Fiona Nash (NSW, National Party, Deputy Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Griff for his question and for some advance notice of it. I do appreciate his genuine concern for women who are experiencing breast cancer, as I expect everybody in this chamber does. I think all of us right around this chamber—certainly many of us—have been touched by family members, relatives and friends that have experienced breast cancer, and I do appreciate his genuine concern for this.

I am advised that a recent evaluation of the national External Breast Prostheses Reimbursement Program was commissioned by the Department of Health, to consider whether the program does remain appropriate, effective and efficient, and to identify potential efficiencies or improvements to the program. The results of that evaluation are overwhelmingly positive. The program participants reported that typically the program had impacted them directly by improving their overall quality of life. However, I am also advised that the evaluation did note that program access for women in financial hardship, that the senator has indicated, or on fixed incomes, was raised by stakeholders as a challenge. As the government, we are going to consider ways that we can improve access to this program. Senator Griff quite rightly has raised an issue that has been of some concern to people that he has impacted with, and the Minister for Health has also informed me that he is more than happy to meet the senator to discuss the matter further.