From 1 July 2026, general practices across Australia will need to adjust how they manage Assignment of Benefit (AoB) for bulk-billed Medicare services. Dr Cory Lei and I wrote more about it here.
When a patient is bulk billed, they assign their Medicare benefit to the provider. That assignment allows the provider to claim the Medicare rebate directly, with the patient paying no out-of-pocket fee for that service.
AoB is not new, however the July 2026 changes have prompted plenty of discussion, particularly around workflow. Practices are trying to work out how to collect patient agreement in a way that is compliant, practical, and not disruptive.
One question I see on social-media is: can a practice use a 6-month pre-service agreement instead of getting a new Assignment of Benefit for each consult?
I’m not a lawyer, but here we go!
What is changing in July?
From July, practices will need a valid Assignment of Benefit before submitting a Medicare claim for a bulk-billed service. That agreement may be obtained before or after the service, depending on the situation.
Pre-service assignment may work well for some workflows, such as online bookings, check-in systems or SMS links before the appointment.
Post-service assignment may still be needed where the service provided differs from what was expected, or where the required details were not known before the consult.
For general practice, this matters because the final service is not always clear at the time of booking. A patient may book for one issue and raise several others. The consultation length may change. The MBS item may change. The patient may see a different doctor. The appointment date may move.
Can 6-month episodic Assignment of Benefit ease workflows?
GPs, clinic owners and practice managers are reviewing the Health Insurance Regulations and asking whether a 6-month pre-service agreement can be used across general practice.
My understanding is that a 6-month episodic pre-assignment can exist, but it is not a blanket authority for “any GP consult over the next 6 months.” The way I read it, the 6-month arrangement is intended for a defined episode of care involving multiple known and scheduled services.
That means the services should be known in advance, scheduled on specified dates, provided by the same medical professional, and described clearly enough for the patient to understand what they are assigning.
That is quite different from ordinary general practice, where consults are often ad hoc and variable.
Where a 6-month Assignment of Benefit might work
A 6-month episodic pre-assignment may make sense where a patient has a predictable series of planned services with the same GP
For example, a structured series of wound reviews, chronic disease reviews, or palliative care reviews where the dates, practitioner, and service type are known in advance.
In those situations, the agreement is not saying: “I assign my Medicare benefits for anything that might happen at this practice over the next 6 months.”
It is saying something closer to: “I assign my Medicare benefits for these listed services, with this doctor, on these dates.”
So… this does not generally work for typical GP consults
A patient may sign something today, but over the next 6 months they might attend for a sore throat, a skin check, a mental health review, a care plan, an urgent issue, or something completely unexpected. They may see different doctors. They may change appointment dates. They may receive a different service from the one originally anticipated.
In those situations, a blanket pre-assignment may not capture the specific service actually provided, the correct practitioner, the correct date, or the correct nature of the service.
So while the 6-month episodic agreement can exist, I do not think it works as a general six-month consent for routine GP consults.
For most practices, it is likely to be useful only in limited, structured situations where the episode of care is already planned and the services are clearly listed.
But there’s hope
With a little under two weeks to go, I am hopeful that an improved situation will prevail. Hopefully, further clarification or a more workable approach will emerge before July, there’s significant behind the scenes work happening.
Watch this space.
