Bulk billing and the triple incentive, explained

First, what the bulk billing incentive is

When a GP bulk bills a patient, they accept the Medicare rebate as full payment, so the patient pays nothing. The bulk billing incentive is an extra payment the government adds on top of that rebate, to make bulk billing more financially viable for the practice. It’s a top-up, not the whole fee.

What “triple” meant

From late 2023, the government tripled the size of that incentive, but only for certain patients: children under 16 and Commonwealth concession card holders. The idea was to make it much more worthwhile for practices to keep bulk billing the people most sensitive to out-of-pocket costs. That’s the “triple bulk billing incentive” you may have heard about.

What changed in November 2025

The big shift came on 1 November 2025, when eligibility for the bulk billing incentive was opened up to all Medicare-eligible patients, not just under-16s and concession holders. So the incentive that used to apply to a limited group now applies to anyone a practice chooses to bulk bill.

The practice-level bonus on top

Layered over that is the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program. Practices that bulk bill all their eligible services can opt in and receive an additional 12.5% loading on the Medicare benefits from those services, split evenly between the practice and the GP, and paid through MyMedicare. It’s designed to reward practices that go fully bulk billed.

Why it matters to you

For candidates, it means more practices leaning into bulk billing, which shapes the kinds of roles on offer. For practice owners, it’s a real decision about billing models and revenue. Either way, knowing what the terms mean puts you in a stronger position to make sense of what’s changing.

If you’d like to talk through what these changes mean for your practice or your next move, we’re here, and we’ll keep it plain-English.