Mark Butler (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for North Sydney for her question and for her deep understanding of and engagement in health policy in her time in this parliament. As the member pointed out, for some time, there have been an additional 10 sessions available under the Better Access program under Medicare as part of the COVID response, and that has been taken up quite substantially across the country.

We included $2.6 billion in last night's budget for COVID measures, which will take us up to 31 December, by and large. That includes the extension of the COVID national partnership agreement that the Prime Minister concluded with premiers and chief ministers at his first National Cabinet meeting, and a range of other measures going to the need to replenish the National Medical Stockpile. But a range of measures beyond 31 December are still being considered by the government, and arrangements for Better Access in 2023 are one of those measures about which we will have more to say in coming weeks. The government is considering that and a number of other COVID measures that currently expire on 31 December. Many of them were intended to expire on 30 June or 30 September under arrangements put in place by the former government, but I'm very alive to the views of the APS, the Australian Psychological Society, about this, about patients, about the current Better Access arrangements. We're looking at it very deeply in terms of what will be in place for 2023.

More broadly, in relation to Better Access, there is—as I'm sure the member is aware—an evaluation underway that was commenced by the former government, as was appropriate. The last deep evaluation of the Better Access program hadn't taken place for more than 10 years. The final report on Better Access is not due until probably December, maybe a bit after that, and we'll have a look at longer term arrangements in light of that very deep evaluation of Better Access, which I know has had very strong support in the sector. But I assure the member that, in relation to the 10 additional sessions that were put in place as part of the COVID response, we are looking at that closely, along with a range of other COVID measures that currently expire on 31 December. GP respiratory clinics and a number of others are in that category. We'll have more to say about that in coming weeks, and I'd certainly welcome a further discussion with the member about her perspective on this.

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