The ''Health Insurance Act of 1973'' (Cth) was an Act of the

Parliament of Australia The Parliament of Australia (officially the Federal Parliament, also called the Commonwealth Parliament) is the legislature, legislative branch of the government of Australia. It consists of three elements: the monarch (represented by the ...

, passed by the Labor Whitlam government, which introduced the

Commonwealth of Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

's first

universal healthcare Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...

scheme:

Medibank Medibank Private Limited, better known as simply Medibank, is one of the largest Australian private health insurance providers, covering 3.7 million people in 2021. Medibank initially started as an Australian Government not-for-profit insurer i ...

. It was later amended under the Fraser government, wherein

Medibank Private Medibank Private Limited, better known as simply Medibank, is one of the largest Australian private health insurance providers, covering 3.7 million people in 2021. Medibank initially started as an Australian Government not-for-profit insurer i ...

was established and the public healthcare scheme was progressively wound back. The Hawke government re-established the scheme under the name Medicare.

External links

Health Insurance Act 1973
in the

Federal Register of Legislation The Office of Parliamentary Counsel (OPC) is an Australian Commonwealth government agency established under the ''Parliamentary Counsel Act 1970'' (Cth) within the Commonwealth Attorney-General's portfolio. OPC drafts all government Bills that ...

1973 in Australian law Acts of the Parliament of Australia Health insurance in Australia {{Australia-law-stub