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Australians suffering from liver cancer, myopia and Parkinson’s disease will soon have new treatment options, with amended PBS listings on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) coming into effect.
In Tuesday’s Budget, the Morrison Government will provide significant investment for new medicines including over $230 million to expand the listing Tecentriq® and Avastin® (atezolizumab and bevacizumab) on the PBS for use in combination to treat patients with advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.
Unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common form of liver cancer, which often occurs in people with other chronic liver diseases. It also has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancer types.
From 1 November, more than 500 patients per year could benefit from PBS listing of this treatment, which would otherwise cost more than $170,000 per course.
Australia will be the first country in the world to have this combination treatment publically funded for this type of liver cancer.
This PBS listing has been implemented only two months after TGA registration, after it was assessed through the new TGA provisional approval pathway and considered for funding in parallel by the expert Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC).
The PBAC recommended this treatment be funded because of its significant benefits for patients with liver cancer and the high clinical need for this targeted therapy.
As at 1 October, PBS listings are now helping Australians living with eye conditions and Parkinson’s disease:

• Eylea® (aflibercept) will be expanding the listing for the treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularisation due to pathologic myopia. This condition is associated with unwanted growth of new blood cells in the eye that impact vision through a type of extremely acute near-sightedness. Without PBS subsidy, approximately 500 patients could benefit and would otherwise pay more than $5,000 per year of treatment
• Apomine Solution for Infusion® and Apomine Intermittent® (apomorphine) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease will be extended, to include access to maintenance treatment through community pharmacy in addition to hospitals. Without PBS subsidy, patients could pay more than $7,500 per script for this medication.

These listings were all recommended by the independent PBAC.
Since 2013, the Australian Government has approved more than 2,450 new or amended listings on the PBS. This represents an average of around 30 listings or amendments per month – or one each day – at an overall investment by the Government of $11.8 billion.
Also from 1 October, treatments for high cholesterol and almost 20 other widely used medicines will be cheaper as a result of price disclosure policy, designed to ensure the PBS is sustainable and affordable for decades to come.
Under our Government’s price disclosure policy, 18 medicines sold as 224 brands listed on the PBS will be up to $6.02 cheaper for general (non-concessional) patients as at 1 October 2020.
Two medicines for high cholesterol, ezetimibe and rosuvastatin, are among the medicines which will be cheaper.
Around 60,000 patients per year will now pay $25.69 per script for 10 mg tablets of ezetimibe, a saving of up to $5.21 per script.
Around 300,000 patients per year will now pay $15.42 per script for 10 mg capsules of rosuvastatin, a saving of up to $2.13 per script.
In total, Australians will save $40 million for medicines priced below the general patient co‑payment of $41.
Unlike Labor, we are listing all medicines recommended by the medical experts on the PBAC. In 2011, Labor stopped listing medicines on the PBS because they could not manage the economy.
The Morrison Government’s commitment to ensuring that Australians can access affordable medicines, when they need them, remains rock solid.

As part of the Morrison Government’s economic recovery plan to create jobs, rebuild our economy and secure Australia’s future, an additional 10,000 first home buyers will be able topurchase a new home sooner under our First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.
Our First Home Loan Deposit Scheme has already helped almost 20,000 first home buyers purchase a home this year with a deposit as low as 5 per cent.
An additional 10,000 places will be provided from 6 October 2020 to support the purchase of a new home or a newly built home.
The Government recognises that saving a deposit has become a more significant barrier to entering the housing market than the ability to service a home loan.
Under the existing First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, eligible first home buyers can purchase a modest home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.
Building on the success of the existing scheme, an additional 10,000 first home buyers will be able to obtain a loan to build a new home or purchase a newly built home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.
The additional guarantees will be available until 30 June 2021 and will drive more construction and support jobs as part of our Economic Recovery Plan.
Eligible first home buyers will also be able to take advantage of the Morrison Government’s First Home Super Saver Scheme and HomeBuilder, and first home buyers may also be eligible for state and territory grants and concessions.
Combined, the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, Homebuilder and First Home Super Saver Scheme represent an unprecedented level of Government support for home buyers and the construction industry alike.

The Greens say that the Government has no excuse not to urgently act on the recommendations of the Aged care and COVID-19: a special report. 
Let’s face it, these recommendations are really the bare minimum of what the Government should have already done when this pandemic started, extra support for the workforce, infection prevention and control training, mental health support for residents and of course a national coordinating body.
It’s shambolic that we have no national coordinating body to address the COVID crisis in aged care, Greens spokesperson on Ageing Senator Rachel Siewert said.
The buck stops with the Commonwealth on Aged Care and so far they have failed dismally.
We knew about the need for infectious control prevention and accreditation after Newmarch.
Given that the Royal Commissioners have made the unusual step of releasing a special report so close to when the final report is due indicates how serious the failures of the system to deal with COVID are.
A commitment to fund these recommendations adequately must be included in next week’s budget.
The funding that the Government has announced today is not enough and there needs to be more in the budget.

Federal Environment Minister Sussan Ley has serious questions to answer about the influence mining giant Rio Tinto has had on the Morrison Government’s proposed environmental law reforms, the Greens say.
Through FOI documents and responses to questions on notice through a Senate Inquiry, it has been revealed Rio Tinto wrote to the Morrison Government before the 10-year Samuel Review into Australia’s environment laws commenced last year, asking for states to have approval powers for major projects and the Minister has held a number of subsequent meetings with the company in relation to changes to the EPBC Act. Drafting of new laws had also commenced before the interim report of the Samuel Review had been released.
Greens Spokesperson for the Environment Senator Sarah Hanson-Young said:
“The Environment Minister should come out and tell us if she is simply under orders to do the bidding of Rio Tinto and other mining giants by smoothing their path for environmental approvals of their environment-wrecking projects.
“It seems the Minister not only failed to intervene before Rio Tinto devastatingly blew up Juukan Gorge, she continues to help them pursue even more destruction of our environment and heritage sites.
“The Morrison Government needs to stop its pursuit of its rehashed Tony Abbott bill that hands power for approvals of projects of national environmental significance to the states. The mask has slipped and everyone can see the Liberal Party is just helping its fossil fuel donors get exactly what they want and at any cost to our environment.
“Sussan Ley will be remembered as the Environment Minister who put koalas on their final path to extinction, allowed sacred Indigenous sites to be destroyed and trashed our precious natural world instead of protecting it.
“The Samuel Review should be completed before any legislative change is even proposed and strong standards with an independent cop on the beat to enforce them must established to help protect our environment not trash it even further.”

The Australian Government is establishing a Safe Travel Zone with New Zealand.
This is the next step for a COVID-safe Australia that will reunite families and friends, offer opportunities for businesses looking for workers, and back the communities that depend on tourism.
Australia and New Zealand have worked closely together since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
We are committed to opening up both domestic travel within Australia and travel with New Zealand, as well as other low risk countries as soon as the health advice says it is safe to do so.
The Australian Government’s Department of Health has undertaken a public health risk assessment of COVID-19 in New Zealand, which indicated that New Zealand posed a low risk of COVID-19 transmission to Australia.
Passengers from New Zealand will be able to travel to Australia, quarantine-free, from Friday, 16 October, provided they have not been in an area designated as a COVID-19 hotspot in New Zealand in the preceding 14 days.
As has been announced already, the Australian Government is defining a hotspot using a three-day rolling average of three locally acquired cases per day.
There are currently no COVID-19 hotspots in New Zealand. The last locally acquired case with an unidentified epidemiological source occurred on 21 August 2020. We are working closely with New Zealand authorities to ensure we are notified promptly of any outbreaks there.
Any state or territory that imposes travel restrictions consistent with the Australian Government-defined hotspot, as advised by the acting Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, will be able to participate in the Safe Travel Zone.
After offering these arrangements at the latest National Cabinet, we have reached agreement for this first stage of quarantine-free travel with New South Wales and the Northern Territory. We welcome those jurisdictions’ commitment to reopening Australia to the world.
Normal visa requirements will apply and travellers returning to New Zealand from Australia will be required to comply with New Zealand’s travel requirements.
The Australian Government will provide increased Australian Border Force support at airports to support the establishment of green lanes of travel for New Zealanders and collecting information on arrivals to assist with contact tracing if required.
We expect the establishment of quarantine-free travel to Australia from New Zealand will also free up space for around an additional 325 passengers a week to enter quarantine in Sydney.
More information will be available at www.smartraveller.gov.au

The Morrison Government is continuing to support businesses through COVID‑19 by providing further tax relief to attract and retain workers and reduce red-tape as part of our economic recovery plan.
For the first time, businesses with an aggregated annual turnover between $10 million and $50 million will have access to up to ten small business tax concessions. The changes are estimated to support an additional 20,000 businesses and their employees.
The expanded concessions, as part of the 2020-21 Budget will apply in three phases:

• From 1 July 2020, eligible businesses will be able to immediately deduct certain start-up expenses and certain prepaid expenditure.
• From 1 April 2021, eligible businesses will be exempt from the 47 per cent fringe benefits tax on car parking and multiple work-related portable electronic devices, such as phones or laptops, provided to employees.
• From 1 July 2021, eligible businesses will be able to access the simplified trading stock rules, remit pay as you go (PAYG) instalments based on GDP adjusted notional tax, and settle excise duty and excise-equivalent customs duty monthly on eligible goods. Eligible businesses will also have a two-year amendment period apply to income tax assessments for income years starting from 1 July 2021.

In addition, from 1 July 2021, the Commissioner of Taxation’s power to create a simplified accounting method determination for GST purposes will be expanded to apply to businesses below the $50 million aggregated annual turnover threshold.
This announcement builds on the extensive support provided for small and medium sized businesses during the COVID-19 crisis that has included JobKeeper, extending the Instant Asset Write Off, providing a Cash Flow Boost of up to $100,000 for employing small businesses, and boosting access to capital through our COVID-19 SME loan Guarantee Scheme.
Small business is the backbone of our economy. The Morrison Government will continue to support our small and medium sized businesses as part of our economic recovery plan.

The Morrison Government is making significant digital reforms to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) to cut red tape for more than 4,000 businesses applying to register medicines and medical devices each year, as part of its Deregulation Agenda which will also improve the timeliness of report on patient safety.
Our Government is investing $12 million over four years to digitise, transform and modernise the TGA’s business systems and infrastructure, better connecting services to get medicines and devices to patients sooner.
New digital processes will deliver simpler and faster interactions between industry and government. This means earlier approvals of medical products, reduced administrative effort, and timelier decision-making by the TGA.
Under this Deregulation Agenda, our Government is focused on ensuring regulation is and remains fit-for-purpose – making it easier to do business while ensuring essential safeguards with the lightest touch.
This measure will yield a significant reduction in red tape, cutting costs for the medicines and medical devices industry. It will also position Australia to more quickly access emerging and new health technologies in the international market.
The TGA receives around 26,000 applications every year for medicines and medical devices to be listed or amended on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG), which allows them to be imported, sold and used in Australia.
The digital changes will enable simpler and more secure interactions between Government and industry to apply for, track, pay, and manage listings for regulated and subsidised health related products and services.
The TGA receives 15,000 adverse drug reaction reports on patient safety per year which are entered manually through PDF rather than through a central database.
With these reforms, medical companies will now be able to use an electronic database to report these patients safety events with automatic data transfer – saving them up to 15 minutes per report.
All Australians will benefit from a streamlined process which increases the timeliness of decisions on the safety, quality and efficacy of therapeutic goods, and their approval for listing on the ARTG.
Consumers and health care professionals can also have greater confidence in the safety and efficacy of therapeutic goods, with increased transparency built into the reforms.”
Cyber security will also be bolstered to ensure the protection of commercial-in-confidence information from industry.