The Budget combines a record uplift in Commonwealth hospital funding with new PBS listings for cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease and several cancers, expanding the Medicare Urgent Care Clinic network, and a continued push to lift the national GP bulk billing rate. A portion of the package is offset by the removal of the higher private health insurance rebate paid to Australians aged 65 and over.

Public Hospitals

The Government is delivering an additional $25 billion for state and territory public hospitals, lifting total Commonwealth hospital funding under the renewed National Health Reform Agreement to a record $220.3 billion over five years.

The agreement includes a dedicated funding schedule for First Nations health for the first time, with almost $250 million for new co-designed programs to improve First Nations health outcomes ($200 million of which is matched by states and territories).

Cheaper Medicines on the PBS

$5.9 billion is allocated in this Budget to list new and amended medicines on the PBS, including treatments for cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, several cancers, and a permanent reduction in the cost of COVID-19 oral antiviral medicines. A further $449.3 million will list the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Arexvy on the National Immunisation Program for eligible older Australians.

The new listings build on earlier changes that brought the maximum general PBS co-payment down to $25 and froze the concessional co-payment at $7.70 until 2030. Since 1 July 2022, the Government has funded 437 new or amended PBS medicines.

Medicare Urgent Care Clinics

The Government is investing $1.8 billion, with $580.2 million each year ongoing, to make all 137 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics a permanent feature of the health system. The clinics provide walk-in care for non-life-threatening urgent conditions, bulk billed and accessible without an appointment.

The network has delivered almost three million free visits since its rollout, and by July 2026 four in five Australians will live within a 20-minute drive of a clinic.

Bulk Billing

The Government's bulk billing reforms, which took effect on 1 November 2025, have lifted the national GP bulk billing rate to 81.4 per cent in the November 2025 to January 2026 period. A total of $11.4 billion has been committed across the term to incentivise bulk billing, with a target of nine in ten GP services bulk billed by 2030. Since the reforms commenced, 1,420 general practices previously operating on mixed billing have moved to fully bulk billing, bringing the national total to 3,761 fully bulk-billing practices.

This Budget provides an additional $25.3 million in targeted funding to lift bulk billing rates in the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and Hunter regions, where rates have lagged the national average.

Key Figures

• $25 billion additional public hospital funding over five years

• $220.3 billion total Commonwealth hospital funding over five years

• $5.9 billion for new PBS medicine listings

• $449.3 million to list the RSV vaccine on the National Immunisation Program

• $1.8 billion to make Medicare Urgent Care Clinics permanent

• 137 Medicare Urgent Care Clinics, almost 3 million free visits delivered

• $11.4 billion committed to incentivise bulk billing across the term

• 81.4 per cent national GP bulk billing rate (November 2025 to January 2026)

• Target: nine in ten GP services bulk billed by 2030

• 437 new or amended PBS medicines funded since 1 July 2022

• Age-based private health insurance rebate uplift removed from 1 April 2027

• ~3 million older Australians affected by the rebate change

• ~$3 billion budget improvement from the rebate change over the forward estimates

Sources

[1] Budget 2026-27 Overview: Strengthening care and broadening opportunity

[2] Budget 2026-27 Overview: Taking pressure off Australians (Healthcare)

[3] SBS News: Federal Budget 2026 Winners and Losers

[4] Private Healthcare Australia: Older Australians among biggest Budget losers as health insurance rebate cut hits seniors