Changes to assignment of Medicare Benefits for Bulk Billing
09 June 2026
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (the department) issued temporary guidelines to support the ‘assignment of benefit’ (AoB) process for telehealth services. Under the temporary arrangements, patients could verbally consent to assign a benefit following their consultation with their doctor.
From 1 July 2026, the use of verbal AoB for telehealth will no longer be available.
An assignment of benefit agreement will need to contain the required information as per subsection 65C(4) of the Health Insurance Amendment (Assignment of Medicare Benefits and Other Measures) Regulations 2025.
Download the factsheet
What are the changes?
When the amendments commence on 1 July 2026:
- Verbal AoB will no longer be available.
- Patients will be able to assign a benefit before (episodic pre-service assignment) or after a service (episodic post-service assignment) is received, so long as patient agreement is made prior to an MBS claim being lodged.
- Practitioners, billing agents, and private health insurers will no longer need to use an ‘approved form’, so long as agreements include the information required for each type of episodic agreement, as set out in subsection 65C(4) of the Health Insurance Amendment (Assignment of Medicare Benefits and Other Measures) Regulations 2025 (the ‘data set’).
- Practitioners will no longer need to sign the agreement.
- An electronic or physical signature will be required from the patient or responsible person on an AoB agreement. A signature must be identifiable, auditable, and compliant with the Electronic Transaction Act 1999.
- Practitioners will be required to keep a copy of the completed AoB agreements for two years and must provide a copy to the patient upon request.
For enquiries or further details regarding the Assignment of Benefit (AoB) project, please reach out to: [email protected]