Mid-year budget update identifies health funding priorities

Date published: 18^th December 2024

The Australian Government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook (MYEFO) was released this morning, providing a federal budget update in the lead up to the 2025 Budget scheduled for late-March.

The Government has identified a number of national priorities, specifically drawing attention to investments in childcare, student loans and cost-of-living relief. In healthcare, the Government has identified the following investments as priorities shaping the budget:

• $2.5 billion for new and amended listings on the PBS, including treatments for dermatitis, heart disease, endometriosis and breast cancer.
• $187.9 million for research and critical patient support services for Australians with chronic conditions.
• $251.7 million to establish the Australian Centre for Disease Control as an independent agency.
• $174.5 million to provide pregnant women with free access to the maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine.
• $448.3 million for mental health, including suicide prevention and postvention initiatives.
• $30 million for Genomics Australia to support the development of genomics to improve disease testing, diagnosis and treatment.
• $22.1 million to increase and diversify HPAI vaccines for protection against High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza H5.

Importantly for those preparing for the election, MYEFO also outlines $5.5 billion in decisions taken but not yet announced (DTBNYA). While this may seem like a significant figure, it is comparatively small number to that of previous pre-election budgets, firming the hypothesis that the Government will seek a full term, setting up a May election.

This comes as new polling from London Agency shows that medicines & medtech access could be a sleeper issue in the Australian election, with more than half of undecided voters citing it as their top three issue. Clearly, there are opportunities in the coming months to make notable investments and reforms to Australia’s healthcare system.

If you have any questions as to how the MYEFO might affect your advocacy strategy, please do not hesitate to contact our government affairs team who would be happy to discuss with you.

London Agency is constantly monitoring the political landscape, and will be paying particular attention to funding announcements that provide opportunities for our clients.

If you would like to read the original Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook, click here.