Good morning, everyone. My name's Mike Wilkins, and on behalf of Medibank's Board of Directors, I'm pleased to welcome you to our 2024 Annual General Meeting here in Melbourne. I'll now invite Wurundjeri Elder, Uncle Dave, to join us to open today's proceedings with a welcome to country. Uncle Dave.
Thank you, Mike. As you heard, my name is Dave Wandin, or Uncle Dave as I'm affectionately known, and I'm an Elder of the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Tribal Land Council on whose land you are gathered today. It is the land of my ancestors, which actually puts us back in the history books when we talk about ancestry, but it is still my land today. My father handed down the cultural responsibility to teach all people who live, work, and play on Wurundjeri land their responsibility to country, not just to your neighbor, to your street, to your town, or your broader community, but the community that surrounds you that we quite often ignore, and that is country itself. And that's why we're doing a welcome to country, not a welcome to people. A welcome imposes rules and regulations about how business is conducted while you are on Wurundjeri Country.
It starts off normally, officially, in Woi-wurrung language. I, unfortunately, as an Elder, did not have the opportunity to learn language. I chose to teach people about the environment, about the birds, the bees, the animals, the reptiles, the fish, the waterways, the sky, the land itself, the grasses, the insects and the spiders and the snakes and all the things we don't like, but how we should appreciate them. But there are many of the women who are picking up our language again and can speak it. My granddaughters speak language, and they know that I can't, so if they've got anything to hide from Grandad, they'll talk in language, and they can get away with murder. The only words I do know are Wominjeka, Wurundjeri, Biik. Welcome to Wurundjeri Country.
I pay my respects to my ancestors and my Elders, both past, present, and emerging, for the knowledge that they have been able to pass down to me that I can share with my children, my grandchildren, and now one great-grandchild, and I pay my respects to all other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples that are at this gathering today, to their Elders and ancestors, past, present, and emerging, for the opportunity that I've had to meet with many of them and learn and fill in the gaps in my culture and help them fill in the gaps in their culture, and therefore strengthen the voice and the physicality of the Aboriginal population of Australia to make people aware that this country was managed for many, many thousands of years in harmony, and we can learn from what the ancestors have left us.
With the combination of the old knowledge systems of the ways of knowing, being, and doing, and combined with the modern sciences that we all rely on today, that we can walk this country together, we can heal this country together, and that way we can all truly call ourselves Australians. I would also like to pay my respects to my creator spirit, Bunjil the Wedge-tailed Eagle, and as I learn more about my culture and realize the importance of what he left for us, he gave us laws, L-O-R-E, which is story, but L-A-W as well.
And if we go back to some of those ways of the rules that he gave us and start to apply them in this modern world with all its threats, and I'm talking particularly about climate change. If we think about it, there's been climate change in this country before, long before Captain Cook, but my ancestors were here and they survived it because we never forgot the laws of country first. Healthy country makes healthy people. And as shareholders in the game of looking after people's health, I would like you to consider in your further business that when you're thinking about how do we make people healthy and we talk about hospitals and equipment and all that kind of thing, but remember that healthy country makes healthy people. Thank you very much.
Thank you, Uncle Dave, for that very warm welcome to Country, and I'd also like to thank you and the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation for all that you do with us. Over the last two years, we've worked together on the development of our new Melbourne office that stands on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung land. We're grateful for the knowledge and the generosity that you've shared to ensure our new place integrates a deep and respectful connection to Country. In this way, I respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri peoples of the Kulin Nation on whose lands we meet this morning, and I pay my respects to Elders past and present. I'd also like to extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who are joining us today.
Today's meeting's being held in a hybrid format, so I'd like to thank all shareholders for joining us today, both those joining us virtually through our live stream and those who are here with us in the room. A quorum of members is present, and I now formally declare the meeting open. The notice of meeting has been sent to members, and I'll take it as read. Joining me on stage is the Medibank Board of Directors, and I'd like to introduce them to you. On your far left, my far right, is Linda Nicholls, who's chair of the Investment and Capital Committee, followed by Jay Weatherill, who's standing for election today. Jay is sitting next to Dr. Tracy Batten, who's chair of the Board's People and Remuneration Committee, and of course, sitting next to Tracy is our Chief Executive, David Koczkar.
On your far right, my far left is Peter Everingham, and he's sitting next to David Fagan, who's Chair of the Risk Management Committee. Sitting next to David is Kathryn Fagg, followed by Gerard Dalbosco, who's Chair of the Audit Committee and who's also standing for re-election today. Finally, to your immediate right of me is our company secretary, Mei Ramsay. At this stage of the meeting, I'd like to briefly run through some procedural details. For those of you attending virtually, if you experience any technical difficulties during the meeting, please call the number on the screen. A recording will also be available on our website after the meeting. If the AGM needs to be adjourned at any time due to technical or other reasons, we'll provide further instructions and information on our website and the ASX.
To provide shareholders the greatest possible opportunity to vote, I now formally open the polls on all resolutions. I now also formally cast all votes for proxies I hold on all resolutions in accordance with the directions provided by shareholders or as set out in the notice of meeting. I'll provide more detailed instructions regarding voting and the asking of questions later in the meeting. I've also now displayed on the screen the current proxy position. I'll now make some comments on our 2024 financial performance and then hand over to David for his comments. This is a milestone year for Medibank. Ten years ago, the Federal Parliament transferred the Australian government's health insurer into private hands through a public float on the Australian Securities Exchange at AUD 2 a share for individual investors. I'm pleased to report that ten years on, your company is in robust health.
We've paid AUD 3.4 billion in dividends to you, our shareholders, many of whom are also our customers. While Medibank's shares have outperformed the ASX 100 index over that period, we use more than financial metrics to measure success. Through our Medibank and ahm brands, we've grown our number of customers to 4.2 million and now support them through multiple channels. Over the decade, we expanded the scope of the care and support that we've provided. In the process, we've transformed into one of Australia's leading health companies. Almost a quarter of our employees are now health professionals delivering innovative home care, virtual health, hospital, and primary care at scale and across the nation.
In partnership with clinicians and providers, we've invested in prevention, home care and short-stay hospitals, and we've now established one of Australia's largest multidisciplinary primary healthcare networks by bringing together our investment in Myhealth and our other Amplar Health services. Services that didn't exist or were in their infancy a decade ago are now in heavy demand, such as the one million virtual health interactions our Amplar Health team supported in the 2024 financial year, and this year, 132,000 customers signed up to our clinician-led prevention and Live Better digital prevention programs, which represents our long-term commitment to better outcomes for our customers. We believe Medibank is the role model for successful transition from public to private ownership. We're creating greater healthcare access, choice, and control for Australians while creating long-term sustainable growth for shareholders. Health insurance is a necessity, not a luxury for most Australians.
Throughout 2024, we kept up our focus on customers, many of whom continued to experience cost of living pressures as international and domestic factors drove up prices right across the economy. While we weren't immune to these pressures, we understand our responsibilities to deliver greater value for our customers, and we kept premium increases below inflation, helped by our careful approach to costs. We're very aware of the choices that our customers make each year and that they continue to prioritize their health within the household budget, and we know that by doing this, they're also creating greater capacity in the public system through paying both their taxes and their private health insurance premiums.
As some in the broader sector seek to shore up budget gaps, expecting our customers to be able to cover costs that are borne of outside pressures, that's just not fair, and we'll always advocate on behalf of our customers. With this responsibility in mind, this year, we further expanded our products and services, delivering better service for millions and deepened our relationship with our customers. As a result of this customer focus and discipline, we delivered a solid financial result reflecting the continued resilience of our resident health insurance business, the important contribution of our non-resident business, and strong growth in Medibank Health. Group underlying net profit after tax rose 14.1% to AUD 570.4 million. Net investment income increased 31.5% to AUD 182.2 million, reflecting strong international equities markets.
We continue to remain well capitalized, and the board authorized a 13.7% increase in the dividend to AUD 16.60 per share, fully franked. At the start of the pandemic, we promised that we wouldn't profit from COVID, which reduced claims across the industry, and we've stuck by that promise. To date, we've provided AUD 1.46 billion in support to our customers, including AUD 305 million last financial year. It's the largest financial support package provided by any health insurer in Australia to date. We expect the finalisation of our customer give-back program to be announced later this financial year. Healthcare is undergoing a generational transition. Health systems are under pressure. Delays securing consultations with GPs and specialists are common. Hospitals have been hit by high costs and labor shortages. Public hospital waiting lists are getting longer. That's not just describing Australia.
That shift is occurring around the world, the consequence of aging populations, the prevalence of chronic disease, and the COVID pandemic. Resources are moving to preventative healthcare, although not fast enough. Australia spends more than AUD 38 billion a year on care for people with chronic health conditions, yet more than a third of this chronic disease burden is preventable. Technology is delivering life-changing healthcare opportunities and innovation, and when treatment's needed, patients' expectations are driving change too. People want greater choice and control over their healthcare. They want greater value. When a patient speaks to a GP, a nurse, or a psychologist, they want the option of having that conversation at home or in the office or on the farm or anywhere else they may be.
They're asking for shorter hospital stays and access to treatment in the community so that they can be cared for in their own beds and undergo rehabilitation therapy in their lounge rooms. They want to be able to access accurate, immediate advice from trusted sources about how to get healthy and how to stay healthy. They want to know that help is available 24/7 without having to call an ambulance or drive to the nearest city center. This is Australia's health transition, which Medibank is at the forefront of and which we continue to accelerate, which is why we're working together with doctors, hospitals, and governments, creating strong partnerships to enable better health experiences, greater access, and improved affordability. From large-scale digital preventative health programs to home hospital care to mental health and treatment delivered virtually, we're helping build the future of healthcare.
In the process, not only are we improving care across Australia, we're creating a new future for our company. We're turning this challenge into an opportunity. A few months ago, the board saw an example of the transition firsthand when we visited My Home Hospital in Adelaide. A fully accredited virtual hospital, we operate through a joint venture with Calvary Health Care for SA Health. Patients sleep in their own beds, eat in their own kitchens, and are constantly monitored from a central operating center and receive regular visits from nurses and allied health professionals. Patients often say that being treated in a familiar surrounding is good for their physical and their mental health. As well, hospital-acquired complication rates at My Home Hospital are significantly lower than a traditional bricks-and-mortar hospital.
My Home Hospital is a huge step forward in hospital care and a vital part of the solution to our overstretched health system. We need to move away from the traditional approach of relying on expensive acute care hospitals for most treatment and instead incorporate contemporary models of care that align with international best practice, such as virtual hospitals like My Home Hospital or short-stay options. Hospitals and their partners must evolve if we want healthcare to remain affordable and accessible for all. To better enable our people to lead through this health transition, we've been changing the way we work so employees can focus on what matters most to our customers, to our patients, and to the community.
At last year's AGM, we described a trial of the four-day workweek involving 250 employees in which they maintain 100% of their pay, have the potential to reduce their working hours to 80%, and maintain 100% productivity. I can report to you today that the trial has been successful with independent monitoring by the Health and Wellbeing Research Unit at Macquarie University's Business School, showing significant improvements in employee engagement, job satisfaction, and their health and wellbeing while maintaining business performance and customer outcomes. As a result, we're expanding the trial to a further 250 team members. Our 2030 vision to deliver the best health and wellbeing for Australia is at the heart of our commitment to sustainability as we work to make a positive impact within the community. We've made a ten-year commitment to help address loneliness, which is affecting more than half of our population.
This year, we produced our third series of We Are Lonely, a podcast that highlights how common loneliness is and provides ideas and strategies to manage it. We Are Lonely has just been recognized as one of the world's best podcasts at the International Signal Awards, winning two Bronze Awards. We also remain committed to improving diversity and inclusion and were proud to be recognized as a top five performer in the Australian Disability Network's Access and Inclusion Index in 2024. Our commitment to reconciliation hasn't changed, and we remain focused on supporting the health and wellbeing of First Nations people and the wider Australian community, such as our work developing a pilot workshop to teach cultural safety and health to clinical leaders in Amplar Health in conjunction with the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association.
We progressed our commitment to net zero, shifting our mobile Amplar Health team from petrol to hybrid cars, procuring 64% of our electricity from renewable sources, putting us on track to reach 100% from renewable sources by 2025. We've also set an annual target to be certified carbon neutral for our business operations. As technology keeps advancing, cyber-related risk continues to increase, and it's among the biggest global threats facing countries and companies worldwide. In response, we continue to strengthen our security environment, maturing our cybersecurity approach and evolving our approach to data management. More information on our sustainability policies and achievements can be found in our Sustainability Report 2024, and I commend that report to you. During the year, the board approved changes to executive remuneration, introducing additional performance hurdles and increasing incentive deferral times in the short-term incentive plan.
Later this morning, you'll be asked to vote on proposed changes to the Medibank Constitution to enable an increase in the maximum number of directors permitted on the board. We believe this is a prudent decision to allow for the management of succession planning and to ensure the right balance of skills, knowledge, and experience. Today, Medibank's in a stronger position than when we met a year ago. We're more resilient and even more determined to deliver on the reason Medibank exists, which is to deliver better health for better lives. This year's success was due to the hard work and dedication of all of our people, whom I thank on behalf of the board, but also on behalf of you, our shareholders.
We also want to acknowledge the leadership of David Koczkar and the executive group during the last 12 months, as well as thanking my fellow directors for their wise counsel and support. Supporting the health and wellbeing of our customers and communities has been a priority for almost 50 years, and it remains our focus today. Thank you to you, our shareholders, for your sharing this vision and for enabling what we do. I'll now ask David to provide an update on the company's strategy, direction, and insights into our current performance. David.
Thank you, Mike, and good morning to everyone joining us in Melbourne and on the webcast. I'll begin by acknowledging the traditional owners and custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea, and community, and pay my respects to their elders, past, present, and emerging.
As Mike said, this is a landmark year for Medibank, 10 years as a listed company, and we have achieved so much in that decade. We have grown our traditional health insurance business and transformed into a health company. However, the expectations of our customers and the community are vastly different to those a decade ago. And while Australia's mixed public and private health system is still rated as one of the best in the world, the demands on a health system have changed significantly. The challenges in healthcare are well known: waiting lists, ambulance ramping, delays to see a GP or specialist, and a stretched workforce. Inaction has led to some of these problems, problems that are testing both access and affordability, and problems that are exacerbated by current cost of living and inflationary pressures. Without significant change, these challenges will only grow.
Healthcare is a system which, by its nature, requires constant transformation. To continue to support the health of all of our community, all in the system need to think differently and embrace the changes we need. As Mike mentioned, while Australia is in the midst of its health transition, the impetus is on each of us to lead through this change, to chart a course that sustains all that is great about the health system we have today while adapting to ensure it is match fit for the future. Medibank is at the forefront of this transition, and we take our responsibility as a market leader seriously. To accelerate this change, we continue to invest in the health transition, remaining focused on delivering for our customers and growing our health insurance business.
Despite cost of living pressures, people continue to choose private health insurance in record numbers, particularly as confidence in the public system declines. The number of Australians who see private health insurance as essential is the highest it's been in seven years. Interest is particularly strong among younger customers, which is vital for the industry's long-term health. Last year, the increase in people under 30 with hospital cover was the highest in 12 years. In FY24, we grew net resident policyholders by more than 14,000. While this was less than we set out to achieve, given the heightened competition in the market, we remain disciplined about the best way to grow for the long term. As I said before, to remain strong and resilient, we need to continue to think about volume and margin and not just volume alone.
We want customers to stick with us for the long term, and that helps us grow sustainably, and that comes from investing in them, and by doing this, retention rates in the Medibank brand remain well above the industry average in FY24. It's why we've seen the largest growth in family policies in over six years, and it's why we continue to grow in the corporate market. This focus also helped us grow our non-resident business with a 69,000 increase in net policy units for the year, and a standout was the student market, with Medibank the preferred provider of overseas student health cover for nearly half of universities in Australia, but we also know many people are doing it tough. Pressure on household budgets continues, and some people are cutting back spending elsewhere to hold onto their cover.
This is why we've worked hard to keep average premium increases below both inflation and wage growth. This is now at risk in New South Wales. Unfortunately, due to the New South Wales Government looking to find ways to fill a budget gap, New South Wales private health insurance customers may now pay more for their cover in 2025 because of that decision to introduce a new health insurance tax. We have advocated strongly on behalf of our New South Wales customers that they should not be burdened by this extra cost. This is an unfair tax on them and one that we could expect also could put even further pressure on New South Wales public hospitals. We will continue to advocate on behalf of our customers. That's our job, and they should expect nothing less.
But we know value for our customers extends beyond keeping premium increases as low as we can. Our Live Better program rewards customers for taking healthy actions. In FY24, our customers were able to redeem more than AUD 25 million in rewards within the program. And our customers saved more than AUD 23 million using our Members' Choice Advantage Network. And we're also empowering our teams to seek out new ways to support our customers. One of these ways is connecting customers calling or messaging us to a team member in their local area. You can't beat local knowledge, from where the best parking at a nearby health service is to not having to spell the name of the local private hospital in Bunbury, because the person you speak to drives past it every day.
What started as an experiment with a single team in Geelong has been rolled out to all our Medibank customer service teams across the country. Our customers are also asking us to play a greater role in their health, and they want more value, choice, and control. This is a mandate we continue to invest in, with almost half of Medibank policyholders now engaging with one of our health and wellbeing programs. I'm currently taking part in Live Better's Sleep Challenge. If you haven't already, check out the program on the My Medibank app. Just last month, we kicked off a trial of a new personalized online lifestyle management program for customers who have risk factors for conditions such as diabetes, heart condition, and cancer. We know it's not just physical health that matters.
With two in five Australians experiencing a mental health condition over their life, we're helping to connect our customers to the support they need. We began offering a virtual psychology clinic to all Medibank customers last year. We also opened up our 24/7 flagship health support phone services to all Medibank health insurance customers. This gives an extra 700,000 people access to round-the-clock support from a mental health professional. We know that treatment of people with chronic conditions is one of the health system's biggest challenges, with half of adults living with at least one chronic condition. So, in addition to our suite of prevention programs, our increased interest in primary care group Myhealth is an opportunity for us to support more proactive and more preventative health services across the community.
We know that as part of the health transition, there is an enormous opportunity to shift more care away from traditional bricks-and-mortar hospitals and move from a hospital system to a health system. That's why we commissioned KPMG to look at the economic benefits of expanding hospital care in the home. This report found that up to 30% of conditions can potentially be treated at home, and by 2030, this could see around 350,000 patients receive hospital care in their home instead of a traditional hospital and save up to AUD 1 billion in healthcare costs in 2030. In the public system alone, it could also save around AUD 6.4 billion in capital expenditure between now and then. These sorts of changes will not be easy, but as one of the largest funders of healthcare in Australia, we are supporting this transition.
For some time, we have been partnering with doctors to offer patients the choice, where clinically appropriate, for shorter stays with their recovery supported at home. We have also invested in a number of short-stay hospitals to provide our customers and other patients choice to access high-quality care at a much more affordable cost. These hospitals are part of our No Gap program, which last year saved customers an average of AUD 1,900 in out-of-pocket costs when undergoing a hip or knee replacement. We are also seeing enrolments for our Rehab in the Home program grow, surpassing 30,000 now to date. I caught up with one of these patients in Tasmania. She had one big health goal after a knee replacement: to get back to daily walks with her two dogs.
After being discharged from hospital and instead of repeated trips in the car for her physical therapy, she chose to have one of our physios, Amy, visit her instead in the comfort of her home. When we met, she was improving, loving being home, and on track for walking her dog again. The sustainability of private hospitals has been under the spotlight, and we know the last few years have been challenging for them. This is why, over the past two years, we've provided around AUD 63 million in one-off financial support for them, in addition to increased indexation in our hospital agreements. It's also why we're partnering with them and investing in financial incentives to support them through the health transition. These partnership agreements now make up to three-quarters of the private hospital episodes experienced by our customers. We need a strong and sustainable private hospital sector.
To ensure access now and into the future, we must balance our support with the needs to keep our customers' premium affordable. That can only occur through innovative solutions, which the Federal Health Minister emphasised this month as part of the government's financial health check of the sector. I will now share some insights into the market and our recent performance. Despite the macroeconomic challenges affecting all businesses and the current pressures in the health system, the underlying dynamics of health insurance remain positive. In the resident market, pleasingly, industry growth in the 12 months to 30 June 2024 of 2.2% was 30 basis points above the 12 months to 30 June 2023 and importantly biased towards younger customers. We continue to anticipate moderating industry growth in FY25 relative to FY24. The competitive intensity has remained, and we continue to be selective on where and how we grow.
We have seen improving momentum with stronger net resident policyholder growth in the first three months of FY25 compared to the same period last year. Retention in both brands has remained strong in the first quarter of FY25, reflecting our ongoing focus and our disciplined approach to growth. In FY24, Medibank Group lapse growth was approximately half that of the rest of the industry, with further improvement in Medibank brand Lapse compared to the rest of the industry in the fourth quarter. As we saw in the second half of last year, hospital claims, and particularly surgical claims, have continued to increase. However, we have also continued to see softness in extras. We continue to see the benefits of our disciplined approach to growth on claims and the partnership approach we are taking to hospital contracting, which further supports hospitals that are embracing care models of the future.
Given the economic environment, our aim is to keep premium increases as low as we can for customers. However, we also need premiums to reflect the reality of the claims trends in the industry. In our non-resident insurance business, we have continued to see solid customer growth for the first three months of FY25. The education sector remains very important to the Australian economy. However, we do expect some short-term impacts to industry growth resulting from the Australian government's decision to cap the number of student visas in 2025. Finally, Medibank Health is targeting average organic profit growth in excess of 15% per annum between FY24 and FY26, plus a 12-month contribution from Myhealth. These services are positioned in growing segments, with opportunities to meet the needs of more of our existing insurance customers.
Looking ahead now, in the coming years, there will no doubt be more challenges to overcome. However, we remain a resilient company, with a record of successfully navigating competitive and economic challenges. We remain focused on supporting our customers and delivering sustainable long-term growth as we expand as a health company. We are excited about the opportunity to play our role in driving the health transition to keep Australia's health system one of the best in the world. Before I hand back to Mike, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank the entire Medibank team for their contribution over the year. And of course, I would like to thank you, our shareholders, for your support. Our passion to serve our customers is unwavering. Our commitment to the Medibank 2030 vision to create the best health and wellbeing for Australia continues to drive our people and the business forward.
I'll now hand back to Mike.
Thanks, David. We've now reached the formal business of our meeting. As today's meeting is being held both in person and virtually, I'll first run through the meeting procedures. As this is a shareholder meeting, only shareholders, their attorneys, proxies, and corporate representatives may vote and ask questions. I'll now go through the voting procedures. Those of you present in person who are entitled to vote have been provided a handheld device to cast your vote. Instructions for how to vote using the devices are on the screen behind me. Your smart card should already be in the device, and a list of resolutions should appear on your screen. Use the trackball to highlight the resolution you wish to vote on, then press the green square to confirm. The selected resolution text will then appear on your screen. Press the green square again, and you'll see the voting options.
To vote for the resolution, press one. To vote against, press two, or if you wish to abstain from voting, press three. Once you've selected your voting option, you can move to the next resolution by pressing the green square or return to the full list of resolutions by pressing the red triangle. If you need any assistance, please raise your device, and a Lumi representative will assist you. Now, for those attending virtually, if you're eligible to vote, a voting icon will appear on your screen's navigation bar. Once you click on this icon, you will see resolutions on your screen. To cast your vote, select one of the options: for, against, or abstain for each resolution. Your selection will be highlighted, and the vote is automatically recorded. There's no need to press a submit or enter button.
But you do have the ability to change your vote at any time until I declare the voting closed. There are seven items of business before the company's meeting this morning, and these are set out in the notice of meeting, which you would have received. Items two to seven are to be voted on and determined by a poll. As indicated earlier, the polls are open, and I encourage you to vote early. Medibank's share registry, Computershare, has given me a report of the proxy voting instructions received for items two to seven. As advised in the proxy form, open proxy votes held by me as chair of the meeting on all resolutions have been cast in favor of each resolution. The indicative results of the proxies received on items two to seven are now again displayed on the screen behind me.
The polls will close shortly before the end of this meeting, and I'll give you advanced notice ahead of closing the voting. Later in the meeting, eligible persons attending in person and virtually will be given the opportunity to ask questions. For those attending in person today, you'll be entitled to ask a question if you hold a Lumi handheld device or a red or a blue card provided by Computershare. If you'd like to ask a question later in the meeting, I'll invite you to move to one of the two microphones around the meeting room. However, for now, please remain in your seats. Now, to those attending virtually, if you wish to submit a written question, click the messaging icon, which can be found on the navigation bar on your screen. At the top, there'll be an area to type in your question.
Once you've finished typing your question, press the send icon to send it to us. A copy of your submitted questions, along with any written responses from our meeting team, can be viewed by selecting my messages. I'll endeavor to address as many of the more frequently raised questions and comments as possible during the course of the meeting, and I'll either answer or pass the question to the person most appropriate to answer. In the interest of time, we may need to summarize questions that are particularly lengthy or moderate questions to avoid repetition. If you wish to ask an audio question, click the request to speak icon at the top right corner of the broadcast window. You'll be redirected to a new page on which you'll be able to confirm your name and enter the topic of your question.
Click submit request and then follow the on-screen instructions to grant access to your microphones, and you'll join the queue. If prompted, select allow in the pop-up to grant access to your microphone. You'll be introduced by the operator before you ask your question. While waiting in queue, you'll still be able to hear the meeting. If you have a question about the virtual meeting technology, please contact the helpline that's now displayed on your screen. For those attending in person today, if you have any personal matters to discuss about your health or health insurance, please visit the information booth in the foyer and discuss this with a specialist advisor for either Medibank or AHM. If you have a health question, members of our Amplar Health team are also here to help. Now, let's move to the formal items of business.
We'll now present all items of business and then provide an opportunity for questions after all items of business have been introduced. The first item of business is consideration of the financial statements and reports. This item isn't subject to a vote and therefore doesn't require you to cast a vote. The Medibank financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2024, the director's report, and the auditor's report were released to the ASX and published in the annual report and on the company's website. We'll take questions on this item following the introduction of all items of business. In addition, the company's auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is represented today in the meeting room by Marcus Laithwaite, who's available to respond to questions about the audit of the accounts. Moving now to items two and three, which are the re-election and election of Gerard Dalbosco and Jay Weatherill as non-executive directors.
As stated in the notice of meeting, under our constitution, Gerard and Jay retire at the end of this meeting and, being eligible, offer themselves for re-election and election, respectively. Neither Gerard nor Jay will be providing a formal address to the meeting today in relation to their re-election or election, but they will be available for questions during the discussion period later in the meeting. Each of Gerard and Jay's biographies is contained in the notice of meeting. Your board, with each director standing for election or re-election abstaining, recommends unanimously that you vote for the re-election or election of each director. Now, moving to our fourth item of business, which relates to the remuneration report, which is put to the meeting in accordance with the Corporations Act. The resolution is to adopt the remuneration report for the year ended 30 June 2024.
Medibank aims to reward executives fairly for delivering the company's strategy in a manner that meets community and customer expectations and delivers sustainable shareholder returns. The remuneration report provides extensive disclosure of director and executive remuneration and is set out on pages 55-75 of our annual report. Under the Corporations Act, this vote is advisory only. However, as directors, we give serious consideration to the voting results and comments made upon this item when we review the company's remuneration policies. The board recommends unanimously that you vote to adopt the remuneration report. Now, turning to Item 5, the resolution is to approve the grant of performance rights to David Koczkar, Chief Executive Officer, to be issued under Medibank's 2025 long-term incentive plan. Medibank's long-term incentive plan is detailed in the remuneration report.
It's designed to align the interests of the Chief Executive Officer with the interests of shareholders and, to this end, puts a significant portion of his remuneration at risk. The value of the rights proposed to be granted has increased from 150%-175% of the CEO's total fixed remuneration for the financial year ended 30 June 2025. The rights proposed to be granted are detailed in the notice of meeting, along with the vesting conditions and their corresponding weighting. The threshold for the brand sentiment vesting condition, which applies to 20% of the total number of rights proposed to be granted, has increased this year from 4.6-5.3. Otherwise, the vesting conditions and corresponding weighting remain unchanged from those which apply to the grant of rights to the CEO approved by shareholders at last year's AGM.
It's important to understand that the performance rights only vest and become available for conversion to Medibank shares for the Chief Executive on the achievement of performance hurdles which are aligned with shareholder interests. If the performance hurdles are met at the end of the three-year performance period ending on 30 June 2027, then the rights will vest. Any rights which vest will then be subject to a pre-exercise holding period of up to three years. Vested rights will be exercised automatically and convert to shares which the Chief Executive Officer will receive in equal annual tranches over that three-year holding period. The shares which are to be allocated on the exercise of vested rights must be purchased on market. No dividends are paid on the rights.
However, for the rights that are exercised, the Chief Executive will be granted additional Medibank shares equal in value as determined by the board to the dividends that would have been paid during the period between the vesting date and the relevant exercise date on Medibank shares, equal in number to the rights being exercised. Vested rights and shares granted remain subject to malus and clawback provisions as outlined in the notice of meeting. The vesting outcome of the performance rights will be detailed in the remuneration report following the conclusion of the performance period on 30 June 2027. Any shares granted during the holding period will be detailed in the remuneration reports for the financial years ended 30 June 2028 to 2030 inclusive. Your board, other than David Koczkar, recommends unanimously that you vote in favor of this resolution. We now turn to item six.
The resolution is to amend Article 11B of Medibank's constitution to increase the maximum number of directors permitted on the board from nine to 12. As noted in the notice of meeting, the Medibank board currently comprises nine directors, being the maximum number permitted under Medibank's current constitution. This maximum number was approved by shareholders in 2016. Hence, the proposed increase in the maximum number of directors will be the first increase in eight years. The proposed increase will allow for succession planning for directors to be managed more flexibly and to accommodate the appointment of any additional non-executive directors which the board considers appropriate to ensure that we have the right balance of skills, knowledge, and experience. An amendment to Medibank's constitution requires a special resolution of shareholders. To be carried, a special resolution must achieve 75% or more of the votes cast for the resolution.
The board unanimously recommends that you vote for this resolution. Now, moving to item seven, the final item of formal business. The resolution is to increase the fee cap for non-executive directors by AUD 700,000 from AUD 2.3 million to AUD 3 million per annum, with effect from the financial year which commenced on the 1st of July 2024. This will represent the first increase in the fee cap in six years. Medibank doesn't intend to use the full amount of the fee cap in the current financial year or in the near future. The proposed increase in the fee cap will accommodate any current or future changes to the board and committee structure, better support the proposed increase in the maximum number of directors from nine to 12, and enable Medibank to maintain competitive remuneration arrangements so that it can continue to attract and retain high-calibre non-executive directors.
The fee cap is inclusive of all board and committee membership fees, any special responsibilities such as serving as chair, membership of any additional committees which may be established from time to time, as well as superannuation contributions. I note that Medibank doesn't pay any retirement benefits to non-executive directors other than superannuation. Non-executive directors don't receive any performance or incentive payments and are not eligible to participate in any of Medibank's incentive plans. In view of their personal interest in the outcome of resolution seven, all of the non-executive directors have abstained from making a voting recommendation to shareholders on this resolution. We've now introduced all items of business, and we're ready to respond to questions. We'll first begin with questions from the meeting room.
If you hold a Lumi handheld device or a blue or red card provided by Computershare and you'd like to ask a question, please make your way to one of the two microphones around the room. At the microphone, please provide your name to the attendant and wait for them to introduce you by name to the meeting. Once introduced, please ask your question clearly into the microphone. So we can enable as many people as possible to ask questions, please limit your questions to two and keep them short and concise. If you have further questions, we'll take questions from other shareholders and can then return to your questions. We have a question from microphone one.
Chair, may I introduce shareholder Peter Eade
Morning, Mr. Ayd.
G ood morning, Mr. Wilkins.
I'm a volunteer with the Australian Shareholders Association, and today I hold proxies from 297 shareholders with about 1.67 million shares. I note that you are continuing to run your AGM with all the questions grouped at the end rather than following the agenda. We don't believe that this enhances one of the key functions of the AGM, which is to facilitate shareholders' questions. I have four other questions, and I'm assuming you would prefer me to break those up as you've indicated in your brief.
Yeah, happy for you to come back and ask as many questions as you would like, but I do want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to ask questions. Good, that's fine. My second question there is that Mr.
Weatherill now lives in Perth and holds a number of positions, including as an industry professor at the University of South Australia and in not-for-profit and government sectors. Would Mr. Weatherill describe his workload for these positions and his ability to attend board meetings? Would he also tell us what he believes he brings to the Medibank board apart from his specific skills and experience?
Well, thank you, Mr. Ayd. Maybe I can make some comments first, and then I will ask Jay to comment. We were looking for a particular skill set when we appointed Jay, which was his knowledge of public administration and his capacity to understand the workings of bureaucracies, both federal and state.
We also believe that he brings a significant personal understanding of the so-called man in the street in terms of a very important question that we ask ourselves quite regularly around the board table. As to my experience of his workload, he copes with that very, very well, and I'm not aware of him missing or being unprepared for any Medibank meeting. But Jay, perhaps you would like to elaborate on some of that.
Thank you for the question, Mr. Ayd. Just in terms of my other responsibilities in relation to the industry professor role at the University of South Australia, that's just a fractional role and is soon coming to an end.
In relation to the other boards that are listed in the material that's been provided to you, I find that I can cope with the workload consistent with my responsibilities in relation to the board that I'm seeking election to. In relation to the skills and capabilities I bring more broadly, during my period as Treasurer and Premier of South Australia, one of the largest single items of expenditure in the state budget is, of course, the health expenditure, and it is a constant question of consideration for state and territory governments to deal with the ever-expanding demands on the healthcare systems, and many of the challenges that face the private health insurance industry are similar in character to the challenges that we're facing state and territory governments.
In particular, the challenges of ensuring that hospitals are able to effectively and efficiently deal with patients to reduce the burdens on the public hospital system look very similar to the sorts of challenges that face the private health insurance industry. In particular, keeping people healthier for longer, ensuring that the shortest possible hospital stay is consistent with people receiving appropriate levels of service were constant items of conversation and public policy discussion in my role as Premier and Treasurer, and I'm able to bring those perspectives and thoughts to my role on the board. Thank you.
Did you have a second question, Mr. Ayd?
I was taking your first question as a comment on the agenda, and as you know, we agree to disagree on that because I think with a virtual meeting, the way in which we run these meetings actually allows more participation rather than running in a sequential form. But as I said, we will agree to disagree on that one, I suspect.
Yes, we will. With regard to the Australian Information Commissioner's Federal Court June 2024 filing on Medibank's October 2022 cyber event, this includes a number of serious allegations regarding Medibank's awareness of potential vulnerabilities which you intend to defend. Can you provide any advice on the progress of this filing and if a date has been set for the hearing?
You're quite right. We intend to defend that proposition, and we did include a significant contingent liability note in our financial statements which described the proceedings.
As I understand it, we are at administrative skirmishes, is probably the best way to put it at this stage, where there are various hearings to establish directions, orders, and things of that sort. But we do not anticipate any significant action in that case until 2025 at the earliest. Other questions from the room?
Chair, may I introduce shareholder Carol Jean.
Good morning. Hello. I'm just concerned about you forcing members to use particular forms of technology to access a service. Earlier this year, I telephoned your call center to ask about either receiving a free flu vaccination or reimbursement if I paid for one myself, and the only way I could do that was to download your app, get a voucher number, and then make a booking through your health services.
The whole procedure from telephoning the call service, downloading the app, verifying myself on the app, getting a voucher number, and making the appointment took at least 30 minutes. I'm concerned that I'm not interested in your app and I shouldn't have to access your app to gain access to an important preventative health measure such as a flu vaccination. I'm also really concerned that a lot of your members simply wouldn't be able to download an app or would be uncomfortable with downloading the app. So I'd just like your comments on that, please. '
Well, thank you for sharing your experience, and I apologize for the inconvenience that that experience has caused to you. One of our team will actually speak to you after the event to go into some more detail, but we'll take that on board.
Also, I think that our branches are able to help those people who don't want to access the app to be able to gain access to a number of the services that we have. But again, I'm not aware of the proximity of one of our branches to you. But thank you for the feedback. We'll take that one on board. And as I said, one of our team will speak to you after the meeting. We have a question from microphone two.
Chair, may I introduce shareholder Ian Hamilton?
Good morning, Mr. Hamilton.
Good morning. I've got a comment and a couple of questions. In the annual report, it's got directors' academic qualifications. Is it possible to list the academic institute from where each qualification was obtained? Sorry, was that your question or is there more? More of a comment. It doesn't mention it.
It does if it's obtained overseas, but not for Australian universities.
We'll take it on board. It's quite common. I'm happy to tell you for my qualifications. I have one from the University of New South Wales and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Sydney. I don't know whether that helps, but. I was just looking for state biases or variety of where the people have come from.
Oh, okay. Hadn't thought about that, but mostly, certainly in my case, I went to the state that I grew up in because that was the closest university. Okay. In terms of sustainability and the environmental impact of Medibank Private, what is the overall environmental impact of staff working from home?
Say your building has 1,000 staff which share the lighting and heating, and then if say 500 of them work from home, then the building with the 500, does it still use the same amount of lighting and heating or do they halve it? But the home ones that have 500 individual lighting and heating requirements would lead to an overall increased power use. And with your data centers that require a lot of water for cooling, does Medibank Private's data center reuse the water for irrigation or other purposes, or does it just go down the plug hole to a wasteland?
Thank you for that question.
I think any increase in electricity usage would be negligible, particularly since we've actually moved our head office in Melbourne where we've got a lesser footprint than the one that we previously had and have used more energy-efficient lighting and heating and air conditioning than we had previously. In terms of our data centers, I don't know the answer to that question, but I will find out whether the water is reused and again, we'll let you know. Thanks.
Mr. Ayd, do you have more questions?
Yes, thank you. With resolution six, you're asking for the approval to increase the maximum number of the board to 12, and you've given reasons for that. I just wondered whether you would make any comment about the medium-term expectation of the size of the board.
Yes, happy to do that. We believe a board of nine is an appropriate size.
What we want to do is to give ourselves the flexibility to allow for orderly succession planning for board members so that we can potentially bring a board member on before others retire, allowing a useful handover period. As it currently stands, with a maximum of nine, unfortunately, and we saw this with the appointment of Jay, it's one off before we can put one on. We just wanted the flexibility to go with that, but our belief is that nine is the appropriate number.
Thank you. Many retail shareholders take a keen interest in executives' pay. The fixed remuneration of executives has been increased this year. How does this increase compare to Medibank's staff on EBAs and contracts of different sorts?
Basically, I think the executive increase, which was about 4.25%, which includes 50 basis points for the increase in the superannuation guarantee, is under what we actually paid to our staff. So the executives, none of them hopefully are listening in the front row, were probably a bit hard done by compared to the other staff.
Good. Thank you.
I'm not seeing any further. Oh, it looks like Mr. Hamilton has another question.
Oh, thanks. With the four-day working week experiment, how is productivity measured? Does the 20% increased output eliminate time-wasting activities such as arriving late, leaving early, long lunch breaks, social talking to work colleagues, daydreaming, and other things like that, and get them working at 100% of their latent capacity? Does Medibank Private employ smokers? How are superior-performing staff identified and promoted to a higher level of functioning?
On page 22 of the annual report, it shows a little girl kissing a chook on the beak. Is that actually a healthy practice, considering bird flu and viruses that can move from the animal to the human population?
Thank you, Mr. Hamilton. There's a lot to unpack in those questions, I think. In terms of the productivity, we have found that our four-day work week has produced at least equivalent, if not slightly better productivity, as well as the benefits that I outlined during my address in terms of employee engagement and job satisfaction. I used the term in my address deliberately that it gives them the potential to work for 80% of their time.
It's not a given, and we find that roughly one-third of those people who are eligible for that extra day off don't take it because they haven't achieved what their team productivity goals have been. So we think that that's quite important. As to do we employ smokers? I don't know the answer to that, but I don't think that we would discriminate. But I also think that our people are here because they're bought into the idea of a healthier lifestyle, but I just don't know, and it's not something that we ask our individual members. As to the photo, you've pointed out something that I'm not aware of. I'm pretty sure that there wasn't any animal or bird to human transition with that photo, but I take your point. Right.
You know those voting figures you put up that said 97% for one thing and 99% for another and that sort of thing? What percentage of the total votes had been cast when that table was made up? Those votes are made up of all of the proxies that had been cast at the conclusion of that period, which I think ended on Monday evening, if I'm correct. So it's kind of 48 hours before the meeting. And I believe that somewhere between 66%-70% of the total number of shares on issue actually voted. Do you expect the others to vote, or is that the final amount? I think that's a pretty good outcome. There will be some votes that are put on the floor today which will potentially move that, but I'm not aware of any major shareholders here, so it'll be approximately that number.
So your percentages are only from votes cast? So votes uncast, they're not counted as either for or against?
No, not at the moment. What we will do is at the conclusion of the meeting, all of the votes, including those that are lodged today, will be tallied and we'll put that final numbers on the ASX website.
Okay, thanks.
Thank you. So there don't appear to be any further questions from the floor. I'll now move to written questions submitted in advance of or during this meeting. Are there any written questions?
Chair, shareholder Robin Hill says, "The current cost of private healthcare insurance from Medibank Private is very high for what we as consumers get in return. This is going to be a major issue in the long term as people pull out of this.
I call on Medibank to become the leader by cutting fees by a decent amount and thus attract a lot of new customers. A drop of say 5%-7% would do wonders and still enable the company to make a healthy profit."
Well, Mr. Hill, thank you for your question. And both David and I mentioned that we're very well aware that household budgets are under pressure and that we've got to balance the needs of our customers with just the increased health costs and the increased operating costs that we face into. David, in particular, commented that we're committed to keeping our premium increases as low as possible, and for the last few years, those premium increases have been well below healthcare inflation, which is running at a higher level than general inflation in the economy.
What we have tried to do is to show members value for their premiums, including the Members' Choice Advantage network savings that David talked about of AUD 23 million, as well as the Live Better Rewards programs and the encouragement of our policyholders to move into a number of other healthy lifestyle areas. We continue to try to keep our premium costs as low as possible, but everyone's aware of the increases in wages and other matters that we're all facing into. And unfortunately, I think we have to balance the premiums that we charge with the input costs that we have, whilst also looking at the retention levels that we have. And for Medibank, those retention levels are quite high. But I thank you for your question.
Chair, a question from Natasha Lee, shareholder.
There appears to have been a large increase in property, plant, and equipment, with leasehold improvements being a contributor. Could you advise the reasons for this, and were these one-off or extraordinary expenses?
Well, Ms. Lee, thank you for your question. Property, plant, and equipment increases are really related to two things. One is leasehold improvements in terms of the leases that we have. And I mentioned earlier in answer to Mr. Hamilton's question that we've moved to new premises in Melbourne, so there is a new property, plant, and equipment coming from that. The balance is really related to leasehold improvements and right-of-use assets, which are essentially leases. And that again comes from the move to our new premises in Melbourne, as well as the consolidation for the first time of the Myhealth acquisition.
We now own 90% of Myhealth, and they have over 100 health clinics. So we need to actually recognise both the plant that they have as well as the right-of-use assets, the leases. I think that covers most of it off. I'm looking at our CFO who's got his thumbs up, so that's all good. It looks like my membership at the Institute of Chartered Accountants is good for another year.
Chair, a further question from Ms. Lee. While the company has reasonably good female representation on the board, the lack of other forms of diversity is disappointing. Could the board give a commitment to better address board diversity, as better-performing companies tend to have boards that generally reflect the community?
Well, Ms. Lee, again, thank you for that question.
Diversity has always been important to us, and making sure that we, through all of our people, represent or have the broadest representation of the community that's possible. From a board perspective, we always look to appoint the most appropriate people to further the aspirations of the company, and we do take diversity into account, and we will again take your suggestion into account. At this stage, we think that the broader diversity that we have in our leadership and that we have from our people on the ground is the better way to actually deal with that diversity question for our customers and shareholders.
Chair, a question from shareholder John Robinson. Will the board please comment on the current attempts by the private hospital industry to exert influence on the health insurance sector?
Thank you, Mr. Robinson, and I promise not to get in my soapbox as I speak about this, but we have been working cooperatively, we believe, with the private hospital sector to look to help them to move to more contemporary models of care. At the same time, we've adjusted our contractual terms to look for a win-win situation with them, encouraging to move to more contemporary models of care, but recognising some of the short-term pressures that they have faced, and David mentioned this during his presentation. Over the last two years, we've paid more than AUD 63 million in one-off hardship grants to private hospitals to help them remain afloat.
We think that the model of care is changing, and those private hospitals that have been used to having people having procedures and staying for somewhere between five and seven days and then going to a private hospital-owned rehab facility for another two weeks or so are long gone. The better models of care and the more accepted international contemporary models of care are day or short stay for hospital with rehab in the home. Part of what we're trying to do is to help the private hospital sector to get to the other side of that divide. There's been plenty of press about all of this, although Medibank has not been specifically mentioned in that press, and I think that's partially because of the cooperative approach that we've taken.
But we don't believe, and I said it and David said it, we don't believe that our shareholders and our customers should be supporting inefficient models of care when we think there is a better opportunity that is available.
Chair, shareholder Annabella Alvar asks, "With regard to security and privacy, would the information we provided regarding our health be shared with others, and is that information also used to make risk assessments on other products such as travel insurance, etc.? Would we be notified if any of our information is being shared with anyone else?"
Well, Ms. Alvar, thank you for that question. We take the security and privacy of the information that you share with us very, very seriously and try not to share it with anyone other than those that we are contractually obliged to do, such as health departments and others.
In terms of some of the ancillary products that we offer, there is an application form usually that comes with that for, say, travel insurance or life insurance or pet insurance for that matter. We wouldn't necessarily share your health information with those suppliers, but there is an obligation to anyone that is applying for those ancillary services to make full disclosure to the particular insurer concerned.
Chair, a question from Giselle Vinloan. Just an add-on to the choice for downloading app. My concern has been the amount of battery life the app absorbs. Therefore, I have tried to go to a branch and/or online via the web. So I wonder if this would be the reason for the reluctance to download the app. Is there any alternative, i.e., a website login, or if we can claim via the branch? I found, depending on who was at the branch, the customer service was a bit of a hit and miss, although my last experience has been good. Thanks.
Thank you for that question and comment. As a user of the app, I've got to say I haven't actually noticed the battery drain that you talk about, but I will ask our technology people to have a look at that just to determine what's going on. In terms of other access, certainly I know that a number of our customers are able to access services through our branches, and I've been in branches and seen customers assisted with that. I don't know about a secure website. We are preferring people to go through the app, but we'll take that on board and make a consideration of it, and thank you for the comment about the hit-and-miss experience.
We strive to give the best service that we can to our customers, so I thank you for your comment about your previous experience, but we can only learn from where we don't do as well as you would like and as well as we would like.
Chair, I can confirm no further questions.
If there are no further written questions, I'll now move to audio questions via the Lumi platform. Are there any audio questions?
Chair, there are no audio questions.
Thank you. As we appear to be getting to the end of our questions, just a reminder that voting will shortly close, and so I ask shareholders and proxies to please finalize your votes. I now invite the audience in the meeting room today to ask any final questions that you may have.
I'm not seeing anyone heading to the microphone, so I'll assume that there are no further questions. We've now reached the end of the formal business of the meeting. Voting will shortly close, and so I ask shareholders and proxies to please finalize your votes. I'll once again display the indicative results of the proxies received on items two to seven. Once the voting has been finalized and the final report has been issued, we'll release these outcomes to the ASX and publish them on Medibank's website, where you'll be able to access them later this afternoon. Now, I'll give a period for those people who do need to finalize their vote. I think most people look like they've finalized their voting. Is there anyone still voting in the room? I see one lady is still going. I now close the polls.
On behalf of the board, I thank all of you for your attendance today and for your continuing support for Medibank. The business of this meeting being complete, I now declare the meeting closed. For those shareholders who are joining us in Melbourne, my fellow directors and I now invite you to join us and the executives in the foyer for refreshments. For those who've attended online today, I thank you again for your attendance and wish you all a good day. Thank you.