the Abbott Government
Medibank initially started as an Australian Government not-for-profit insurer in 1976, before becoming for-profit in 2009 and privatised by the Abbott Government in 2014. Medibank now operates as a publicly-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange.

Vale Gough Whitlam
Gough Whitlam, who has died in Sydney aged 98, can rightly be called the founder of Medicare. In the early 1970s a large proportion of Australians lacked coverage for health.

In 1976, the Fraser government created Medibank Private to provide competition to private health insurers. As Malcolm Fraser himself put it: ”Full and open competition between Medibank and the private funds … will do much to cut down the total cost of healthcare. ”

Medibank is a leading private health insurer, with more than 45 years of experience delivering better health to Australians. We look after the health cover needs of more than 3.7 million customers through our Medibank and ahm brands, and distribute travel, life and pet insurance.

1 July 1975
Parliamentarians planned for Medicare to be funded by a 1.35% income tax (exempting people on a low income). However, this was rejected by the senate, so it was instead funded from consolidated revenue. Medibank started on 1 July 1975.

Bupa is a private company limited by guarantee. It has no shareholders and reinvests its profits. Health insurance represents 72% of Bupa’s revenues worldwide and 17.9 million of its customers.

the Whitlam government
The first iteration of Medicare was called Medibank, and it was introduced by the Whitlam government in 1975, early in its second term. The federal opposition under Malcolm Fraser had rejected Bills relating to its financing, which is why it took the government so long to get it established.

3.7 million members
Why choose Medibank private health insurance? With over 40 years of experience, we understand what better health means for our 3.7 million members.