Archive · 15 Sep 2026
Australian MP says periods, childbirth and menopause can cost $100,000
Australian MP Ali France said women can face very high healthcare costs over their lives.
She estimated the total cost at between AU$35,000 and AU$100,000.
The expenses can include period products, contraception, childbirth and menopause medicines.
She said period products alone can cost up to AU$19,000.
France also described physical pain and times when health problems were not taken seriously.
Australia’s government has introduced an AU$800 million women’s health package.
The package helps make some medicines and treatments cheaper.
The government says more than 1 million women have benefited.
France gave an example of hormone therapy falling from AU$120 a month to AU$25 every two months.
Ali France said the lifetime financial cost of being a woman in Australia can range from AU$35,000 to AU$100,000.
She cited period products, contraception, childbirth, childbirth-related impacts and menopause treatments as major expenses.
France said period products alone can cost up to AU$19,000 in Australia.
The Australian government’s AU$800 million women’s health package expands subsidised access to contraception, hormonal therapies and endometriosis treatments.
The government says more than 1 million women have accessed cheaper medicines through the package.
- Who
- Australian MP Ali France, the Australian government and Health Minister Mark Butler are central to the report.
- What
- France estimated that women’s periods, reproductive healthcare, childbirth and menopause can cost up to AU$100,000 over a lifetime.
- When
- France discussed the issue during Women’s Health Week, held from 7–11 September; the related social-media reel was posted on Monday.
- Where
- The remarks concerned women living in Australia and were made in the Australian Parliament.
- Why
- France wanted to highlight the physical and financial costs of women’s healthcare and the government’s efforts to reduce those costs.
- Estimated lifetime cost
- AU$35,000 to AU$100,000
- Period-product cost
- Up to AU$19,000
- Government health package
- AU$800 million
- Reported beneficiaries
- More than 1 million women
- Example hormone-therapy cost
- Reduced from AU$120 monthly to AU$25 every two months
- Subsidised treatments
- Contraception, hormonal therapies and endometriosis treatments