Fees Policy for
General Practitioner Consultations

Armstrong Street Medical Centre is a private billing clinic. Pensioners and Children under 16 years old attract a $15 discount. All patients will need to finalise their accounts at the time of consultation. If payment is not made on the day of the consultation a $5 late payment administration fee is charged. Payments can be accepted in the form of cash, EFTPOS, MasterCard or Visa. Medicare rebates can be claimed from Medicare into the patient’s bank account if they provide an EFTPOS card at the time of payment.

Mental health consultations, Work Cover, TAC and medical reports, and allied health consultations attract different fees. Some procedures, dressings, vaccines and other items may also incur a separate fee. Please ask at reception for a full explanation in relation to our fees if required.

Patients attending for Work Cover and Transport Accident Claims are charged a private fee. A receipt will be issued so that the patient can claim reimbursement from the employer or the TAC.

Medical examinations and reports for legal, insurance, superannuation, travel, vehicle licences and employment purposes require longer appointments depending on their complexity. The costs of these reports are not covered by Medicare and a private fee will apply. The fee for the report will be determined by the doctor and depend on the complexity and length of time required to complete the report. It is requested that a copy of all of the documentation is provided to the clinic in advance so that the doctor can determine the length of time required to perform the report, the appropriate time to book the assessment and the estimated cost of the report can be provided prior to the appointment being made. The doctor may require pre-payment prior to this being booked at a time suitable for the doctor.

The following is provided as a basic guide to common fees based on the Medicare rebates for consultations with one of our general practitioners as of 1st August 2022.

In-Clinic and Video Telemedicine GP Consultation Fees

Medicare rebates for video telehealth consultations in general apply to patients who have attended the clinic for an in clinic consultation in the past 12 months. GP telehealth consultations are only offered to patients located in Australia at the time of the consultation, and are not available to patients who are overseas or in hospital. The patient must be present for the consultation whether the consultation is a in-clinic or telehealth consultation.

In-Clinic and Video Telehealth GP Consultations Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm

A standard appointment is for 15 minutes. Fees vary with the length of the consultation.

Children under 16 years old and Pensioners attract a $15 discount.

Length	Fee	Medicare Rebate	Out of Pocket Expense
Up to 20 minutes	$96	$39.75	$56.25
20 to 30 minutes	$155	$76.95	$78.05
30 to 40 minutes	$185	$76.95	$108.05
40 to 50 minutes	$260	$113.30	$146.70
50 to 60 minutes	$290	$113.30	$176.70

 

In-Clinic and Video Telehealth GP Consultations Saturdays, before 8am and after 5pm weekdays and after hours

Higher fees apply before 8am and after 5pm Monday to Friday and on weekends and public holidays. Fees vary with the length of the consultation.

Children under 16 years old and Pensioners attract a $15 discount. As an example, for a standard consultation of 15 minutes, the following applies:

Time	Length	Fee	Medicare Rebate	Out of Pocket Expense
Monday to Friday after 6pm [In-Clinic or Video]	Up to 20 minutes	$111	$39.75	$71.25
Saturdays 9am to 1pm, Sundays, Public Holidays and After Hours [In-Clinic or Video]	Up to 20 minutes	$111	$39.75	$71.25
Saturdays after 1pm, Sundays, Public Holidays and After Hours [In-Clinic]	Up to 20 minutes	$135	$51.80	$83.20
Saturdays after 1pm, Sundays, Public Holidays and After Hours [Video]	Up to 20 minutes	$135	$39.75	$95.25

Phone GP Consultation Fees

Medicare rebates for phone consultations apply to patients who have attended the clinic for an in-clinic consultation in the past 12 months.

Please be aware that the Medicare rebate for phone consultations does not increase with the length of the consultation, so that the maximum Medicare rebate for a phone consultation is $39.75. As a consequence, higher out of pocket expenses will incurred for telephone consultations over 20 minutes.

GP phone consultations are only offered to patients located in Australia at the time of the consultation, and are not available to patients who are overseas or in hospital. The patient must be present for the consultation.

A standard appointment is for 15 minutes. Fees vary with the length of the consultation.

A $15 discount applies to children under 16 years old and pensioners.

Length	Fee	Medicare Rebate	Out of Pocket Expense
Up to 20 minutes	$96	$39.75	$56.25
20 to 30 minutes	$155	$39.75	$115.25
30 to 40 minutes	$185	$39.75	$145.25
40 to 50 minutes	$260	$39.75	$220.25
50 to 60 minutes	$290	$39.75	$250.25

In-Clinic Flu Vaccination Appointments

The clinic bulk bills GP consultations on weekdays during dedicated the flu vaccination clinics when the nurse is available to assist the doctor if the following applies: 

• the consultation is only for a flu vaccine, and
• the patient is an existing registered patient of the practice who has attended for a GP consultation at the clinic in the past 2 years and the patient has a current Medicare card. 

New patients or patients without a Medicare card attending for a flu vaccine should note that private fees apply for their GP consultation.

Flu vaccines are provided free by the government for eligible patients. Otherwise, the practice can provide flu vaccinations to patients for a private fee subject to availability. .

 

Cancellation and Missed Appointment Fees for Consultations

It is requested that general practice appointments be cancelled at least two hours prior to the appointment by calling the clinic on 9699 4333. General practice appointments cancelled within two hours, or failure to attend an appointment will incur a cancellation fee of $40 to $80 depending on the length of the consultation booked. Cancellation of appointments before 11 am Monday to Friday and Saturdays are required on the previous working day. This applies to consultations booked by calling reception, or arranged by booking an appointment online on the clinic’s website or on the clinic’s online booking service.

 

Bulk Billed Services

Our regular patients may be eligible for a range of Medicare funded medical assessments. These can be initiated by the patient’s doctor after discussion with the patient. An appointment with the practice nurse will be then arranged for the medical assessment to be performed, after which the patient will attend the doctor. This visit will be bulk billed for eligible Medicare card holders.

Medical assessments covered by this service include:

• GP Management Plan - for patients with chronic disease, in order to arrange a comprehensive written plan of management of the chronic medical condition. Please note for GP Management Plan Reviews a private fee may apply.
• Team Care Arrangement for patients who have had a GP Management Plan put in place and who have complex care needs, and who require other health care providers and allied health workers to be involved in their care. This benefits the patient by allowing them to access Medicare funded allied health support, such as for dietitians, podiatrist, physiotherapists, diabetic educators and exercise physiologists, to assist in the management of chronic disease. Please note for Team Care Arrangement Reviews a private fee may apply.
• Patients aged 75 years old or older are eligible for an annual in depth health assessment, in order to identify early signs of physical and psychological illness, memory and cognitive impairment, and improve the health, independence and quality of life of these patients.