Growing up in a small town in India, in a small family, I learned from very early on that women are the backbone of families and communities. Their strength and resilience are essential for thriving societies – making their health and wellbeing of the upmost importance. This belief has deeply influenced my passion for the women's health focus at Bayer.
Well before my time, Bayer has played a role in advancing innovation for Women’s Health. Over 60 years ago, a product in our portfolio became the very first oral contraceptive to reach the Australian market. In 2025, we still see our role as bringing cutting-edge solutions to local communities, ensuring that our advancements in healthcare make a real difference in people's lives.
Today we celebrate the Federal Government’s listing of the first oral contraceptive in over 30 years [1],[2]. This marks a significant milestone in providing more access to affordable options for reproductive health.
Since moving to Australia, I have deepened my understanding of the unique challenges faced by Australian women. I see how vital it is to ensure all Aussie women and their families have access reproductive healthcare, education and products across this wide and vast country. What’s clear is these challenges are complex, and we need to do as much as we can to understand them and their impact on women, their families and communities.
Last year, we conducted market research that would deepen our understanding of health issues facing women in Australia, in particular their reproductive health and views on contraception.
In our survey of more than 1000 Australian women aged 30-45, we found that one in 10 don’t think about their reproductive health, or that they find it awkward to discuss these issues with their GP [3].
This is a problem, as an estimated one in three women live with heavy menstrual bleeding, a quarter of menopausal women report that symptoms render daily tasks difficult, and one in seven women are living with the pain of endometriosis. These conditions impact women’s ability to work, exercise and socialise [4][5][6].
Wanting to know more about the perceptions and barriers around contraception for Aussie women, we commissioned another national survey of 1,000 women aged 18 to 45. We found locally, Australians also experience high rates of unintended pregnancies. Over a third (35%) of young women surveyed say they have experienced a pregnancy scare and 38 percent say they have taken emergency contraception[7].
Our research also showed that Australian women want more accurate information about their contraceptive choices, with 70% believing they have insufficient education, while 32% of young women regularly experiencing anxiety about their current method7.
We also know that Australia has a relatively low uptake of long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARCs) compared to other OECD countries. Only 11 percent of women aged between 15 and 44 use LARCs in Australia [8]. This means we lag behind other high-income countries such as the UK (44.1%) [9].
Not unique to just one moment in a woman’s life, reproductive health impacts women at all ages. These challenges have far reaching impacts on our lives, our communities and the health system, which are worsened by the barriers that prevent them from being addressed in a timely and complete manner.
We’ve seen increased policy focus and support for women’s reproductive health notably starting off with Senate Inquiries into reproductive health and menopause – an exciting step forward. Both The National Women’s Health Strategy 2020-2030 and the recent recommendations from Senate inquiry identified several issues and priorities around women’s reproductive health in Australia.
Collaborating for change
Women’s health is complex and we must seek wide engagement to ensure advancements are meaningful for all women. In Australia we have collaborated with stakeholders, clinicians, and healthcare providers – most recently Family Planning Alliance and the RACGP. This has been crucial in building a comprehensive understanding of the challenges women face. Together, we strive to find pragmatic solutions to these issues.
Based on our consumer insights and after multi-stakeholder consultations, together with our partners at the end of 2024, we called for policy reforms to drive MBS changes and a national awareness campaign around contraceptive choice so that every woman in Australia can easily access and make informed decisions about her reproductive health.
It is incredibly inspiring to see the Australian Federal Government making new commitments that relate to contraception choice. This includes the recent announcement that the government will commit $574million investment into strong policies that support more affordable contraceptive options for Aussie families, as well as the $8.5 billion Medicare boost.
What does this mean for women and healthcare professionals?
- An increase in the Medicare rebate for the insertion of intrauterine devices (IUDs) by 150%. This ensures healthcare professionals are better compensated for the training, time and resources they invest in patient care, and around 300,000 women each year are expected to save $400 in out of pocket costs.
- $25.1 million investment in training healthcare professionals so that we have a skilled and confident workforce in this area - vital to improving access to LARCs.
- New pain clinics and further rebates, funding and guidelines prepared for the treatment of menopause and perimenopause.
- Up to 30-38% increase in MBS rebate for longer consultations which will support women and their healthcare professionals in addressing specific women's health topics [10]. Longer consultations also allow for addressing major risk factors, providing more time for preventive care and early intervention for chronic conditions in and beyond women's health.
These changes are all steps in the right direction. We must remember however, that Australia is a large, diverse country and we have to remain focused on ensuring these and other positive changes bring positive change to women and their families across the whole country.
We remain committed to working with industry and the government to continue improving contraceptive choice for women nationwide, as we believe it’s the foundation for a healthier, more equitable and prosperous society that benefits all Australians.
We’ve come a long way since Bayer introduced our first contraceptive pill in Australia but know there’s more work to be done.
References
1. Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits.1 December 1994. Available at: https://www.pbs.gov.au/publication/schedule/1951-2002/1994-12-01-PBS-Schedule.pdf. Accessed: February 2025.
2. Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits. From 1 March 2025. Available at: https://www.pbs.gov.au/pbs/home
3. Bayer Australia (2024). Data on File COR-UN-WHC-AU-0038-1
4. Bayer ANZ (2023). The menstrual load: 1-in-3 Australian women surveyed believe they may have undiagnosed "heavy menstrual bleeding (1)", heavily impacting their everyday life. www.bayer.com.au/en/the-menstrual-load-1-in-3-australian-women-surveyed-believe-they-may-have-undiagnosed-heavy Accessed 4 October 2024.
5. Australasian Menopause Society, Women’s Health Research Program (Monash University) and Jean Hailes for Women’s Health (2023). The impact of symptoms attributed to menopause by Australian women. www.jeanhailes.org.au/research/womens-health-survey/menopause-in-australian-women Accessed 4 October 2024
6. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2023). 1 in 7 Australian women aged 44–49 have endometriosis. www.aihw.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/2023/2023-september/1-in-7-australian-women-aged-44-49-have-endometriosis Accessed 4 October 2024.
7. Bayer data on file. COR-PF-WHC-AU-0019-1
8. Grzeskowiak et al, 2020. Changes in use of hormonal long-acting reversible contraceptive methods in Australia between 2006 and 2018: A population-based study. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33095452/#:~:text=It%20is%20estimated%20that%20in,doubled%20over%20the%20past%20decade
9. UK Government 2024. Reproductive health profiles: statistical commentary. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reproductive-health-2023-update/reproductive-health-profiles-statistical-commentary. Accessed November 2024.
10. Will Labor's Medicare bulk-billing pledge make it cheaper to see your GP? - ABC News
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Ph: (02) 9391 6000. Date of Preparation: February 2025 / COR-PF-WHC-AU-0042-1