More choice, lower costs & better healthcare — thanks to Labor

For too long, women’s health wasn’t taken seriously. Pain was dismissed. Conditions were under-diagnosed. And everyday essentials, from contraception to menopause treatment, were too expensive or too hard to access.

Katy Gallagher and Labor are changing that, backed by a landmark $790 million investment in women’s health and practical reforms that put fairness, dignity and affordability at the centre of the health system.

Katy has been clear about the values driving this work: women shouldn’t pay more simply because the health system hasn’t kept up with them. That’s why Labor is modernising the institutions Australians rely on — strengthening Medicare and building on the PBS, one of the country’s “national treasures”, to ensure the medicines people need are affordable and accessible.

A fairer deal for women

Katy and Labor’s reforms are about making sure women can access the care they need without cost being the barrier, whether it’s contraception, endometriosis treatment, perimenopause and menopause care, or IVF support. It also means shifting the culture of healthcare: treating women’s pain seriously, tackling gender bias, and making topics like periods, contraception, menopause, endometriosis and adenomyosis part of normal, open healthcare conversations.

More choice and lower costs

• $25 PBS medicines — from 1 January 2026, no PBS medicine costs more than $25 a script.

• New women’s health medicines added to the PBS, following advice from the independent PBAC, including:

  • Contraception: Yaz®, Yasmin®, Slinda®, Nextstellis® and Nuvaring®

  • Endometriosis: Ryeqol®

  • Menopause: Estrogel®, Prometrium® and Estrogel Pro®

  • IVF: Pergoveris®

• Bigger Medicare rebates for IUDs and birth control implants, saving women up to $400 in out-of-pocket costs.

Better healthcare for women

• 33 specialist endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics across Australia, including one in Canberra.

• A new Medicare rebate for menopause health assessments.

• Training for health professionals to better support women through perimenopause and menopause.

Katy is committed to keeping this work moving — in partnership with Health Minister Mark Butler and Assistant Minister for Women and Health Rebecca White — because these changes are not “nice to have”. They are about respect, equity, and a health system that works for women.

In 2026, it’s also 80 years since Australians backed the PBS in a referendum — a reform delivered by Labor. Eight decades on, Katy and Labor are building on that legacy. $25 scripts are the latest step, but they won’t be the last.