaningful security when they actually need that care. By June 2025, there were 640,000 more policies than five years earlier, yet the number of gold-tier policies had fallen by 360,000. This shows people are downgrading to cheaper products that exclude important services.”
“So we need to ensure private health insurance aligns with this increase in chronic disease in Australia, which makes up 85 per cent of our burden of disease. If private health insurance products are designed mainly around episodic acute interventions and not around the growing burden of chronic illness and multimorbidity, then the system will increasingly fail the population it is supposed to serve. We need product settings and payment models that support continuity, rehabilitation, mental health care and multidisciplinary management, not just narrow episodes of care. When premiums rise year after year, faster than inflation, wages, health inflation and the indexation of the Medicare Benefits Schedule, consumers notice. They notice because their direct debit gets larger, while the benefit they receive feels smaller.”
“The Australian Medical Association's annualprivate health insurance report card, which was released in December last year, describes a private health insurance system that is under pressure. It describes the system as 'increasingly failing to deliver value for money for consumers' and 'no longer fit for purpose'. The AMA has called for greater whole-of-system reform to align with our changing health needs. This includes ensuring that private health insurance delivers value for consumers in terms of meeting an individual's health needs, as well as those of an ageing population with increasing chronic disease and multimorbidity. Around 6.4 million hospitalisations per annum, or 55 per cent of the total, are due to chronic disease, which costs around $82 billion a year.”
“The average age of people with private health cover on the Northern Beaches is 63. Here lies one part of the problem. More than 50 per cent of patients admitted to hospital on the Northern Beaches for surgeries are aged 65 to 84 years of age. Whilst it is a huge benefit for older members to rightly use their private cover to get elective surgery done sooner, when they make up a larger share of the pool, funds face more hospital claims. This in turn drives higher system-wide costs and cross-subsidy needs, which in turn feed into higher premiums. The consequence is that this hits the price-sensitive younger households first, risking people downgrading their policy cover or dropping out altogether, which puts more demand on the public system.”
“The government's private hospital financial health check confirms how vital that capacity is. Private hospitals deliver around 70 per cent of elective surgeries and more than 40 per cent of all hospitalisations. Over 12 million Australians are insured for hospital treatment. Keeping these services accessible depends on funding settings that reward care, stabilise contracting and support the workforce that makes care possible. My electorate of Mackellar has one of the highest rates of private health insurance in the country, with around 77 per cent of people aged 18 or over having private hospital cover and 83 per cent having ancillary cover. To break it down a bit further, this amounts to over 22,000 individuals and around 92,000 families with hospital cover, and over 25,000 individuals and over 98,000 families with ancillary cover.”