Announcement date
12 February 2026
Link to announcement
Problem being addressed
Private health insurers can open a new health insurance product at any time, at any premium (price), without the Health Minister’s approval. This is different from the process for changing the premiums of existing products, where insurers must seek the Minister’s approval first. This difference has led to the practice of insurers closing a health insurance product and opening a similar new product priced much higher, referred to as ‘product phoenixing’. Product phoenixing can result in consumers paying higher prices for health insurance or receiving lower levels of value or coverage.
Proposal
This proposal would amend the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 to require insurers to seek the Health Minister’s approval of the premiums (price) they seek to charge on new health insurance products. Further, insurers would be required to seek the Minister’s premium approval before they make certain changes reducing the value or coverage of their existing health insurance products. Addressing product phoenixing was an election commitment in 2025.
Assessed Impact Analysis outcome
Adequate
Assessment comments
The Impact Analysis (IA) provides a sufficient overview of the problem and affected stakeholders. To be considered ‘Good practice’ as per the Australian Government Guide to Policy Impact Analysis, the IA would have benefitted from an assessment of the benefits of the proposal and any implementation risks, as well as an evaluation plan with identified responsibilities and resourcing for data collection.
Regulatory burden
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DHDA) estimates a regulatory burden of approximately $480,000 per year in compliance costs across all 28 insurers.
DHDA estimates that there would be no regulatory impact on individuals or community organisations.