GPs Warn Mental Health MBS Changes Could Harm Patients and Clinics
31 Oct 2025
Key MBS items, including 2712 (reviewing a Mental Health Treatment Plan) and 2713 (mental health consultations over 20 minutes), will be scrapped and replaced with generic time-based consultation items. Equivalent telehealth items and the 12-month exemption rule for Mental Health Treatment Plans will also end.
Dr Owen Harris, a Melbourne GP, says the changes could increase patient costs by 30% or more and worsen a system already under pressure. “The new system financially incentivises seeing as many patients as possible rather than providing thorough, longer consultations,” he said, warning this could lead to GP burnout and clinic closures.
Dr Tim Kirchler, working in rural headspace clinics, said the telehealth changes are particularly concerning. Many rural patients cannot attend in person, and the loss of telehealth items could reduce Medicare billings and the viability of rural GP mental health services.
Associate Professor Caroline Johnson, an RACGP expert, notes the removal of 2712 and 2713 removes one of the few mechanisms GPs have to maintain income while offering longer consultations. She recommends delaying the changes until a more equitable redistribution of funding can be implemented.
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DoHDA) said GPs can still use standard consultation items for mental health care, including longer level D and E consultations. Bulk-billed patients may qualify for the triple bulk-billing incentive.
RACGP President Dr Michael Wright emphasised that complex mental health care cannot be delivered in six minutes. He has urged the Government to increase Medicare rebates for longer consultations and mental health care to ensure patients, especially in rural and remote areas, can access affordable GP services.
Source: newsGP
