Australia’s Health Minister Mark Butler has declared reducing specialists’ fees will be his next key focus of health policy reform.

Doctors are currently free to set their own fees and many have rapidly increased them over the past 15 years. The average out-of-pocket cost for a non-bulk billed specialist consultation increased from A$46 in 2009–10 to $126 in 2024–25, or 11.9% per year. These are averages, so actual fees can be much higher and vary by specialty.

As a result, non-GP specialists have the highest incomes in the country and run the most profitable businesses.

So what has the government done so far to get specialist fees under control? And what options are left for reform?

Starting the reform process

This year the government introduced legislation to enable the publication of fees for individual specialists. The Medical Cost Finder website will show what individual specialists charge, rather than regional averages. This will better facilitate choice of doctor.

A Senate committee has also been set up to investigate access to and affordability of medical specialists which will report in late 2026.

Read more: No control, no regulation. Why private specialist fees can leave patients with huge medical bills

The committee is likely to hear that high fees, and uncertainty about what fee will be charged, means people are less likely to attend appointments. This can mean a choice between poor health and potential financial hardship.

Each year, almost 1 million people report avoiding seeing specialists because of the cost.

High fees also skew incentives for doctors who may prefer to work in high-fee specialties rather than in specialties where........

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