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🏛 House of Representatives3 readingsAmendments circulated
Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Age of Dependants) 2021
✦ Plain-English Summary
# Private Health Insurance Legislation Amendment (Age of Dependants) 2021
## What it does
This bill changes the rules about who counts as a "dependent" on private health insurance policies. Instead of only covering dependent *children*, insurers can now offer coverage for dependent *adults* — including adult children with disabilities or ongoing education needs, and potentially other adult dependants. The language shift from "dependent children" to "dependent persons" opens the door for broader coverage options.
## Why it matters
Families with adult children who have disabilities or are still studying now have a clearer legal pathway to keep them on their parent's health insurance rather than buying separate policies. This could mean lower costs and simpler administration for households managing care for adult dependants.
## Key details
- **Effective date**: 1 April 2021
- **Age flexibility**: The bill removes the age ceiling that previously locked coverage to children only, allowing insurers to define their own rules for adult dependants
- **Disability and student coverage**: Specifically mentions adults with disabilities and dependent students as eligible dependants, giving insurers a framework to offer these options without breaching age discrimination laws
Official Description
Amends the: Private Health Insurance Act 2007 to: change the maximum allowable age for people to be covered under a family private health insurance policy as a dependent from up to 24 years of age to up to 31 years of age; and enable people with a disability, regardless of their age, to be covered under a family private health insurance policy as a dependent; Age Discrimination Act 2004 to enable private health insurers to cover older dependent people; and Private Health Insurance (Prudential Supervision) Act 2015 to substitute the term of dependent persons for dependent children.
Committee Referrals
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
Audit History
Last updated on APH
10 Apr 2026
Last checked by Crossbench
2 days ago
Full text indexed
2 days ago
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