Keep Pathology Bulk Billed | Australian Pathology

Pathology is a vital piece of Australia’s health infrastructure:

Since 12 February, Keep Pathology Bulk Billed has been helping Australians have their say about the 25-year funding freeze on vital pathology tests, like blood tests.

The first phase of our advocacy, leading up to the Federal Budget on 14 May 2024, resulted in more than 42,000 emails to Members of Parliament.

This is a monumental testament to the value Australians place on pathology services, Medicare and bulk billing. Australian Pathology is proud to be a part of it.

We ask for your continued support to Keep Pathology Bulk Billed.

Please use the form below to contact your MP and keep this important issue on their radar right up until the next election.

Take action now

Australians have already sent 71,408 emails calling on MPs to help achieve full and fair funding for pathology. Now it’s your turn!

Use the form below to either:

Email a letter to your local MP Call your local MP

You can search for your electorate by either postcode or electorate name. If you’ve already sent an email to your MP, then you can still use the form to find your MP’s phone number.

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Feel free to edit the message below we have prepared and hit "send" when you're ready. Please note that some postcodes fall into multiple electorates that are located close by. If you are in a different electorate to the one provided by this form, then please search your electorate according to the list. You can do a more detailed search for your electorate at the Australian Electoral Commission website (https://electorate.aec.gov.au).

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My patient rebate for pathology tests has been frozen for 25 years.
 
While the rebate is stuck in 1999, we’re all living with the reality of a cost-of-living crisis in 2024 and patients like me can’t afford to pay for pathology tests.
 
It is now shocking to learn that the Federal Government is not only freezing pathology funding; but also cutting funding for two common and vital tests - Vitamin B12 and urine tests. 
 
66 per cent of all people who undergo these tests are women. This is even higher for women aged between 25 and 34 who make up 80 per cent of the population accessing urine tests.
 
The same government that provided $174 million in funding to increase one-third of pathology rebates from 1 July 2025 also banked $356.3 million in cuts, starting with Vitamin B12 and urine tests.
 
With the increased cost of living and the rising cost of seeing a GP, I can’t afford to pay a gap fee for important pathology tests.
 
Please help provide the full and fair funding needed to keep pathology bulk billed. That includes reversing these cuts and increasing the patient rebate for all pathology tests.

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In this year’s Federal Budget, the government decided to index just under a third of pathology items.

This is a welcome recognition that pathology items need to be indexed. Like everything else, the cost of delivering pathology services has increased over time.

But this is not enough — funding for more than two-thirds of pathology services remains frozen.

Under the arrangements announced in the Budget, the rebates paid by the government for tests that diagnose diabetes and many of your most common tests, like blood cholesterol, will not be indexed. And even for the items that are indexed, the increase does not start until July 2025.

Pathology is a vital piece of Australia’s health infrastructure:

Take action now

Register to stay up to date

In this year’s Federal Budget, the government decided to index just under a third of pathology items.

But this is not enough — funding for more than two-thirds of pathology services remains frozen.

Without full and fair indexation, pathology providers will be forced to make some very difficult decisions.

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