MEDIA RELEASE
10 September 2026
10,340 Australians have signed Federal Member for Fisher Andrew Wallace’s petition demanding the Albanese Labor Government reverse its cuts to the Private Health Insurance Rebate for older Australians.
Mr Wallace sought leave in Federal Parliament today to table the 10,340 signatures, but the Labor Government denied leave and refused to allow their voices to be formally heard.
“This is more than a petition. It is a warning from Australians who understand that Labor’s health tax will hurt seniors and place even greater pressure on our public hospitals,” Mr Wallace said.
“More than 10,000 Australians have now told the Prime Minister and Health Minister to keep their hands off the health cover that older Australians have worked and budgeted for throughout their lives.
“Today, I sought leave to table those signatures in Parliament, but Labor refused. Denying leave will not make these Australians or the consequences of this deeply unfair decision disappear.”
From April 2027, Labor plans to abolish the additional Private Health Insurance Rebate available to Australians aged 65 and over.
The rebate for people aged between 65 and 69 will be cut by four percentage points, while the rebate for people aged 70 and over will be cut by eight percentage points.
For some older couples with Gold hospital cover, the change could add more than $1,600 a year to the cost of retaining the same policy.
Evidence provided to a Senate inquiry has since revealed the Department of Health and Aged Care did not determine how many pensioners held private health insurance before the policy was announced.
The Department subsequently estimated that around 1.2 million pensioners could be affected.
“This Government announced an $11 billion tax grab without first working out how many pensioners it would hurt,” Mr Wallace said.
“That is not careful health policy. It is a cash grab designed first, with the consequences for older Australians considered later.
“Many of these older Australians are on low or fixed incomes and have very little capacity to absorb another major living expense.”
The Government now estimates around 44,000 Australians will abandon their private health insurance because of the change, while external modelling cited by Medibank suggests the number could be as high as 91,000.
The Australian Private Hospitals Association has also warned that Australians aged 65 and over accounted for more than 2.5 million private hospital admissions in 2024-25.
“If tens of thousands of older Australians drop or downgrade their cover, they do not stop needing cataract surgery, joint replacements, cardiac treatment or mental health care,” Mr Wallace said.
“They are pushed into an already stretched public hospital system, meaning longer waiting lists, more pressure on emergency departments and fewer resources for every Australian who needs care.
“This is particularly serious for regional communities like the Sunshine Coast, where more than 22 per cent of people in Fisher are aged over 65.”
The proposed cuts have been opposed by the governments of Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia and Tasmania, as well as private health insurers, private hospitals, seniors’ advocates and medical groups.
“When Labor and state governments, insurers, hospitals, doctors, pensioners and more than 10,000 Australians are all warning against this policy, the Albanese Government should listen,” Mr Wallace said.
“Older Australians did the responsible thing. They maintained private health insurance through decades of rising premiums because they wanted greater certainty over their care and to reduce pressure on the public system.
“They should be thanked for that, not punished with a new health tax during retirement.
“The Prime Minister can no longer pretend Australians support this decision. More than 10,000 people have put their names to this fight, and I will continue making sure their voices are heard.”
“Labor must overturn this decision and preserve the additional Private Health Insurance Rebate for Australians aged 65 and over.”
[ENDS]
Media Contact: Brendan West – 0402 556 646 – Brendan.west@aph.gov.au
