Budgets are more than just dollars and cents. They set out the legislative agenda and the fights that will animate the media and parliament for the coming year.
Key Budget announcements in 2026 set up several fights, with seniors caught in the middle of some of these.
The 2026 Federal Budget has been heavily framed as an opportunity to create greater intergenerational equity.
The Treasurer, Dr Jim Chalmers, has proposed changes to tax concessions and rebates, including changes to the Capital Gains Tax discount and to the private health insurance rebate for seniors through the lens of intergenerational equity.
It didn't have to be this way. Older people, like younger people, are not a homogenous group, with many older people struggling with rising living costs, a lack of housing, and rising health costs.
Below is a wrap of the key Budget announcements with a call to action on private health insurance rebates.
Private health insurance rebate
A reduction in the higher rebate for seniors has been justified on intergenerational equity grounds, but this is misguided. In truth, the higher rebate saves the government money and supports the sustainability of both the private and public health systems, which helps all generations.
Encouraging older people, especially pensioners and low-income self-funded retirees, to retain private health insurance means they are more likely to contribute to the cost of health out of their own pocket - saving government money!
People will not support user charges for a public hospital system with huge waiting lists for elective surgery, so encouraging older people to retain private insurance makes good economic sense.
This change, from 1 April 2027, will cost a couple aged over 70 currently paying $7,000 a year about $830 a year more in premiums according to our new rebate cut estimator .
Rather than reform the rebate so it is more effective at retaining older people, the government chose to take an axe to a knife fight - effectively chopping off tens of thousands of pensioners from the private health system and burdening others with higher costs to remain in the system.
National Seniors Australia (NSA) will fight this change in the media and by lobbying parliamentarians, but we can't do it alone.
If this change concerns you:
Check out and share our rebate cut estimator with friends and encourage them to join the campaign
