What's the difference between NewDoc and Hola Health?
Both services can bulk-bill under Medicare, but on very different terms, and the difference decides what you pay. NewDoc bulk-bills every consultation it offers (opening hours are generally 8 am to midnight, 7 days a week) at $0 for eligible cardholders, with your eScript, care plan, referral, or certificate included in the same visit. Hola Health's bulk billing, per its own site, covers only urgent care and script refills between 11 pm and 6:45 am. Every other visit there is private, with consults from $45.
Hola Health also sells per product: instant script from $18.90, medical certificate from $14.90, GP referral from $39, chemist delivery from $5.99. In practical terms, from 8 am to 11 pm NewDoc is the only one of the two bulk-billing your visit. Between 11 pm and midnight both bulk-bill, though Hola Health's cover is limited to urgent care and script refills. After midnight, once NewDoc has closed, Hola Health continues on those two visit types until 6:45 am.
NewDoc vs Hola Health at a glance
NewDoc and Hola Health are both major Australian telehealth services, and both can bulk-bill under Medicare. The difference is when, and for what. NewDoc bulk-bills every consultation it offers within its opening hours (generally 8 am to midnight, 7 days a week), and evenings and weekends cost no extra. Hola Health runs around the clock, but per its own site, its bulk billing is limited to urgent care and script refills between 11 pm and 6:45 am. Every other visit there is private.
For those private visits, Hola Health's prices are public: online doctor consult from $45, instant script from $18.90, medical certificate from $14.90, GP referral from $39, chemist delivery from $5.99.
The table below compares the two services across the dimensions that drive cost and experience. Comparison data verified as at 8 August 2026.
| Dimension | NewDoc | Hola Health |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Bulk-billed Medicare consult | Per-product fee + overnight-only bulk billing |
| Lowest listed price | $0 (Medicare) | From $14.90 (medical certificate) |
| Bulk-billed? | Yes | Overnight only (11 pm to 6:45 am daily, urgent care and script refills); other consultations and service types are private per their site |
| Doctor type | Fellowship-qualified specialist GPs only | AHPRA-registered doctors and practitioners (their wording: 'online doctors or practitioners') |
| Same-day availability | Yes | Yes |
| Mental health care plan | Yes (bulk-billed) | Offered; bulk billing for them not stated on the pages sampled |
| Referrals | Yes (included in consult) | Specialist referral from $39 (separate fee) |
Comparison data verified as at 8 August 2026. Values reflect each provider's lowest publicly listed pricing or stated feature on their own website. Prices and features change. Check Hola Health directly for current information before booking. "Bulk-billed" = no out-of-pocket cost for eligible Medicare cardholders.
When NewDoc fits
If you're Medicare eligible, NewDoc is the cheaper path for any visit booked between 8 am and 11 pm, because Hola Health's bulk billing doesn't start until 11 pm. In the 11 pm to midnight hour both bulk-bill, so cost is the same there if your visit is urgent care or a script refill; for anything else in that hour, Hola Health is still private and NewDoc is not.
NewDoc is the better fit if:
- You want a daytime or evening visit bulk billed. NewDoc bulk-bills right through its opening hours; Hola Health is private from $45 during all of them.
- You want a fellowship-qualified, Australian-trained GP on the call, guaranteed.
- You're managing an ongoing condition. Routine reviews aren't urgent care, so they fall outside Hola Health's bulk-billed window entirely.
- You need a few things at once. One bulk-billed visit covers your script, referral, certificate, or care plan together at $0.
When Hola Health might fit
There are real situations where Hola Health is the sensible choice:
- It's the small hours. If you need urgent care or a script refill after midnight, once NewDoc has closed, Hola Health is open and bulk-bills those visits until 6:45 am for eligible Medicare cardholders (other overnight visit types are private).
- You need exactly one cheap document and would rather pay per item, like a $14.90 medical certificate or an $18.90 script.
- You want your medication delivered. Hola Health lists chemist delivery from $5.99, which NewDoc doesn't offer directly.
- You're already a Hola Health regular and would rather keep your care in one place.
Worked example: a daytime multi-need visit
Say you're Medicare eligible and need three things from one weekday visit: an antidepressant repeat, a mental health care plan, and a psychology referral.
- At NewDoc: $0. One bulk-billed consultation covers all three.
- At Hola Health: a weekday visit sits outside its overnight window, and a care plan isn't urgent care or a script refill, so per its published model the consultation is private from $45, plus any per-product referral fee on top.
The same gap holds at 7 pm on a weekday or on a Sunday afternoon, because those hours are still outside Hola Health's 11 pm to 6:45 am window, while NewDoc bulk-bills right through its opening hours. One more thing worth knowing: mental health telehealth consultations are exempt from the standard 12-month face-to-face Medicare requirement, so more people qualify than for many other visit types.
Verify both before booking
Prices and rules change, so don't just take our word for it. Every claim above was checked against each provider's own website as at 8 August 2026. Before you book, confirm current pricing on NewDoc's pricing page and check Hola Health's own site directly. For a wider comparison across all major Australian online doctor services, see our hub comparison.
Last reviewed 8 August 2026. Editorial policy