Private health insurance rebate over 65: today's rates and the 2027 bill
Enter the age of the oldest person on your policy, your premium and your income: you see your rebate now and what the proposed 1 April 2027 change would take off it.
Extra cost per year if the 2027 rebate change passes
$178
Rebate 28.139 % today, 24.118 % from 1 April 2027 under the bill before Parliament. Not law on 2026-10-19.
| Rebate today | $1,248 |
| Rebate under the proposal | $1,069 |
| Tier | Base tier |
| Per month | $14.86 |
Prepared by Radif Partners · How the figures are built · thresholds read on ato.gov.au, premiums from privatehealth.gov.au data · not tax advice
People aged 65 and over receive a higher private health insurance rebate than younger people on the same income. Until 31 March 2027, when the oldest person on the policy is 65 to 69, the rebate is 28.139 % at the base tier, 20.098 % at tier 1 and 12.058 % at tier 2; from 70 it is 32.158 %, 24.118 % and 16.079 %. Under 65, the same tiers give 24.118 %, 16.079 % and 8.038 %. In July 2026 the Department of Health announced that from 1 April 2027 everyone would receive the under-65 rates, "subject to legislation passing Parliament", and put the average extra cost for those affected at $252 a year. The bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on 15 October 2026. On 19 October 2026 it is still before the house of representatives: it is not law, and the rates you pay today are unchanged.
Today's extra support, row by row
The rebate has three rows. A policy whose oldest member is under 65 sits on the first; 65 to 69, the second; 70 and over, the third. On the same income, the second row adds about four points and the third about eight, at every tier except tier 3, which receives no rebate at any age.
| Income tier | Under 65 | 65 to 69 | 70 and over | Proposed from April 2027, all ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base tier | 24.118 % | 28.139 % | 32.158 % | 24.118 % |
| Tier 1 | 16.079 % | 20.098 % | 24.118 % | 16.079 % |
| Tier 2 | 8.038 % | 12.058 % | 16.079 % | 8.038 % |
| Tier 3 | 0.000 % | 0.000 % | 0.000 % | 0.000 % |
The tiers for 2026-27 are the surcharge tiers: base tier up to $105,000 for a single person and $210,000 for a couple. Many retirees sit at the base tier because their income for surcharge purposes is low, even when their assets are not, and that is where the extra support is largest in dollars.
What the bill would do
The Department of Health paper of July 2026 says that from 1 April 2027 older Australians "will receive the same rebate rate as other people in the same income tier, subject to legislation passing Parliament". Its reasons: people on the same income currently receive different support depending on age, and the savings would go to aged care, including residential places and home care. It estimates the average extra cost for the people affected at $252 a year, "less than a dollar a day".
The vehicle is the Private Health Insurance Amendment (Modernising the Private Health Insurance Rebate) Bill 2026 [No. 2]. The Parliament site records its introduction and the moving of the second reading in the House of Representatives on 15 October 2026, and gives its status as before the House. A bill needs to pass both chambers and receive assent before it changes anything. Until then this page treats the 2027 rates as a scenario.
The cost for typical retired households
The department's average hides a wide range. The loss is the gap between your row and the first row, applied to your full premium. A large Gold policy loses more dollars than a Basic one; a household at tier 2 loses about the same number of points as one at the base tier, but on a smaller rebate.
| Household | Premium per year | Rebate today | Under the proposal | Extra cost per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Couple, oldest 67, base tier, median NSW policy | $4,434 | $1,248 | $1,069 | $178 |
| Couple, oldest 72, base tier, median NSW policy | $4,434 | $1,426 | $1,069 | $356 |
| Couple, oldest 72, tier 2, median NSW policy | $4,434 | $713 | $356 | $357 |
| Single, 66, base tier, median QLD policy | $2,325 | $654 | $561 | $93 |
| Single, 75, tier 1, median QLD policy | $2,325 | $561 | $374 | $187 |
Your own premium under the proposal
Extra cost per year if the 2027 rebate change passes
$418
| Rebate today | $1,672 |
| Rebate under the proposal | $1,254 |
| Tier | Base tier |
| Per month | $34.84 |
Premiums themselves will also move on 1 April 2027, as they do every year (the average increase was 4.41 % in 2026). The figures above isolate the effect of the rebate change alone.
Couples with an age gap
The age band is not a personal attribute: it belongs to the policy, and it is set by its oldest member. A couple aged 62 and 66 today receives the 65 to 69 row on the whole premium, 28.139 % at the base tier, so the younger partner benefits from the older one's age. That also means the proposed change would reach households where only one person is over 65. On the median NSW couple policy, such a couple at the base tier would lose $178 a year. A couple who both stay under 65 until after April 2027 would see no change at all, whatever happens to the bill.
Income works the same way for everyone. The tier comes from the income for surcharge purposes of both partners together, tested on the family thresholds when you have a spouse on 30 June. A retired couple whose combined income for surcharge purposes stays under the family threshold sits at the base tier, where both the current extra support and the proposed loss are largest.
Should anything change now?
For most people, no. The proposal does not change what any policy covers, and dropping hospital cover has its own cost: a Lifetime Health Cover loading may apply if you return later, and the surcharge applies to incomes above the threshold. The department paper points to the Ombudsman's comparison service at PrivateHealth.gov.au for anyone who wants to look at cheaper cover, and notes that switching usually does not mean serving waiting periods again for services your current policy already covers. Compare health insurance shows how the cheapest policies differ by state. The general rule for the rebate is on the rebate page.