The College recently had the opportunity to provide comment to the Senate Standing Committee regarding the Health Legislation Amendment (Improving Choice and Transparency for Private Health Consumers) Bill 2026.  

In our submission, the College supported the importance of fee transparency and improving informed choices for consumers regarding their healthcare. We recognise that this initiative is designed to improve cost, transparency and access. 

However, more work needs to be done to address the availability of health services in Australia. Specifically, we call for the government to increase the Medicare rebates to reflect the current cost of healthcare.  

The RANZCP recommended that the Bill be amended to:  

• Consult with medical practitionersregardingfee publication
• Consider the implication of varying fees based on the consumers circumstances
• Allow for doctors to input explanatory notes on the website
• Include a clear explanation on the website of what fees mean for consumers and how they are calculated
• Consider other education materials to be presented on the website to help guideconsumer choice
• Consider the implications of fees adjusting based on this policy and use fee ranges in place of single fee figures
• Implement clear andtimelypathways to contest inaccurate information on thewebsite. 

The RANZCP is keen to work with the Department to develop further strategies for fee transparency and affordability that respect both consumers interests and specialist practice.  

If you have any questions or require further information, please email policy@ranzcp.org.