A significant boost to Medicare incentives has led to a dramatic surge in the number of Australian general practices offering free bulk-billed consultations, according to new industry analysis. The findings indicate that the proportion of clinics providing full bulk billing has almost doubled within a year.
Incentive Drives Rapid Shift in Billing Practices
In November of last year, the Albanese government introduced a substantial new financial incentive for doctors. The policy provides an additional 12.5% payment on Medicare benefits for medical practices that agree to bulk bill all eligible patients for all eligible services. This marked a major expansion from previous rules, where incentives were largely reserved for children under 16 and Commonwealth concession card holders.
The impact appears to have been swift and significant. A national survey conducted by the online health directory Cleanbill between 1 November and mid-December 2025 involved calls to 6,877 clinics. It found that 1,007 clinics had switched from private or mixed billing to full bulk billing since the start of the year.
Consequently, the national proportion of fully bulk-billing clinics jumped to 40.2% by the end of 2025, compared to just 20.7% the previous year.
Regional Disparities and Rising Costs Persist
Despite the overall positive trend, the Cleanbill analysis uncovered stark geographical differences in how the policy has been adopted. In New South Wales, a majority (51.9%) of the 2,342 clinics contacted reported full bulk billing. In Victoria, the figure was 43.6% of 1,793 clinics.
However, other regions lagged considerably. In Western Australia, only about 130 of 657 clinics (19.8%) said they fully bulk billed. The situation was most pronounced in the Australian Capital Territory, where just 12 of 101 responding clinics offered the service, despite 96% of clinics being open to new patients.
For patients who are not bulk billed, out-of-pocket costs continue to climb. The data shows a 13.5% annual rise in patient fees. The average total cost for a standard GP consultation now exceeds $100 in both the ACT and Tasmania, leaving patients with average gap payments of $58 and $61 respectively.
Government Claims and Expert Critique
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler challenged the precision of the Cleanbill data, stating it "cannot be relied upon and should not be reported as accurate." He pointed out that clinics which did not answer questions were excluded. Minister Butler cited official government figures indicating that since November, more than 3,200 practices are now fully bulk billing, with almost 1,200 of those previously being mixed-billing practices.
Yet, health policy experts argue the incentive change fails to solve deeper, structural issues within general practice. Peter Breadon, Health Program Director at the Grattan Institute, said the rebound was expected but criticised the policy's design.
"This doesn't really deal with the supply and distribution of care," Breadon stated. "We need a different way of funding general practice that targets GP deserts and better supports clinics dealing with more disadvantaged and low-income patients."
A key concern is that the expanded incentive applies universally, rather than prioritising vulnerable groups. "We've taken that away," Breadon said, referring to the previous focus on concession card holders and children, "while countries like New Zealand are moving in the opposite direction, tying funding to disadvantage, complexity and rurality." He concluded that the recent changes may have moved the system further from the principle that funding should follow patient need.
