The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (the department) has published their Health Provider Compliance Strategy 2025–30 and Compliance Priorities for 2025.

The departments compliance priorities include:

1. Bulk billing and additional charges

Under the Health Insurance Act 1973, when you bulk bill a service, you agree to accept the Medicare benefit as full payment for the service. You must not charge additional fees for:

• record keeping
• a booking fee to be paid before each service
• an annual administration or registration fee
• any consumables that would be reasonably necessary to perform the service, including bandages and/or dressings.

 2. Duplicate Payments
 

Medicare benefits are only payable where a service has not already been paid for through another government funding arrangement. If you provide a service to a public hospital in-patient, you cannot claim a Medicare benefit for that service.

3. Specialist and consultant physician claiming of attendance items and management plans

4. Claiming MBS benefits while overseas

Section 10 of the Health Insurance Act 1973 requires both the provider and patient to be in Australia for a service to be eligible for Medicare benefits. This applies regardless of whether the services are: 

• personally performed by you 
• performed by a non-medical practitioner supervised by you (supervised services) 
• provided in-person or via telehealth. 

If you are travelling or have travelled overseas: 

• If you provide medical services, including telehealth services, while you or your patient are outside of Australia, you cannot claim MBS benefits. 
• If another health professional provides or supervises a service for your patient while you are overseas, they must use their own provider number for any billing, including under locum arrangements. An MBS claim made under your provider number(s) indicates that you personally performed or supervised the service. 
• Protect your provider number by maintaining good records, closing unused provider numbers and regularly check who can claim on your behalf. 
• You should review any claim history if you have travelled overseas to ensure claims are not made on your behalf. Notify anyone who may process claims on your behalf if you are planning to travel overseas. 
• You should seek relevant advice if you intend to provide privately billed services whilst overseas. 

If you have any further questions regarding the Health Provider Compliance Strategy 2025–30, please contact askMBS@health.gov.au.