Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade and Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I have a further question. By way of prefacing that question, our amendment, the one that we are proposing today which has not yet been presented to the Senate for voting on, removes material that would have prevented that annual indexation for 2022. Following indexation on 20 September 2022, the income limits for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card are currently $61,284 for singles and $98,054 for couples combined. The bill, as amended, will still raise the income limits only to the intended levels of $90,000 for singles and $144,000 for couples combined. The bill includes amendments to both the Social Security Act and the Veterans' Entitlements Act to ensure the same income limits apply for Commonwealth Seniors Health Card holders as provided under each act. Like other Australians, many self-funded retirees are facing increased cost-of-living pressures in the current economic environment. This bill helps to ease those pressures by allowing more self-funded retirees to access Australian government health concessions, including concessions on co-payments for Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme medicines, the concessional thresholds for the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme Safety Net and extended Medicare Safety Nets, and bulk-billed visits to general practitioners. My question to Senator Smith in this context is: is it proposed under your amendment that it only last for 12 months?