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There are 3 payment streams under the Practice Incentives Program (PIP). Each incentive falls under one of these payment streams, with 3 types of payments.
The PIP payment streams are:
- quality stream
- capacity stream
- rural support stream.
The type of payments include any of the following:
- practice payments, made to practices contributing to quality care
- service incentive payments, made to general practitioners (GPs) to recognise and encourage them to provide specified services to individual patients
- rural loading payments, made to practices whose main practice location is outside a capital city or other major metropolitan centre.
Quality stream
Quality stream incentives are designed to support practices and practitioners in improving patient outcomes and delivering best practice care.
The following table shows the payment types and amounts for the Indigenous Health Incentive.
| Payment | Description |
|---|---|
| Sign on payment | This is a once only payment. Practices agree to undertake specified activities to improve the care of their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with a chronic disease or mental disorder. |
| Patient registration payment | This is a payment to practices for each eligible Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patient aged 15 years or over. |
| Outcome payment Tier 1 | A payment to practices that meet the requirements of the Tier 1 Outcome payment within a 12 month assessment period. |
| Outcome payment Tier 2 | A payment to practices for providing a target level of care for a registered patient within a 12 month assessment period. |
To find out more, including payment amounts, read the Indigenous Health Incentive Guidelines.
A payment to practices to undertake continuous quality improvement through the collection and review of practice data.
Amount: $5.00 per Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) capped at $12,500 per quarter.
Find out more about the PIP Quality Improvement Incentive on the Department of Health and Aged Care website.
Capacity stream
Capacity stream incentives aim to enhance the capacity of general practices and practitioners and improve access and health outcomes to patients.
The following table shows the levels and payment amounts for the After Hours Incentive.
| Payment | Description | Payment amount |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1: Participation payment | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 1. This includes having formal arrangements in place to ensure patients have access to care in the complete after hours period. | $1 per SWPE |
| Level 2: Sociable after hours cooperative coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 2. This includes participating in a cooperative arrangement and other formal arrangements. This is to make sure patients have access to care in the sociable and unsociable after hours periods. | $4 per SWPE |
| Level 3: Sociable after hours practice coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 3. This includes providing after hours care directly through the practice and through formal arrangements. | $5.50 per SWPE |
| Level 4: Complete after hours cooperative coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 4. This includes participating in a cooperative arrangement. This makes sure patients have access to care throughout the complete after hours period. | $5.50 per SWPE |
| Level 5: Complete after hours practice coverage | Practices must meet the requirements of Level 5. This includes the practice providing after hours care directly to patients throughout the complete after hours period. | $11 per SWPE |
To find out more, read the After Hours Incentive guidelines.
Practices must meet each of the requirements to qualify for payments through this incentive. To find out more, read the eHealth Incentive guidelines.
Amount: $6.50 per Standardised Whole Patient Equivalent (SWPE) capped at $12,500 per practice per quarter.
Payment to practices for providing teaching sessions to medical students. Practices can claim payment for up to 2 sessions per GP per day.
Payment amount: $200 per session.
To find out more, read the Teaching Payment guidelines.
Rural support stream
Rural support stream payments aim to encourage quality patient care in rural and remote areas.
The following table shows the tiers and payment amounts for the Procedural GP Payment.
| Payment | Description | Payment amount |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who provides at least one procedural service in the 6-month reference period. The service must meet the definition of a procedural service. | $1,000 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
| Tier 2 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who both:
| $2,000 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
| Tier 3 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who both:
| $5,000 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
| Tier 4 | Payment for a GP in a rural or remote practice who both:
| $8,500 per procedural GP per 6-month reference period |
To find out more, read the Procedural General Practitioner Payment guidelines.
Payment for a practice whose main location is outside a metropolitan area, based on the Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Area (RRMA) Classification.
Once all incentive payments are added, the rural loading amount is applied.
The following table shows the RRMA classifications and loading for the Rural Loading Incentive Payment.
| RRMA classification | Loading |
|---|---|
| RRMA 3 | 15% loading |
| RRMA 4 | 20% loading |
| RRMA 5 | 40% loading |
| RRMA 6 | 25% loading |
| RRMA 7 | 50% loading |
To find out more, read the Rural Loading Incentive guidelines.