The Albanese Government is continuing to deliver a stronger Medicare to ensure Australians can get the care they need, when and where they need it.

The 2026-27 Budget builds on our first term of government and delivers significant investments and critical reforms to secure the future of our universal health and disability support system — Medicare, the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), aged care and the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Following the largest investment in Medicare in its history last year, new measures will further strengthen our universal healthcare system, including making our Medicare Urgent Care Clinics permanent.

Investments in the PBS will mean Australians continue to benefit from life changing medications at cheaper prices. The Albanese Government’s cheaper medicines reforms have already saved Australians more than $2.6 billion since 2022.

The Budget provides $25 billion in additional Commonwealth funding for public hospitals. This is three times more additional funding for public hospitals than under the last 5-year agreement. Commonwealth funding for state-run public hospitals will reach a record $220 billion from 2026–27 to 2030–31.

The NDIS is more than a source of support for people with disability; it is a statement of our national values. Changes to the NDIS will secure the scheme for future generations. New measures will deliver quality services and support to participants, make eligibility clearer, slow rapid cost increases and fight fraud and stop rorts.

Building on our aged care reforms in our first term, this Budget delivers more aged care beds, faster access to Support at Home places and makes showering and other personal care services free of charge.

Strengthening Medicare

The Albanese Government is building on its historic investments to strengthen Medicare, with $3.5 billion in measures so all Australians can access affordable, high-quality health care when and where they need it.

The 2026–27 Budget will:

• deliver cost-of-living relief by making Medicare Urgent Care Clinics permanent
• deliver up to 6 new fully bulk billing GP clinics in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Lower Hunter and central coast regions – areas with historically low bulk billing rates
• help patients and health professionals access more reliable and timely health data through further enhancements to My Health Record
• protect older Australians from higher out-of-pocket costs for intravitreal eye injections
• improve health infrastructure across Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Services and increase investment in culturally safe mental health support and Birthing on Country services.

This Budget also includes investment to maintain critical health services in areas including mental health and cancer care, and for First Nations health to ensure all Australians can access affordable, high-quality health care when and where they need it.

Cheaper medicines

The Albanese Government is investing $6.5 billion to deliver cheaper medicines so Australians can access the medicines they need at a price they can afford.

• Continued new and amended medicines listings on the PBS including for cystic fibrosis, chronic kidney disease, various cancers and more
• free access to the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for older Australians through the National Immunisation Program
• measures to increase childhood vaccination rates through an enhanced immunisation campaign, SMS reminders and growing the National Immunisation Program Vaccination in Pharmacy.

Investing in world-class research

The Albanese Government is backing Australian researchers and making Australia a destination for clinical trials with $589 million of investment so Australians can get early access to life-changing medicines and treatments.

The Budget includes: 

• provisioning for larger investment in health and medical research through the Medical Research Future Fund – growing each year from 2026-27 up to $1 billion a year by 2030–31 – which will drive medical breakthroughs and foster innovation
• continued support for the Precision Oncology Enabling Clinical Trials (PrOSPeCT) Program to provide additional patients with advanced, poor-prognosis and treatment resistant cancers access to comprehensive genomic profiling
• reforms to clinical trials, including the next steps in establishing the National One Stop Shop, making it easier for patients, researchers and sponsors to find, conduct and participate in research.

Securing the NDIS for future generations

The Albanese Government is restoring the NDIS to its original intent of supporting people with permanent and significant disability and securing the scheme for future generations. The Budget includes measures to:

• deliver quality services and support, including a $200 million Inclusive Communities Fund to rebuild community organisation capability to host genuine participation activities
• make eligibility requirements clearer, with standardised, evidence-based assessments of a person’s functional capacity
• slow rapid cost increases to ensure the long-term sustainability of the scheme
• fight fraud and stop rorts so participants and their families have better quality services, and experience less exploitation and harm

Delivering Thriving Kids

The Albanese Government is working with states and territories to establish Thriving Kids with a joint investment of $4 billion over five years. Our Government will provide $2 billion for:

• national information and advice on child development and autism and help to find and connect with supports that meet the needs of the child through Medicare Thriving Kids
• additional supports for children with autism and their families
• Medicare Healthy Kids Check - a Medicare subsided health assessment for GPs to assess the health and development of a child at 3 years of age and refer them to appropriate support, including Thriving Kids supports
• a new National Digital Child Health Record to make it easier for families and health professionals to track a child’s development and share information
• national workforce measures to support improved practice around early childhood development, and culturally appropriate support
• states and territories to deliver additional Thriving Kids supports in their jurisdiction.

Better care for older Australians

The Albanese Government will invest $3.7 billion to deliver more beds, more packages and better care for older Australian, to ensure they get the support they need. This means:

• 5,000 additional aged care beds each year, principally for those with limited financial means, incentivised through building subsidies and an increase and restructure of the Accommodation Supplement
• faster access to Support at Home places, increasing supports, improving assessments and bringing down wait times
• personal care services, including showering, dressing and continence support, will be free alongside clinical care
• Expanding the End-of-Life pathway to provide more care for palliative patients
• 20 additional Specialist Dementia Care Program units and an expansion of the Hospital to Aged Care Dementia Support Program