This year’s increase to private health insurance premiums will see Australian families paying $200 a year more, hitting household budgets at a time of sky-high out-of-pocket health expenses under the Turnbull Government.

The $200 a year increase – confirmed in recent media reports – means that families will be paying around a total of $900 extra in annual premiums under the Abbott/Turnbull Government – that’s a 23 per cent increase in annual premiums.

The latest increase would put significant strain on families when the Government is already forcing them to pay more out of their own pocket for health.

Australians are paying more than ever for their private health insurance but they are getting less and less.

This $200 increase comes on top of some of the highest premium increases on record, spiralling complaints against private health insurers and Australians increasingly discovering they are simply not covered for basic inclusions in their policies.

Last financial year there were 4,416 complaints to the Private Health Insurance Ombudsman, a 30 per cent increase in complaints under the Liberals, and it is now estimated that 40 per cent of all PHI policies have some form of exclusion.

Australians simply don’t feel they are getting value for their private health insurance under this Government. Despite the ever increasing cost of their private health insurance, people are finding they are not covered for things like pregnancy, cataract surgery, hip and knee replacements and heart surgery.

Quite simply, Malcolm Turnbull is ripping Australians off at every turn. Australians are paying more than ever to visit a GP, they are paying more than ever for private health insurance, and yet the Government is still refusing to lift the GP freeze and invest more in health.

Graham Perrett MP

The Palaszczuk Government’s approach to domestic and family violence is proving to be one of the most responsive in Australia, with figures showing Queensland has one of the nation’s highest rates for finalising Domestic and Family Violence Protection Orders.

Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Yvette D’Ath believes this was a sign that police and courts were acting efficiently on Domestic and Family Violence Protection Orders and that Queenslanders had confidence in the system.

“This data, which is a new element to the Report on Government Services, shows Queensland’s response to the recommendations of the Not Now, Not Ever: Putting an end to domestic and family violence in Queensland, is making a difference,” Mrs D’Ath said.

“This report shows more and more domestic and family violence victims are coming forward – a sign that they have faith in our system.”

Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence Shannon Fentiman said it was encouraging to see the Queensland Government’s strong approach to domestic and family violence was paying off.

“We are absolutely committed to protecting victims and their children, and holding perpetrators to account,” she said.

The recently released Productivity Commission’s Report on Government Services shows that in 2015-16, 53.6% of finalised civil cases in Queensland’s Magistrates Courts involved a finalised application for a Domestic and Family Violence-related Protection Order.

This was well above the national total of 31.3% and was the second highest in Australia, behind the Northern Territory.

“The Palaszczuk Government takes domestic and family violence very seriously and that is why we introduced the Specialist Domestic and Family Violence Court, which is being trialled at Southport,” Mrs D’Ath said.

“In 2015-16 we invested $1.75 million in the Specialist Domestic Violence Court and we have allocated $4.18 million over 2016-17 to complete the trial and its evaluation.

“We extended the trial of the Specialist Domestic Violence Court until June this year because there was a substantial increase in the number of domestic violence applications since the trial began. This was also proof that people feel more confident in coming forward.”

$42.4 million was also allocated in the 2016-17 Budget to roll out more specialist courts over four years.