Understanding Medicare: Fundamentals and Compliance Essentials for GPs
On-demand recorded 15 Jul 2026
This webinar will provide an overview of the key principles of Medicare, how the department supports the sustainability of the system, and the legislative obligations of providers.
It will draw on key concepts from the Provider Handbook, and compliance strategy and priorities, including:
- Medicare fundamentals
- the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) (e.g. when benefits are payable, excluded services)
- levels of MBS benefits
- compliance essentials
- compliance strategy and priorities
- where to get help and support
The session is designed primarily for
GPs in training and providers new to the system, although all are welcome to attend, including Practice Managers.
Learning outcomes
- Describe key principles of Medicare, including MBS rules and requirements
-
Outline the legislative obligations of providers when billing the MBS
Facilitator
Dr Tony Bayliss
Chair, RACGP Regulation and Compliance Working Group
Dr Tony Bayliss is a GP practice owner in the outer suburbs of Brisbane who is also a member of the RACGP Queensland Faculty and the RACGP Expert Committee – Funding and Health System Reform. In both of these roles, he has exposure to the medicolegal aspects of General Practice and understands the sensitivities involved in interactions with our various regulators. As a practice owner, he is acutely aware of the regulatory challenges faced by grassroots GPs and welcomes the opportunity to minimise the burdens that GPs experience.
Speakers
Dr Kris Kandasamy
Senior Medical Advisor, Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
Dr Kandasamy graduated from the University of Glasgow in 1991, completed his general practice training and anaesthetic training in the UK prior to arriving in Australia to work in mental health and then obstetrics in 1996 . He was a GP anaesthetist and GP obstetrician in Western Victoria and then a GP in ACT and NSW.
Dr Kandasamy worked in Aboriginal Health Services in Northern Territory and set up a Aboriginal Health Service in Northern NSW in conjunction with local Division of General Practice. He was awarded the Department of Health’s NAIDOC award in 2016 for his contribution to Indigenous Health.
Dr Kandasamy started as a Medical Adviser at Medicare in 2007, and has worked in and has experience in various areas of Medicare compliance.
Dr Michael Wright
RACGP President
MBBS MSC PhD FRACGP GAICD
Dr Michael Wright is a general practitioner, health economist and health services researcher based in Sydney, Australia. He commenced as RACGP President on 21 November 2024.
Michael is also an Associate Professor at the International Centre for Future Health Systems at the University of New South Wales. He combines clinical practice with strategic appointments and academic research analysing the effects of health policy on the quality and performance of primary care.
Michael completed GP registrar training in Queensland and previously worked in London as a GP, where he completed his Masters in Public Health and was also a researcher at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Michael completed his PhD in Health Economics Research and Evaluation (CHERE) at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) in 2019. His PhD investigated the impact of continuity of general practice care on health outcomes, and his research interest including growing the evidence base about the value of high-quality primary care, and health policy research into quality, efficiency and sustainability of heath services.