MBS telehealth items

Medicare Benefit Schedule (MBS) telehealth (video and phone) items are permanent and available nationally.

Make sure you read the relevant item descriptions, fact sheets and explanatory notes for MBS telehealth services on the MBS Online website.

MBS telehealth items have the same clinical requirements as the corresponding face-to-face consultation items and have the same MBS benefit.

Video services are the preferred approach for substituting a face-to-face consultation. You can provide some services by phone where clinically appropriate. Video and phone services have different MBS item numbers.

You can’t claim telehealth attendance items for services provided to admitted hospital and hospital in-the-home patients, except for some psychiatry MBS telehealth items.

MBS telehealth items can’t be used for email consultations.

Contact us for Medicare provider enquiries.

Chronic Disease Management plans

Chronic Disease Management (CDM) items are for health professionals in general practice to plan and coordinate the health care of patients with chronic or terminal medical conditions.

You can use these attendance items if you’re working in general practice.

Read more about CDM plans and the rules for billing MBS Items for CDM plans and Team Care Arrangements.

Better Access initiative - supporting mental health care

Items under the Better Access initiative support patients to:

• have a Mental Health Treatment Plan (MHTP) created by their usual medical practitioner
• access up to 10 individual psychological treatment services
• access up to 10 group psychological treatment services.

Telehealth items for eligible practitioners

You can use these attendance items if you’re working in general practice.

Telehealth services for family and carer participation

You can use these items to deliver up to 2 Better Access services each calendar year to family or carers of the patient.

Any services delivered using these MBS items count towards the patient’s calendar year allocation for individual services, under Better Access.

Read more about these Better Access requirements on the MBS Online website.

Telehealth items for allied health

You can use these items if you’re an eligible allied health professional.

Group therapy services involving 4 to 10 patients can be delivered by telehealth for:

• psychological therapy with a clinical psychologist
• focussed psychological strategies (FPS) with a psychologist, occupational therapist or social worker.

Your patients must:

• have both a visual and audio link with you
• be in an area within Modified Monash regions 4-7
• be located at least 15 km by road from you at the time of consultation.

You can use these group therapy items if you’re an eligible allied health professional.

Eating disorder treatment and management plans

You can use the following telehealth items for eating disorder treatment and management plans.

Telehealth items for general and medical practitioners

You can use these attendance items if you’re registered with Medicare to provide focussed psychological strategies (FPS).

Telehealth items for psychiatrists and paediatricians

Telehealth items for allied health professionals

Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders and eligible disabilities

MBS telehealth items are available for assessment, diagnosis, creation of a treatment and management plan, and allied health treatment.

Telehealth items for medical practitioners

Telehealth items for allied health professionals

Read more about billing Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders and eligible disabilities.

In-patient psychiatry services

You can use these items if you’re a consultant psychiatrist for the admission and some subsequent consultations with inpatients in private hospitals.

These items are in place temporarily, until 31 October 2026.

Practice nurses

You can use these items if you’re an eligible practice nurse.

There are requirements you must meet to bill these items.

If you perform these services on behalf of a supervising medical practitioner, you can claim these items using the medical practitioner’s provider number.

Participating midwives

You can use these items if you’re an eligible midwife and have provided antenatal and postnatal services to a patient.

There are requirements you must meet to bill these items.

If you perform these services on behalf of a supervising medical practitioner, you can claim these items using the medical practitioner’s provider number.

Find out more about MBS telehealth services on the MBS Online website.

Nurse practitioners

You can use these items if you’re an eligible nurse practitioner.

There are requirements you must meet to bill these items.

Find out more about MBS telehealth services on the MBS Online website.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioners and Aboriginal health workers

You can use these items if you’re an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health practitioner or Aboriginal health worker.

There are requirements you must meet to bill these items.

If you perform these services on behalf of a supervising medical practitioner, you can bill these items using the medical practitioner’s provider number. These items don’t apply for patients admitted to hospital unless noted otherwise.