Funding to implement most of the recommendations from a major review of optometry Medicare items, including greater coverage for visual field testing, are among the major highlights in the Federal Budget 2024/25 that also included several measures to support independent small business owners.
However, the health sector has pointed to several missed opportunities, particularly around living expenses while optometry students are on mandatory placements and a sugar tax on soft drinks to address type 2 diabetes.
On its website in response to the budget, Optometry Australia (OA) said it welcomed the government’s support of the issues it had been advocating for, notably a new item from March 2025 for a third visual field test in a 12-month period for patients with a high risk of glaucoma progression.
CEO Ms Skye Cappuccio said OA had actively participated in the MBS review for optometry, and the taskforce’s recommendations aligned with many of the changes OA advocated for, although not all.
“While the budget announcements are light on detail, other taskforce recommendations are to amend and update the wording of existing items to reflect contemporary practice and provide clarity, to amalgamate some items for administrative simplicity and to remove the requirement to bill 10912 and 10913 that a previous examination was billed in the same practice,” Cappuccio said.
“The budget announcements also noted investment to ‘expand access to optometry services for vulnerable groups in domiciliary (home) settings’. It remains unclear exactly what this means. Optometry Australia has been actively advocating for an increase in the woefully underfunded domiciliary loading items (items 10931-10933), in order to support greater service provision to older and immobile Australians.”
Cappuccio said OA would seek further advice regarding MBS item changes.
Placement poverty
Meanwhile, pre-budget the Federal Government announced the Commonwealth Prac Program, effective from July 2025, to provide students studying teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work funding for placement experience.
Expected to benefit 68,000 students in these professions with a $320 weekly payment during their mandatory placements, the measure excluded optometry.
Allied Health Professionals Australia (AHPA) CEO Ms Bronwyn Morris-Donovan said it was a step in the right direction but highlighted that optometry was among jobs listed on the 2023 Skills Priority List that would not receive this funding.
“’Placement poverty’ is real for many students of other allied health disciplines where mandatory placements are just as extensive, if not more,” she said.
“AHPA calls for an expansion of this ‘placement payment’ to ensure the supply of qualified allied health professionals matches demand for services and incentivises the next generation of allied health professionals.”
Cappuccio said OA recognised the challenge of maintaining a liveable income confronted many optometry students on placements and it was advocating for this program to be extended to support the profession.
Health highlights
Other highlights from the health budget affecting the ophthalmic sector include funding to support the government’s commitment to index Medicare items from 1 July 2024.
There’s also a one-year freeze on maximum PBS co-payments, affecting patients who access eye drops for glaucoma and dry eye, among other diseases, as well intravitreal injections for macular disease. It means the price will remain at $31.60, or $7.70 per medicine for concession card holders and pensioners.
For concession card holders and pensioners, prices will be frozen for five years.
“So, medicines stay cheaper, instead of rising with inflation,” Federal Health Minister Mr Mark Butler said.
“Our first budgets made medicines cheaper, with lower co-payments and 60-day prescriptions already saving Australians more than $370 million. The government has committed up to an additional $3 billion for an Eighth Community Pharmacy Agreement to strengthen community pharmacies and keep medicines cheaper.”
Public hospitals – where cataract surgery wait times remain an ongoing issue across all jurisdictions – have also received additional support.
The government will provide more funding to state public hospitals from 2025–2030, increasing the Commonwealth contribution to the cost of care to 45%, from around 40%, over the next 10 years.
Australian Medical Association (AMA) president Professor Steve Robson said the additional investment through the next hospital agreement was welcome.
“But we have hundreds of thousands of Australians waiting in pain for planned surgery. Unless the Commonwealth and the state and territories come up with a funded plan to address this, patients will continue to suffer, with their conditions getting worse, their quality-of-life significantly impacted and the long-term cost to the health system being higher,” he said.
Prof Robson said the AMA was disappointed the Federal Government, together with the states and territories, had not detailed how they would tackle the blowout in planned surgery waitlists in public hospitals.
Overall, Robson said there was little that was new in this year’s budget, representing “a real loss of momentum” towards a more efficient and sustainable health system.
He cited preventive health as one of the biggest losers, with a missed opportunity to raise billions of dollars by introducing a sugar tax on sugary drinks. It’s a move the Australian Society of Ophthalmologists supports due to the impact of type 2 diabetes on vision loss.
“This is a win-win policy, with an approximate 20% health levy on sugary drinks raising around $1 billion each year – money that could be invested into measures that reduce pressure on our stretched health system,” Robson said.
“Research shows there could be 4,400 fewer cases of heart disease, 16,000 fewer cases of type 2 diabetes, and 1,100 fewer strokes over 25 years if the government takes this step but we’ve not seen a government brave enough to tackle the industry groups opposed to this measure.”
Business benefits
Optometry practices are among small businesses who can benefit from a one-year extension of the government’s $20,000 instant asset write-off scheme, announced in the budget. The scheme was due to end on 30 June 2024.
“The government is providing $290 million in cash flow support by extending the $20,000 instant asset write-off,” a budget announcement said.
“Small businesses with annual turnover of less than $10 million will be able to immediately deduct eligible assets costing less than $20,000 until 30 June 2025.”
The government will also provide direct energy bill relief for small businesses through its Energy Bill Relief Fund that will provide rebates of $325 to about one million eligible small businesses on small customer electricity plans to help cover their electricity bills.
Other measures which might also assist optometry businesses, students and eyecare practitioners include:
- $20.5 million to the Fair Work Ombudsman to help small business employers comply with workplace laws.
- A further $10.8 million to support the mental health and financial wellbeing of small business owners by extending Beyond Blue’s NewAccess for Small Business Owners guided self-help mental health coaching program which provides tailored, free and confidential mental health support to small business owners.
- Extending the Small Business Debt Helpline, a national, free and confidential phone-based financial counselling service for small business owners.
- $90 million to address health workforce shortages by making it simpler and quicker for international health practitioners to work in Australia.
More reading
Optometry Australia’s 2024-25 budget focus
Vision 2020 Australia’s 2023-24 Federal Budget wish list
Federal Budget 2023/24 focuses on Medicare rebuild