Regulators and professional bodies
Who regulates Australian doctors, what their credentials mean, and where they appear on NewDoc.
- AHPRAAustralian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency
- The national agency that registers and regulates Australia's health practitioners on behalf of the National Boards (including the Medical Board of Australia). All NewDoc GPs are AHPRA-registered medical practitioners.
- Source: Ahpra
- Medical Board of Australia
- The National Board that sets registration standards for medical practitioners and works with AHPRA on professional regulation, including codes of conduct, telehealth standards, and continuing professional development requirements.
- Source: Medical Board of Australia
- RACGPRoyal Australian College of General Practitioners
- The professional body that sets standards for general practice in Australia and confers the FRACGP qualification. Australian-trained GPs typically complete RACGP training to become Fellows.
- Source: RACGP
- FRACGPFellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
- A post-graduate qualification awarded by the RACGP after completion of recognised general practice training in Australia. FRACGP is the recognised standard for qualified GPs in Australia and signals an Australian-trained General Practitioner.
- About Dr. Jason Yu FRACGP →Source: RACGP Fellowship pathways
Medicare, billing, and out-of-pocket costs
How Medicare reimburses GP visits, what bulk billing actually means, and the patient-side cost concepts.
- Medicare
- Australia's universal public health insurance scheme. Eligible Australians and permanent residents hold a Medicare card and receive subsidised or fully covered access to GP, hospital, pathology, and imaging services.
- Source: Services Australia: Medicare
- MBSMedicare Benefits Schedule
- The federal government's list of medical services that Medicare subsidises, with a unique item number and rebate amount for each. GP consultations, telehealth consultations, mental health care plans, and chronic disease management plans are all listed by item number on the MBS.
- Source: MBS Online
- Bulk billing
- When a doctor accepts the Medicare rebate as full payment for a consultation, with no out-of-pocket cost to the patient. NewDoc telehealth consultations are bulk billed for eligible Medicare cardholders.
- Bulk billed telehealth →Source: Services Australia: bulk billing
- Gap feeOut-of-pocket cost
- The difference between a doctor's charge and the Medicare rebate for a service, paid by the patient when the doctor does not bulk bill. A bulk billed consultation has no gap fee.
- PBSPharmaceutical Benefits Scheme
- The federal scheme that subsidises the cost of many prescription medications in Australia. PBS-listed medications have a maximum patient co-payment set by the federal government, regardless of where the script is dispensed.
- Source: PBS
Medicare care plans
The structured plans a GP can prepare under Medicare to coordinate care and unlock subsidised allied-health and specialist sessions.
- Mental Health Treatment PlanMHTP
- A care plan a GP can prepare for patients experiencing a mental health condition. An MHTP unlocks Medicare-subsidised psychology sessions and sets out goals and strategies for ongoing mental health care.
- Mental Health Treatment Plan →Source: Services Australia: Mental Health Treatment Plan
- GP Management PlanGPMP
- A Medicare care plan historically prepared by a GP for patients with a chronic medical condition; the plan documents the patient's health needs, treatment goals, and providers involved in their care. Recent Medicare reforms have progressively rolled the GP arm of chronic-disease planning into the GP Chronic Condition Management Plan (GPCCMP).
- GP Management Plan →Source: Services Australia: GP Chronic Condition Management Plan
- Chronic Disease Management PlanCDM Plan
- A broader Medicare arrangement that combines a GP Management Plan with a Team Care Arrangement, for patients with a chronic medical condition who need care from multiple providers. Unlocks Medicare-subsidised allied health services.
- Chronic Disease Management Plan →
- Health assessment
- A structured Medicare-subsidised review available to specific eligible groups, including people aged 75 and over, people with intellectual disability, and certain other categories. Reviews physical, psychological, and social wellbeing and identifies follow-up actions.
- Health assessments →
Prescriptions and medications
How an Australian prescription works, the script formats you may receive, and the medication scheduling system that determines what a GP can or cannot prescribe via telehealth.
- eScriptElectronic prescription
- An electronic prescription delivered as an SMS or email token containing a QR code. Any pharmacy in Australia can scan the token to dispense the medication, so eScripts work with any pharmacy regardless of which GP issued them.
- Repeat prescriptions online →Source: Australian Digital Health Agency: electronic prescriptions
- Repeat prescription
- A prescription for a medication you have been on before, where the GP confirms there has been no change to your health, blood pressure, or current medications and reissues a script. Repeats are commonly issued via telehealth where clinically appropriate.
- Repeat prescriptions online →
- Schedule 4 medicationS4 / Prescription Only Medicine
- Medications that legally require a prescription from a registered medical practitioner. Most antibiotics, antihypertensives, contraceptives, and inhalers are Schedule 4. A telehealth GP can prescribe these where clinically appropriate.
- Schedule 8 medicationS8 / Controlled Drug
- Medications subject to additional controls due to abuse and dependence potential, such as strong opioids and stimulants. State and territory rules generally restrict Schedule 8 prescribing in telehealth, so where clinically appropriate a NewDoc GP will refer to an in-person provider for these.
Services and care levels
The terms that come up when you are deciding where to get care in Australia.
- Telehealth
- Health care delivered remotely by video or telephone. Australian Medicare covers eligible telehealth GP consultations, and a GP can prescribe, refer, and certify entirely via telehealth where clinically appropriate.
- Book a telehealth appointment →
- Medicare Urgent Care ClinicUCC
- A bulk billed walk-in clinic funded under the Strengthening Medicare program, designed for urgent but non-life-threatening problems that need same-day in-person assessment. UCCs are GP-led and operate extended hours.
- Find a Medicare UCC →Source: Department of Health: Medicare Urgent Care Clinics
- Emergency DepartmentED
- The hospital department for life-threatening or severe presentations. Call 000 for any emergency. Wait times in Australian EDs depend on triage category and time of day; live wait times are published by several state health departments.
- Live ED wait times →
- Triage
- The clinical sorting process used in emergency departments to prioritise patients by severity. The Australasian Triage Scale runs from category 1 (immediately life-threatening, seen straight away) to category 5 (less urgent, may wait up to two hours).
- Where to get care
- The decision between an emergency department, a Medicare Urgent Care Clinic, and a bulk billed telehealth GP. Match the level of care to the urgency: ED for life-threatening symptoms, UCC for urgent in-person needs, telehealth for prescriptions, certificates, referrals, and most non-urgent issues.
- Compare ED vs UCC vs telehealth →
Documents and referrals
The paperwork a GP can issue during a telehealth consultation, what each one is used for, and when it expires.
- Medical certificate
- A document a GP can issue confirming a patient's fitness for work, school, or other commitments. Australian medical certificates can be issued via telehealth where the GP has assessed the patient and the issuing is clinically appropriate.
- Medical certificates online →
- Specialist referral
- A GP letter that allows you to claim Medicare rebates for visits to a specialist. Standard GP referrals are valid for 12 months from the first specialist appointment. Telehealth GPs can issue specialist referrals electronically.
- Specialist referrals online →
- Pathology referralBlood test referral
- A GP request that lets you have blood tests or other pathology done at a collection centre. Eligible tests are bulk billed by most major pathology providers under Medicare.
- Blood test referrals online →
- Imaging referral
- A GP request for diagnostic imaging such as X-ray, ultrasound, CT, MRI, or DEXA. Some imaging is bulk billed under Medicare, others may attract an out-of-pocket fee depending on the provider and item.
- Imaging referrals online →
Reviewed by Dr. Jason Yu FRACGP, Chief Medical Officer, NewDoc
Last reviewed 27 April 2026. Editorial policy