We backed GPs on all regulation and compliance matters

We know compliance and regulation is a key concern for our member GPs. Our advocacy is continuing to reduce administrative and regulatory burdens, so you can get on with the job you love.  

• We meet regularly with the Department of Health and Aged Care and the Professional Services Review to raise our members’ concerns, and advocate for appropriate targeting of compliance activities and a more educative approach to compliance.  

• We supported members who received targeted compliance letters questioning their use of MBS item 10997 for practice nurse support. We developed FAQs for members based on advice provided by the Department, and are pushing for greater clarity on ambiguous claiming rules. 

• We continue to advocate for improvements to Ahpra’s process for managing vexatious notifications, which can severely harm the reputation of practitioners. And the Medical Board of Australia now has a triage process to deal with frivolous complaints to reduce the impact on clinicians. 

• We spoke out strongly when sensational allegations of Medicare rorting amounting to $8 billion a year were reported in the media. And celebrated when the final report from the Review of Medicare Integrity and Compliance commissioned by the Minister for Health found no evidence to support the claims. It concluded that the majority of Medicare leakage stems from non-compliance errors rather than deliberate fraud. This was vindication for honest and hardworking GPs who are overwhelmingly doing the right thing. 

• We centralised MBS and compliance education resources on our website so GPs can easily access these from one location. These resources include MBS explanatory notes, education guides, fact sheets, eLearning programs and infographics.