change to fee structure from 1 nov 2025

Our fee structure changed from 1 November 2025:

  • We have ceased routinely offering bulk billed consults to existing patients who are children – instead, a $15 discount applies to our Standard Fees.

  • We have ceased routinely offering discounted fees to patients with a concession card – instead, our Standard Fees apply.

  • We will more strictly apply our policy for WorkCover and TAC patients of charging a gap on fees - this policy (see below) has always existed but some doctors have tended to invoice WorkCover or TAC directly so the patient pays no gap, but this means the doctor receives less money that they would for a Standard consult.

Our Standard Fees have not increased at this time.

Our News Post has including information about the reasons for this change, as well as various circumstances in which our regular patients may be able to access bulk billed care.

fees for gp consultations

The doctors working from North Brighton Medical charge consultation fees as set out below.

STANDARD CONSULTATION FEES

Note: Gap fees are an additional $10 on weekends and public holidays.

DISCOUNTED FEES and bulk billing

A $15 discount applies on WEEKDAYS only for children aged 17 and under.

We do not routinely bulk bill any patients, except:

  • Patients with a DVA gold card (or a DVA white card, where the consult relates to a condition specifically covered by the white card), on weekdays only; and

  • Appointments for vaccinations and injections only, but only when booked in a vaccine clinic with our nurse (which are on weekdays only), and only for existing patients. This also excludes Travel Vaccinations, which require a Travel Medicine appointment.

If you are a regular patient of one our GPs and they usually bulk bill or discount you, please note that the other GPs will not usually do so. Therefore, if you choose to book with another GP, you should expect that you will need to pay a gap. You should also avoid booking on weekends, as even your usual GP will generally charge standard fees to all patients on weekends.

PHONE AND VIDEO CONSULTS

For most appointments, fees for Phone Consults and Video Consults are the same as for a Face-to-Face consult of the same length of time, as per the table above.

6-Minute phone consults

We offer a 6-Minute Phone Consult appointment for existing patients with their regular GP on weekdays only with a very simple issue, such as:

  • for a repeat script of a regular medication you are currently taking, but NOT INCLUDING blood pressure medications (which needs a Face-to-Face appointment for a blood pressure check), painkillers, sleeping tablets, anti-depressant/anxiety medications; or

  • for a repeat referral to a specialist you've already seen, but NOT INCLUDING a referral for mental health or to allied health for Medicare-funded allied health sessions (both of which need a standard consult); or

  • when you've otherwise been advised by the clinic to book this appointment type, for example to discuss simple test results.

6-Minute Phone Consults are usually bulk billed, but:

  • you must have attended the clinic for a Face-to-Face Consult in the past 12 and/or or be registered with our clinic under MyMedicare - otherwise you are not entitled to bulk billing (nor a rebate for private billings for Phone or Video Consults); and

  • a private fee will be charged if you book with a different doctor, if the above criteria do not apply, if additional issues are discussed, for any complex issues, and on weekends.


FEES FOR OTHER APPOINTMENT TYPES

* Bulk billing for these consultation types is only available to patients with a valid Medicare card.

fees for after hours services

Most after hours services are free of charge.

However, if you choose to use the North Brighton Medical after hours service, an out-of-pocket fee of $300 will apply.

See our After Hours page for more details.

late cancellation fee / did not attend fee

You can cancel or reschedule your appointment with at least two hours notice and we will not charge a cancellation fee.

If you cancel your appointment with less than two hours notice, or if you fail to attend your appointment without notice, you will be charged a late cancellation fee of an amount equal to the normal fee for the appointment booked (ie. $103.90 for a standard consult, or $184.90 for a long consult).

For an Aviation Medical appointment (1 hour), you need to provide at least 24 hours notice of a cancellation, or you will be charged a late cancellation fee of up to $165.

On Time Guarantee

We have an On-Time Guarantee for most of our face-to-face GP consultations. Click here for details.

Payment

All fees must be paid immediately following your consultation.

We prefer payment by EFTPOS, Visa or Mastercard. We do not impose any surcharges for card payments made in the clinic or if you call us to give your card details. However, if you pay for a consult using HotDoc/Pin Payments, a processing fee of 1.75% + 30 cents applies.

For hygiene reasons, we prefer not to take cash. You will need to provide exact change if you do wish to pay cash, as we do not maintain a float.

We do not accept cheques.

A $10 Late Payment Fee will be payable if you fail to pay for a consultation within 7 days of the consult. You will not be able to book any further appointments until outstanding fees are paid.

Medicare Rebate

If you have a Medicare card and have nominated your bank account details with Medicare, we can submit your Medicare claim at the time of payment and the Medicare rebate will be deposited into your account, usually within two business days.

Alternatively, we can provide you with an invoice and you can submit your claim with Medicare yourself after the consultation.

If you do not receive your Medicare rebate, please first contact Medicare to check that the address and bank details they have on file for you are correct. If you have done so and you have still not received your rebate, let us know and we will send you a copy of your invoice so can make a manual claim - in doing so, you will be able to update your address and bank details for future rebate claims.

TAC AND WORKCOVER CLAIMS

If your consultation relates to a TAC or WorkCover claim, our normal consultation fees apply as set out above.

Patients with a new injury will need to pay us yourself on the day of the appointment, until such time that they have an accepted TAC or WorkCover claim and they have met excess thresholds. We will provide you with an invoice and you can then need submit a claim for a rebate (ie. with TAC, WorkCover or your employer). You won’t be able to make a Medicare claim, unless TAC/WorkCover don’t accept your claim.

For patients with an accepted claim, you won’t need to pay on the day. However, once we have invoiced TAC or WorkCover and received the amount they will cover, we will invoice you for the gap. If TAC/WorkCover no longer cover the claim, you will need to pay the full amount.

TAC/WorkCover rebates are higher than Medicare rebates, so the amount you are out-of-pocket will be smaller.

invoices

The GPs working from North Brighton Medical are independent sole traders. They each engage North Brighton Medical to provide them with consulting space, reception and billing services, and access to medical equipment and consumables and nursing staff. Invoices for consultations are issued by the relevant GP.

North Brighton Medical issues its own invoices to patients for other fees which are not consultation fees, such as fees for vaccines (when not government funded) and fees for other medical consumables, nursing fees, and administrative fees.

COMPLAINTS ABOUT FEES

If you have a complaint about the fees your doctor has charged you, please refer to our Feedback and Complaints page for details of how to submit a complaint to your doctor. You can also call us, and our reception will pass on your query about the fees to your doctor.

Note that the clinic does not set fees - your doctor does. Therefore, only your doctor can decide to change the fees charged.

why we don’t bulk bill all patients

Medicare funds GP consultations in a way which clearly incentivises quantity over quality.

This is best illustrated by the fact that the same Medicare rebate ($65.75) applies for a consultation that takes 6 minutes as it does for a consultation that takes 19 minutes, even though the latter is more than three times as long.

Most fully bulk billing clinics have appointments that are 10 minutes or shorter, so they can see more patients each day. They often squeeze in additional patients throughout the day, meaning patients regularly wait 30 minutes or more to see their doctor.

If a doctor bulk bills, they will make twice as much money seeing 8 patients in an hour for 7 to 8 minutes each than they will seeing 4 patients an hour for 15 minutes each.

However, our doctors do not think that they can provide proper care to patients in only 7 or 8 minutes – it’s simply not enough time to listen to the patient describe their issues, ask follow up questions, do a thorough examination of them, make a proper diagnosis, discuss the various treatment options and their pros and cons, and answer any final questions the patient has.

Some consultations are less complex, and don’t need a full 15-minute appointment, such as immunisations and requests for repeat prescriptions. For these consults, we are happy to bulk bill, because the Medicare funding is sufficient. Similarly, if you have a chronic condition, Medicare will fund a care plan review for you once every three months, and we can bulk bill these because the Medicare funding is better.

But for standard and long consultations, the Medicare funding is simply not sufficient – we couldn’t afford to pay our rent, insurance, staff and other overheads if we bulk billed everyone all the time while still making sure we allocate sufficient time to each patient.  

Book an appointment ONLINE