Medicare Changes Introduce New Services for Australian GPs
30 Oct 2026
The changes cover a range of medical and diagnostic services. They also include updates to existing Medicare items, eligibility rules and administrative requirements.
New Telehealth Items for Chronic Conditions
Four new MBS items, 92033, 92034, 92063 and 92064, will allow GPs and prescribed medical practitioners to prepare or review chronic condition management plans through phone consultations.
These items follow changes to the chronic disease management system introduced in 2025, when GP management plans and team care arrangements were replaced by a single GP chronic condition management plan.
The new phone services aim to support patients who need ongoing care. They have the same clinical requirements, fees and Medicare benefits as their equivalent face-to-face consultations.
Medicare Healthy Kids Check for Three-Year-Olds
From 1 November, GPs will be able to provide a Medicare Healthy Kids Check for children aged three.
GPs can use existing health assessment items 701–707, while other prescribed medical practitioners can claim items 224–227.
The check aims to identify developmental delays and neurodevelopmental differences at an early age. The initiative follows recommendations from the Thriving Kids Advisory Group and long-standing advocacy by the RACGP.
The RACGP will also host a webinar on 26 November 2026 to help general practice teams understand how to deliver high-quality checks and make the most of consultations with families.
Expanded Blood Pressure Monitoring for Children
Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring under MBS item 11607 will be expanded to include children and adolescents aged five to under 18.
New eligibility criteria will use age, sex and height-adjusted blood pressure percentiles to assess blood pressure levels in younger patients.
The service involves wearing a monitoring device for 24 hours to help identify high blood pressure. It also covers fitting the device, analysing results, preparing a report and developing a treatment plan.
Other Changes to General Medical Services
Several additional updates will affect general medical services from 1 November. These include:
- Allowing participating nurse practitioners to refer patients for bone mineral densitometry services under items 12306–12322.
- Allowing qualified health practitioners to provide immunomodulating treatment under item 14245 on behalf of the prescribing medical practitioner.
- Expanding the definitions of eligible Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and health professionals for services under item 73813, covering the detection of three sexually transmitted infections.
- Correcting a typographical error in item 10997.
- Allowing services under item 45518 to be provided outside a hospital.
- Updating Modified Monash location classifications to reflect the 2023 categories.
Updates to Diagnostic Imaging Services
Changes to diagnostic imaging items will also begin on 1 November 2026.
These include:
- Updating the maximum Medicare benefit payable for item 61438, which covers a nuclear medicine imaging service.
- Changing the frequency restriction for item 61564, allowing prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET scans for restaging recurrent prostate adenocarcinoma once within a 12-month period.
- Replacing references to 'residential aged care facility' with 'residential care home' to align with the Aged Care Act 2024.
GPs and other medical practitioners can access further information about the changes through the Department of Health's MBS website.
Medicare Changes Introduce New Services for Australian GPs
Source: Australian Government Department of Health – Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) updates, effective 1 November 2026.