Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits)

“Ultimately, this whole bill is about putting patients first, and that has been our whole agenda with all of our healthcare reforms making sure we are putting patients first. It also, very importantly, recognises the skills of our nurses. And I do want to compliment all of our nurses in my region and across the country—both nurses and health professionals—for the remarkable work that they continue to do all of the time. This is a recognition of that. So it recognises the skills of our nurses, trusts the evidence and removes barriers that, quite frankly, don't make sense. It doesn't make sense that this had not been in place before. It's about ensuring that where a person lives or which qualified health professionals they see doesn't determine whether they can afford the medicines that they need, that they need then and there. By modernising our laws to reflect contemporary practice, we're strengthening Medicare; supporting the health workforce; and making our health system more responsive, more equitable and more sustainable into the future, because we do have that ageing population and we do have increasing clinical and complex care needs that are there. These investments right across the board are vitally important. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“I rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025 brought forward by the Minister for Health and Ageing, and I commend him for doing so. This bill is about making it easier for Australians to access the prescription medicine they need. It's about lightening the load for hospital emergency departments and GPs. It's about empowering our highly skilled, highly educated workforce of registered nurses to do what they were trained to do. It's about equitable access to health care for all Australians, including those managing chronic diseases and health conditions and those living in regional, rural and remote areas, who feel issues with access to health care even more keenly.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“Taken together, the measures in this bill modernise Australia's health legislation to reflect contemporary practice and patient needs. They strengthen Medicare's capacity to respond to demand and support a workforce that is better equipped to deliver timely, high-quality care. For the people I represent in Moore, this matters. It means a health system that works more effectively in practice, recognises the professionalism of nurses and delivers care when and where it is needed. For those reasons, I support the bill and commend it to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“This bill is also about valuing our healthcare workforce. Nurses are highly skilled professionals. Allowing them to work their full scope is not only efficient but also respectful. From a men's health perspective, a confident, empowered workforce means better care. It means clinicians who can act decisively when a man finally asks for help. I often say that we cannot fix men's health outcomes by telling men to do better alone. We must fix the system. This bill is system reform. It recognises how men actually use health services and reduces barriers. It improves access, and it supports early intervention. It strengthens Medicare, it strengthens primary care and it strengthens outcomes for men all across this country, especially in regional and outer metropolitan communities like the Hunter. This is why reform matters, and that's why I'm proud to support this bill. I commend this bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“With this scope of practice—and the intense patient contact and support—it makes sense for appropriately qualified RNs to be enabled to prescribe certain medications. This will allow safe and timely and efficient prescription for patients, especially in primary-care and aged-care settings. This system has been in place in the UK since the 1990s. Nurse Charlotte Coulson, who has worked there and in Victoria in palliative care, says that RNs being enabled to prescribe medicines in palliative care cases is particularly impactful and prevents suffering, noting that 'GPs have limited time and multiple priorities'.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 03 Feb 2026

“Yesterday, I joined nurses in parliament in support of primary healthcare nurses. They reminded us of the value of patients when nurses are trusted to work to their full scope of practice, something this legislation helps deliver. They reminded us that nurses don't choose this profession because of buildings or systems, but because of a deep commitment to care. And they reminded us that, when illness shrinks a person's world and when fear, uncertainty and vulnerability take hold, nurses are there—present, skilled, compassionate, delivering care when it is needed most and in the ways that matter most. That is the magic of this profession, and it is why this parliament must do everything it can to support nurses to do what they do best: care for people with dignity, skill and humanity. Health care should never depend on where you live, how busy the system is or how long you can afford to wait. This legislation moves us closer to a system that is fairer, more efficient and more responsive to the realities Australians face every day. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“When I spoke to the now minister for health and ageing a couple of years ago, I was really pleased to hear about the work that was being done on scope of practice across a number of different professions in the health workforce. Today I'm pleased to be able to support the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. It's a practical, forward-looking reform that strengthens Medicare, supports our health workforce and improves timely access to affordable medicines for Australians no matter where they live.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“It means fewer delays in care, better continuity for patients and a health system that works more smoothly, more fairly and more humanely, especially when people are unwell, vulnerable or caring for someone that they love. That is the kind of reform Australians expect from our Labor government, and that is exactly why I commend this bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“I really encourage people to support this legislation so that we can have more of our amazing Macquarie registered nurses ready, able and legally allowed to prescribe medications to help take pressure off our GPs and to help support a community that most of them not only work in but live in. I commend this bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“If we invest in primary health care, access becomes quicker than in the past. We will have better health outcomes, which means we will have fewer hospitalisations. It will mean that patients will be healthier and communities will be healthier. People will be able to stay in their communities and get the support that they need, thereby reducing the need for those in rural and regional areas to travel long distances. This is a win for all Australians, and I think it is very good use of our health professionals so they're able to fulfil their professional capabilities. I commend the bill to the Senate, and I hope that it's not just going to be this bill that the people in One Nation are supporting. I wish that they would support all the recommendations that we have brought into this parliament to ensure better health outcomes for all Australians.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 June 2026

“I rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. This bill delivers a practical reform to the way our health system operates and to the way Australians access timely care. It amends the National Health Act to allow designated registered nurses to prescribe certain medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. It is a significant reform that goes to the heart of our government's agenda, strengthening Medicare, modernising the workforce and ensuring Australians can receive high-quality care when and where they need it. This legislation builds directly on the work of the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce and the Unleashing the Potential of our Health Workforce review. Both found that highly trained nurses are too often prevented from working to their full scope of practice by outdated regulatory settings. Allowing trained and endorsed registered nurses to prescribe under the PBS is about using the skills already in our system more effectively. It makes sense. It will reduce unnecessary duplication of appointments. It will ease pressure on general practice and, importantly, emergency departments. It will improve access to care, particularly in regional and outer metropolitan communities like mine.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“The future will put pressure on Medicare, and we need to make sure that our entire health system can respond to what will be challenges in our health system. Australians are living longer. More people are managing chronic and complex conditions, and demand on primary care will continue to rise. We can see that happening. Instead of cutting funding from Medicare, instead of neglecting Medicare, instead of freezing rebates like the Liberals and Nationals did for nine years with the same warnings we're getting now, we're setting up Medicare to ensure that it can deliver the care that Australians expect, just having that green and gold Medicare card. We'll continue to remove unnecessary barriers to help ensure that the system remains responsive and sustainable, particularly for growing communities like mine in Bennelong. And this will mean fewer delays. It'll mean better use of our health workforce, and it will give us a Medicare system that works the way people expect it to. The health legislation amendment bill is a practical continuation of the reforms that we've been putting in place since 2022, and I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“This bill is another example of the Albanese government delivering on its commitments to strengthen Medicare, support the health workforce and put patients first. It's a win for nurses, it's a win for patients and it's a win for the sustainability of our health system. I commend this bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“This Bill delivers on the Government's commitment to ensure our health workforce operates at full scope, enhancing safe and timely access to medicines. It's a win for nurses and a win for all Australians.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 05 Feb 2026

“I rise today to speak in strong support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. The Albanese Labor government is committed to supporting and empowering our health workforce. We are not just talking about strengthening Medicare; we are also doing the hard legislative work and structural reform to make health care more accessible for every Australian, and this bill is one piece of the structural reform puzzle in the healthcare sector. This bill addresses the scope of practice reforms for nurses and midwives. It is legislation that is catching up with healthcare demand and practice and it is backed by evidence and consultation.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“This bill helps ensure our local health infrastructure, workforce and policy settings work together so the people of Dunkley get the accessible, high-quality health care they deserve. More broadly, this legislation ensures that, when designated nurse prescribers begin practising from July 2026, the Commonwealth framework will be ready to support them and, more importantly, to support their patients. Australians should be able to get the medicines they need when they need them without unnecessary hurdles or extra costs. They should be able to rely on a health system that is modern, flexible and responsive to their needs, and they should know that their government is willing to reform outdated systems to deliver better outcomes for the population. This bill does exactly that. It is sensible, it is evidence based and it is focused squarely on patients. I commend the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025 to the House and urge all members to support this important step in strengthening our health system for all Australians.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“Allowing nurses to prescribe under the PBS will ensure the health system is responsive and better coordinated and ensure GPs and nurse practitioners can focus on patients with more complex needs. The bill is about making better use of the skills we already have in our health workforce. It is about improving access to medicines and ensuring that Australians can receive the care they need when they need it without any unnecessary delay. The Albanese Labor government is committed to supporting our nurses and values the work that they do. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“This bill delivers on the Albanese government's commitment to strengthen Medicare, support our health workforce and improve access to affordable medicines. It empowers nurses, it supports patients and it builds a health system that is more responsive, more equitable and more sustainable. This is sensible reform, it is patient focused reform, and it is reform that reflects the realities of modern healthcare in Australia. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“The Albanese government made an election commitment to prioritise scope-of-practice reforms for health professionals because we know these reforms deliver real benefits to Australian patients through improved access to health care. This bill, the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025, is an important step in delivering on that commitment. It will help ensure Australians have better access to the affordable medicines they need when they need them, and it backs our registered nurses to deliver safe, high-quality care, particularly in primary care and aged care.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“I close with this comment: there's probably nothing more important to families than good health. Particularly when someone is unwell, there is nothing else that matters in their life other than their health because, without their health, they literally have nothing, so the health system does matter to people. We have a good health system. This is going to make it better. I commend this legislation to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“This bill is a part of that rebuild. This bill will make life a little bit easier for all Aussies but in particular for those with chronic health conditions. These changes will empower nurses to work to their full scope of practice and improve access to medicines across the country. It enables suitably qualified, endorsed registered nurses to prescribe specified PBS medicines under a carefully designed, nationally consistent framework. Nurses will be able to provide safe, high-quality care, reducing the need for GP appointments for routine repeat scripts or a trip to A&E. We want to remove the barriers to regular and follow-up prescriptions. Registered nurses make up approximately half of the country's health workforce and are the most geographically distributed health profession. This is particularly true in my state of Queensland. More than half of our population lives outside Greater Brisbane. In many communities, the kilometres to the nearest GP and then the nearest chemist are the barrier. In many Queensland communities, nurses are the first point of contact and the most consistent presence in a person's health journey. This is the case across aged-care facilities, community clinics, Indigenous health services and outreach programs. This bill acknowledges that reality and provides a safe pathway for designated registered nurse prescribers to keep people well closer to home.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“I rise to speak in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. This is a practical and carefully designed piece of reform. It makes sure that Australians can access medicines through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme when those medicines are prescribed by appropriately qualified, endorsed and authorised registered nurses. At its heart is a simple Labor principle. It's about getting quality health care. All you should need is your Medicare card, not your credit card. That's what Medicare is about, that's what the PBS is also about and that's what this bill helps to deliver.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 June 2026

“Labor takes a different view. We believe health care is a right, not a privilege. I am proud to support these reforms, because they will help Tasmanians receive the care they need, closer to home, sooner and more affordably. I commend the bill to the Senate.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 June 2026

“This bill builds on that work in a really practical and targeted way. It is another example of our government's commitment to making health care more accessible and more affordable for Australians. It empowers nurses to work to their full scope of practice and will improve access to medicines for ordinary Australians. The bill allows registered nurses to prescribe certain medicines under the PBS. Simply, it means that patients will be able to get a prescription easier and at a lower cost. It ensures that care delivered in appropriate settings is backed by affordability and that access to medicines is not restricted by whom you see but by what you need.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 01 Apr 2026

“I rise in support of the Health Legislation Amendment (Prescribing of Pharmaceutical Benefits) Bill 2025. This bill introduces a practical reform to improve the efficiency of our health system and ensure Australians can access timely health care. This bill amends the National Health Act and the Health Insurance Act to enable nurse practitioners to prescribe certain medicines under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, and this will in effect help Australians get the care and medicines they need when they need them.”

Australian Labor Party • Senator • 30 June 2026

“Australia deserves the world's best health system, and, as part of this, we need to ensure that all Australians, wherever they live, can get affordable medicines when they need them and have them prescribed by someone they trust. This bill will help to deliver on this aim. Under this bill, highly trained designated nurses will be able to extend their scope of practice, primarily in primary care and aged-care services. This is good news for designated registered nurses, good news for patients, particularly in rural and remote areas, and good news for stressed primary and aged-care health settings in the rest of the country. I commend the bill to the House.”

Australian Labor Party • MP • 05 Feb 2026

“What we have here is legislation that addresses a pathway for registered nurses who are qualified, have capacity and have the regulatory framework to be able to do their jobs better, to allow better outcomes for patient care. On that basis, I'm very supportive of the principle of the legislation as passing it will improve patient outcomes, will improve healthcare services and will actually free up capital and time for nurses, doctors and specialists to be able to support patients where it's needed. That's going to continue to be a big challenge for our country into the future.”

Liberal Party • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“Expanding the scope of practice in a safe and regulated way has the potential to improve access to medicines, particularly for Australians living outside metropolitan centres. The introduction of nurse prescribing follows consultation and regulatory development through the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia and with health ministers, with the first cohort of nurses expected to begin prescribing from mid-2026. The details of these measures have now been carefully examined through the Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee process. The opposition will support the changes in this bill to recognise the important role nurses play in our healthcare system and the potential benefits of sensibly expanding the scope of practice. These measures are consistent with our focus on ensuring Australians have timely and affordable access to essential health care, particularly in rural and remote communities.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 01 Apr 2026

“The opposition won't stand in the way of this bill passing the House. On its face, the bill is broadly consistent with the objective of ensuring Australians have timely and affordable access to essential health care, particularly in rural and remote communities. However, as always, the details matter. We will be carefully examining the implementation of these arrangements through the upcoming Senate Community Affairs Legislation Committee process and considering any issues or amendments that arise once the committee reports later this month.”

Liberal Party • MP • 03 Feb 2026

“The coalition supports the intent of this bill. Expanding prescribing capabilities to registered nurses has the potential to improve access to medicines and make better use of the skills already within our health workforce, particularly in regional, rural and remote areas. However, the government's narrow approach means significant pressure points remain embedded in the system. By limiting this expansion to registered nurses alone and excluding other suitably qualified health professionals such as podiatrists, Labor has missed an opportunity for more comprehensive reform. Reducing the burden on our healthcare system will not occur through a single policy lever. The coalition agrees that we must start somewhere. We support taking prudent first steps, but we are clear eyed that this legislation on its own will not deliver the systemic change required to address workforce shortages or growing patient demand.”

Liberal Party • Senator • 30 June 2026

“The expansion of scope of practice should empower our healthcare professionals. It should improve accessibility and efficiency in health care. Our first priority should always be patient safety and the protection of patient care. Given the increasing complexity of medical care in this country, particularly for older Australians and for those with multiple medical problems, the best model of care is that provided in a multidisciplinary team. I support this bill as I support increasing the scope of practice of all competent healthcare professionals in Australia, but I call on the government to ensure that these changes are appropriately scrutinised and monitored and then not instituted in a kind of band-aid solution in response to the—at this point—unaddressed issue of our chronic healthcare workforce deficiencies. Having said that, I commend the bill to the House.”

Independent • MP • 04 Feb 2026

“The reasons for workforce shortages in rural health are many and complex. Certainly there is inadequate resourcing of regional health systems. Training pathways make getting regional experience difficult or unaffordable. Housing and childcare shortages prevent talented professionals from moving to regional Australia. We really do have a wicked problem, and there isn't just one policy to solve it, but this piece of legislation is part of that puzzle, and I really welcome it. The truth is that, if we're going to address workforce challenges, we do need to come at it from all angles, and that includes making sure that every single healthcare professional is supported to work at their full scope of practice. This bill supports a reform that does precisely this.”

Independent • MP • 03 Feb 2026

“Let's be honest. There are a couple of other things. For those people who might be nervous about this bill, it expands the scope of practice, but it does have strong safeguards. Only appropriately qualified nurse prescribers will be authorised, and there will continue to be oversight to ensure prescribing is safe, appropriate and accountable. This reform will not solve every challenge facing our healthcare system, but it is a practical and necessary step in the right direction. It reflects the trust that we have in our healthcare workforce, supports better patient outcomes and helps build a more flexible and sustainable healthcare system for the future. For these reasons, I support the bill.”

Independent • MP • 04 Feb 2026