More Australians Are Accessing Bulk-Billed GP Care
10 Aug 2026
The Northern Territory recorded the highest bulk-billing rate at 90.8%, rising by 13 percentage points over the year.
New South Wales followed at 87.5%, up 4.1 percentage points, while Victoria reached 85.7%, an increase of 5.7 percentage points.
The Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest rate at 59.3%, although this was still a 2.4 percentage point increase from the same quarter last year.
The biggest rise among patient groups was recorded for people aged 16 to 64. Their bulk-billing rate increased by 8.2 percentage points to 78.6%.
Across the 2025–26 financial year, GP services made up 34.3% of all Medicare services. A total of 165.7 million GP services were delivered, compared with 167.7 million the previous year.
Concessional patients accounted for 46.7% of GP bulk billing during 2025–26. In Australia's most disadvantaged areas, the bulk-billing rate reached 90.7%, which was 9.8 percentage points above the national rate of 80.9% for the full financial year.
The increase follows the Federal Government's $8.5 billion Medicare reform introduced on 1 November 2025. RACGP President Dr Michael Wright said the latest figures are in line with the increase seen since additional bulk-billing incentives were introduced.
Dr Wright said the higher rate was positive for patients, but further increases to Medicare rebates are needed, particularly for longer and more complex consultations.
He said stronger rebates would help ensure patients can continue to access affordable GP care while covering the cost of providing more complex services.
As of 30 June, Australia had 3819 registered Medicare bulk-billing practices.
The number of registered bulk-billing practices increased across every state and territory between before 1 November 2025 and 30 June:
- New South Wales: 1031 to 1473
- Victoria: 635 to 1044
- Queensland: 389 to 675
- South Australia: 95 to 217
- Western Australia: 111 to 235
- Tasmania: 26 to 72
- Northern Territory: 61 to 81
- Australian Capital Territory: 11 to 22
Federal Health and Ageing Minister Mark Butler said increased bulk billing benefits patients by reducing healthcare costs and supporting access to care.
More Australians Are Accessing Bulk-Billed GP Care
Source: RACGP / newsGP