Federal Budget heavy on reform – except in health, disability and aged care
Allied Health Professions Australia (AHPA) says the 2026-27 Federal Budget fails to address allied health access barriers across aged care, mental health, and primary care, while further reducing access to capacity building supports for people with disability.
Delivered under tight fiscal conditions and framed as a Budget of reforms, the reality for allied health is that little has shifted.
For people with disability, access to allied health is becoming more difficult as NDIS reforms tighten eligibility and reduce therapy budgets. While designed to reduce expenditure, there’s no evidence yet that cuts will improve outcomes for participants and deliver better value. A shift back to rationed, pre-NDIS style services delivered by states and territory programs rightly raises alarm.
For older Australians, the steady decline in allied health access continues. Allied health services in residential aged care have fallen across successive budgets, and Support at Home funding assessments are leaving many with fewer supports. Meanwhile, Australians who rely on primary allied health services see no progress at all. Despite a further $2.1 billion investment in primary care, the Federal government continues to define primary care as general practice, with no signal that access to preventative or multidisciplinary allied health is a priority.
Veterans, by contrast, will see much-needed investment. The Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA) is providing $169.7 million over five years (and $58.8 million ongoing) to increase allied health provider fees, replacing treatment cycles with an annual limit of $5,000 for allied health services.
The increase in DVA provider pricing is welcome recognition that sustainable funding underpins quality care. New DVA rates will align with or exceed NDIS pricing, further supporting allied health to deliver veteran's care.
However, the DVA uplift highlights how far Medicare has fallen behind the real cost of care. A Medicare-funded chronic condition service delivered by a podiatrist or physiotherapist attracts a rebate of $61.80, compared with $110 under new DVA rates. Similarly, a Medicare-funded mental health service delivered by a psychologist attracts a fee of $98.95, while a DVA-funded service will now attract a rebate of $260.*
Despite more than $11 billion in investment into Medicare, allied health services remain chronically underfunded – resulting in delays or avoidance of much-needed mental and physical health supports.
For rural and remote Australians, the situation remains unchanged due to chronic underinvestment in rural allied health services.
The government may call this its most ambitious Budget yet, but ambition means little when the nation’s largest primary care workforce is left to redistribute in the wake of significant structural reform.
Largely ignoring allied health undermines access to essential care for millions of Australians. This workforce is large, skilled and indispensable – and it deserves more.
Media inquiries: AHPA CEO Bronwyn Morris-Donovan is available for comment.
Email: communications@ahpa.com.au
*Psychology fees are based on services of 50 minutes or more. Podiatry and physiotherapy fees are based on standard consultations of around 30 minutes.