The proportion of general practitioners bulk-billing all of their patients has more than doubled in a year, a report has found, after the government introduced financial incentives for doctors and practices.
And almost two-thirds (۶۳%) of Australians are now bulk-billed for all their GP care, up from ۵۶% in both ۲۰۲۴ and ۲۰۲۵, which the report says is “likely a reflection of the federal government’s recent investment in Medicare bulk billing incentives”.
The findings come from the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) annual health of the nation report, to be published on Wednesday, which includes a survey of ۲,۷۶۶ GPs.
Of the respondents, ۲۶% of GPs reported bulk-billing all of their patients, up from ۱۲% in ۲۰۲۵.
In November, extra financial bonuses were introduced to practices that bulk-bill all eligible services for all Medicare patients, with those clinics receiving an additional ۱۲.۵% top-up payment split between the practice and the doctor.
But the proportion of people bulk-billed for all GP care remains short of ۲۰۱۹ figures, when the report found it to be ۷۰% of patients.
The report, which also draws on Australian Bureau of Statistics data, found the proportion of Australians delaying GP care due to cost fell from ۸.۸% in ۲۰۲۳-۲۴ to ۷.۷% in ۲۰۲۴–۲۵.
The RACGP president, Dr Michael Wright, said the findings indicate “greater affordability across the healthcare system”.
“For those patients who have a preferred GP, more than two-in-three were always able to see them when needed,” he said. “These are positive outcomes and show that when governments invest in general practice, patients benefit. Funding gets results.”
Dr Luke Slawomirski, a health economist with the Australia Institute, said while the bulk-billing findings were “certainly good news”, it was important to remember the survey represents about ۷% of the GP workforce.
“We should be mindful of possible selection bias and distinguish GPs’ reported experiences from administrative data and measures of patient outcomes,” he said.
Slawomirski said a strong health system depends on more than just affordability and bulk-billing rates, with access, quality of care and patient outcomes also important.
“We should judge the investment by whether people are healthier and receiving better care, rather than how many consultations are bulk-billed,” he said, adding there was still “a sizeable access problem” when one-third of patients were unable to see a GP when they needed to.
Wright agreed, saying “we can’t measure success solely by bulk-billing rates”.
“There is a risk that inequities could emerge between communities if some patients continue facing higher out-of-pocket costs or reduced access to care,” Wright said.
“This means improving affordability by ensuring Medicare patient rebates reflect the real costs of providing care for complex and chronic conditions.”
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While Medicare administrative data shows ۸۱% of GP consultations were bulk-billed in ۲۰۲۵–۲۶, up from ۷۸% the previous year, Slawomirski said these figures differed to those of the RACGP in that Medicare measures the proportion of services bulk-billed, rather than the proportion of patients.
The RACGP is calling for increases to patient Medicare rebates for longer consultations, and for the government to establish an independent primary care pricing authority to ensure Medicare funding reflects the true cost of delivering care.
Slawomirski said reforms needed to “go further” than this.
“As the Strengthening Medicare Taskforce recommended, we need to move away from our heavy reliance on fee-for-service payments towards blended funding models, particularly for people with chronic and complex conditions,” he said.
“We also need to support multidisciplinary teams, which the current payment system discourages. An independent pricing authority could help, but the aim should be to pay for the value of care rather than simply reimburse the cost of providing it.”
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare estimated that potentially preventable hospitalisations cost the economy $۷.۷bn in ۲۰۲۳–۲۴.
“Better primary care could help reduce that burden,” Slawomirski said.
One solution could be to pay GPs more relative to other medical specialists, he said.
“We need more people working in primary care, and a payment system that rewards them for keeping people healthy.”
