Bill would ban the $5,000 review of veterans' physio
From July 2027 the government plans to review veterans' allied health care once it costs $5,000 in a year. Allied health care comes from health workers who are not doctors or nurses, like physios. This private bill would ban cost caps and gap fees for that care. A gap fee is the part of a bill you pay yourself. It would also ban reviews set off only by cost.
Official name: Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Veterans’ Allied Health Care) Bill 2026
- The 2026-27 Budget, the government's yearly money plan, set a $5,000 yearly review point for veterans' allied health care from 1 July 2027. That covers care like physio and psychology.
- This bill would ban yearly cost caps and gap payments. It would ban reviews that start only because spending hits a dollar amount.
- Checks for safety, fraud or medical need could still happen.
- It is a private bill, not from the government. It comes from Ross Cadell, a senator for the Nationals party. It is still before the Senate.
Who it affects
- Veterans and their family members whose care is paid by Veterans' Affairs: Their allied health care could not be capped, charged a gap fee or paused just because the bill passed a dollar amount.
- Physios, psychologists and other allied health workers: They would not have to stop or delay care for a veteran because a spending limit was reached.
- The Department of Veterans' Affairs: It could still check care for safety, need or fraud. But it could not use total cost as the main reason.
$5,000 review point for veterans
The Department of Veterans' Affairs pays for health care for people hurt or made sick by their time in the armed forces. Some of that is allied health care. That means care from health workers who are not doctors or nurses. Examples are physios and psychologists.
The 2026-27 Budget announced a $5,000 yearly money limit on allied health care paid by the department. It is due to start on 1 July 2027.
The government now calls this a review threshold. It says veterans can still get care above $5,000 if they need it. The care must first be reviewed and approved.
Senator Ross Cadell says that is still a problem. In his notes on the bill he says spending would become the trigger for extra forms and approvals. He says this could break up care or put people off getting it.
His bill changes the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004. That is the main law setting out care and payments for people hurt in the armed forces.
Who counts as allied health
The bill adds a meaning for allied health worker to the law. It covers the types of workers on the department's own list. It also keeps the everyday meaning of the term. So a known type of health worker is not left out just because it is missing from the list.
The government could add more types of workers in its own detailed rules. It could not use that power to remove a type of worker or to set a money cap.
Allied health care means care given by one of these workers while doing that job.
Limits on treatment rules
The Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission runs this part of the veterans' system. It writes the Treatment Principles. They are a set of rules about what care is covered and how.
The bill says the Treatment Principles could not do any of these things.
They could not keep the total cost of a person's allied health care below a set amount over any time. That covers yearly, monthly or any other limit. It does not stop limits on the fee for a single visit.
They could not make a veteran pay part of the cost. That includes a gap payment.
They could not order a review, or ask for more evidence, mainly because total costs are near, at or over a set amount.
They could not delay, pause, stop or refuse care mainly for that reason either.
Other rules could stay, such as rules about patient safety. Say you are a veteran seeing a physio every week for a bad back. The department could still ask if the care is working. It could not ask only because your bills reached $5,000.
Cover in other veterans' laws
The bill adds a new part, Part 4A, to the law. It protects care and payments directly, in case a cap comes in some other way.
New section 303A covers care under the main veterans' law. It also covers care under the Veterans' Entitlements Act 1986, an older law for veterans' pensions and care. The same bans on caps, gap fees and cost-based reviews apply. The words "however described" mean a cap cannot dodge the ban by getting a new name.
New section 303B covers money paid back to veterans for care they paid for themselves. This includes payments under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Defence-related Claims) Act 1988. That is another law for people hurt in the armed forces. There could be no cap on the total paid back over any time.
A veteran would still only get back what the care really cost. That stops anyone being paid more than they spent.
The government could use its detailed rules to stretch these protections to other types of care or payment. It could not use them to cut the protections back.
Waiting in the Senate
The law would start the day after it was signed into law. The senator says this lets the protections work before the $5,000 plan starts on 1 July 2027.
It would cover any care or payment a person has a right to from that day. That includes people whose injury was accepted years ago. It would not reopen amounts already paid.
Senator Ross Cadell brought the bill to the Senate on 15 September 2026. He gave his opening speech the same day. The Senate has not yet debated or voted on it. It would need to pass the Senate and the House of Representatives, Parliament's main house. Then the Governor-General, who stands in for the King, would have to sign it.
On the same day, a group of other senators brought in a similar bill on caps for veterans' care.
Its journey through Parliament
| 15 Sep 2026 | Senate: Introduced and read a first time |
| 15 Sep 2026 | Senate: Second reading moved |