Joint implant makers would lose their $5,000 fee cap
Companies that sell fake hips, knees and other joints pay a fee to run a register. The register tracks how well these implants work. The government says the cap makes small companies pay more than their share. So this bill would remove it.
Official name: Private Health Insurance (National Joint Replacement Register Levy) Amendment Bill 2026
- A national register tracks how well hip, knee and other joint implants work.
- Implant companies pay a fee to cover its costs. The fee is capped at $5,000 for each device each year.
- The bill would remove the cap from 1 July 2027. Then the fee would match how many devices each company sells.
- The government says big companies would pay more and small ones less. The total cost stays the same.
Who it affects
- Large implant companies: They would likely pay more, because their busiest devices would no longer hit a $5,000 limit.
- Small and mid-sized implant companies: The government expects their share of the fee to fall.
- People who have joint replacement surgery: The register that checks how implants work is still paid for the same way.
- Taxpayers: The government's notes on the bill say it costs the federal government nothing.
Implant makers fund joint register
The Australian Orthopaedic Association is the group for bone and joint surgeons. In 1999 it set up the National Joint Replacement Registry. The register records hip, knee, elbow, shoulder and wrist replacements. It also records spine disc replacements.
It collects details from hospitals across Australia. Before it existed, nobody knew how well joint implants worked here. Now it can spot problems with some implants or ways of doing surgery. So surgeons and patients know more.
The government pays for parts of the register's running costs. It gets the money back through a fee set by law. Since 2009, this fee has been paid by the companies that make or sell joint implants. There were 40 of these companies as at 1 July 2025.
How the levy works now
Each year the total fee needs to cover the register's costs. That total is split between companies using a formula in the fee rules.
The formula looks at how much private health funds must pay for each device. It also looks at how often the device is used. Use is counted from how many times the device is recorded on the register.
The law says the fee for any one device cannot go over $5,000 a year. When a device hits that cap, it is taken out. The rest of the bill is shared among the other devices. In 2025 to 2026, 22 of the 40 companies had devices that hit the cap.
What the bill changes
The bill would delete the $5,000 cap from the law. The fee would then be shared in line with how many devices each company really sells.
The health department looked at the costs. It found that small and mid-sized companies pay an unfair share now. It said they are in effect helping to pay for larger companies.
Say a big company's popular knee implant is used thousands of times a year. Today its fee stops at $5,000. Without the cap, it would pay in line with how often it is used. Smaller companies would pay less.
The change would apply to the fee for the year starting 1 July 2027 and every year after.
Consultation
The health department asked for public comment on its cost plan from 22 January to 5 February 2026. It got one reply.
That reply did not talk about the cap directly. It said private health funds also gain from the register and should help pay for it. It asked for the funding to be made fair before the cap goes.
The government also plans to make companies that sell hand and foot joint devices pay the fee. It would do this through a change to the rules.
Start date
If passed, the law would start on the 28th day after it is signed. That gap gives time to update the fee rules. The Governor-General signs bills into law. The Governor-General is the King's representative in Australia.
Health Minister Mark Butler is in charge of the bill. It was brought into the House of Representatives on 17 September 2026. That is the house of Parliament where the government sits. MPs debated it in a second meeting room on 13 October 2026. The House passed it on 14 October 2026.
The Parliamentary Library works for all MPs and takes no side. Its guide says a group of senators will look at the bill. They are due to report by 12 November 2026. The bill now needs to pass the Senate, the other house of Parliament.
How they voted
| Vote | Result |
|---|---|
| Vote on a change House of Representatives, 14 October 2026 Labor 69 no, Independent 8 aye, Greens 1 aye, Centre Alliance 1 no | Noes won 70 to 9 |
| Vote on a change House of Representatives, 14 October 2026 Labor 88 no, Liberal 18 aye, Nationals 10 aye, LNP 7 aye, Independent 6 aye, 1 no, Centre Alliance 1 aye, Greens 1 aye, One Nation 1 aye | Noes won 89 to 44 |
Its journey through Parliament
| 17 Sep 2026 | House of Representatives: Introduced and read a first time |
| 17 Sep 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading moved |
| 13 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 13 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Referred to Federation Chamber |
| 13 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading debate |
| 14 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Reported from Federation Chamber |
| 14 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Second reading agreed to |
| 14 Oct 2026 | House of Representatives: Third reading agreed to |