Australian health advocates have welcomed an almost $800 million federal budget boost for women’s health, which includes the development of new clinical guidelines for menopause treatment.

The package will also see hormone replacement therapies for menopause added to the pharmaceutical benefits scheme for the first time in more than 20 years.

Sage Women’s Health chief executive officer Melanie White says while the measures are a good start, there is more to be done.

“Menopause has long been overlooked in public health funding, so it’s really encouraging to see the promise of investment in this space,” she says.

“The initial measures that have been recommended are exactly the right start because we need to transform menopause care first and foremost.

“[But] if these initiatives are rolled out, we will have to test and measure how effective they are [and] as part of that process we might identify gaps and other needs.”

The 2025-2026 federal budget also committed to funding additional training for health professionals in menopause, as well as new endometriosis and pelvic pain clinics that will have menopause specialists.

Menopause impacted Perth real estate agent Ina Flanagan in unexpected ways.

“I’m usually an easy-going [and] happy person, then everything about me changed,” she says.

“I started having obsessive thoughts, which I’ve never experienced before.

“It got to the stage where I’d wake up at one in the morning, and start measuring my heels to make sure they were all the same height.

“I think this will be a really good thing [when] they implement more services for women and teach more staff about menopause, or perimenopause, because there’s just not enough support out there.”

Health advocates believe more research is needed into how businesses and workplaces can accommodate women experiencing menopause.

Ms Flanagan agrees that would be hugely helpful for women going through the same thing as her.

“With work, I’ve really had to structure everything to the point where I’ve got multiple planners on the go, just so nothing gets away from me,” she says.

“In netball, there’s always an element of aggression and competition [and] I found I was getting angrier on court then I normally would.”

The federal budget also committed to funding an awareness campaign.

Melanie White from Sage Women’s Health says the target audience is crucial.

“The campaign needs to be for everybody, not just menopausal women, because we know that menopause is an intersectional concern,” she says.

“When a woman feels supported and like she has a community and people who are treating her well [with] open conservations, her experience of menopause is better.”

There is no timeline for when the federal budget funding will roll out, but advocates hope work on the national clinical guidelines can start as soon as possible.