1 March 2026 MBS updates

Patient end support services

• From 1 March 2026, Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) patient end support (PES) items are being introduced for specialist general practitioners (GPs), prescribed medical practitioners (PMPs) and participating nurse practitioners (NPs).
• Tables listing GP and PMP PES items are provided below.
• PES items are for GPs, PMPs or NPs to provide face-to-face clinical support to a patient during a video consultation with a non-GP specialist or consultant physician. The support provided during these consultations may include physical assessments, helping the patient understand the other specialist, collaborating in care with the other specialist or facilitating clinical handover.
• As PES MBS items are face-to-face with the patient’s primary provider (GP, PMP or NP), these items will also qualify patients for future non-referred telehealth services under the Eligible Telehealth Practitioner Rule (also known as the existing clinical relationship requirement or 12-month rule) with that provider.
• MBS PES services can only be claimed if a private specialist or consultant physician referred to the patient has also billed a relevant MBS video consultation. Providers using the PES items are encouraged to confirm the specialist or consultant physician will also be submitting a claim to the MBS prior to claiming the item. If that specialist is not billing a video attendance, the patient-side provider (eg the GP) should not claim a PES item and instead claim a general attendance or other face-to-face item the patient is eligible for.
• For purposes of selecting the appropriate time-tiered PES items, consultations begin and end on the patient’s presence during the consult with the face-to-face provider but may extend beyond time with the video end provider.
• For more information including example consultations please see the MBS fact sheet: Patient end support services

General practitioners (GPs)

Prescribed medical practitioners (PMPs)

Changes to health assessment items for persons of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent

• From 1 March 2026, item age delineations (currently 0–14, 15–54, and 55+ years) and associated age specific clinical activities will be replaced with general preventive health and assessment activities and guidance.
• Revised item descriptors will include the clinical activities required to bill the items.
• Please see items 715, 228, 92004 and 92011 for updated item descriptors.
• For more information please see MBS fact sheet: Health assessment items for persons of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent

Technical changes to time-tiered MBS health assessment items

• From 1 March 2026, MBS time-tiered health assessments for older persons and people with intellectual disability will be updated to remove clinically outdated screening tests and the specification of disease-specific vaccinations.
• Health assessments for people with intellectual disability will also be updated to better align this assessment with current national screening programs.
• For more information, see the MBS fact sheet: Technical changes to MBS health assessment items

Addition of stuttering, speech sound disorders, cleft lip and/or palate to the eligible disabilities list

• From 1 March 2026, stuttering, speech sound disorders (SSD), and cleft lip and/or palate (cleft conditions) will be added to the list of eligible disabilities for MBS item group M10 – Complex neurodevelopmental disorder and disability services.
• For information on referral requirements for allied health assessments please see explanatory note MN.10.1.
• For information on referral requirements for allied health treatment services, please see explanatory note MN.10.2.
• For a full list of eligible disabilities, please see the MBS fact sheet: Addition of stuttering, speech sound disorders, cleft lip and/or palate to the eligible disabilities list

Amendments to electrocardiogram (ECG) items

• From 1 March 2026, MBS item 11714 (12-lead ECG, trace and clinical note) can be claimed by any medical practitioner including GPs, specialists and consultant physicians.
• Item 11707 (12-lead ECG, trace only) will be claimed when a medical practitioner has undertaken a trace for the purpose of forwarding to a specialist or consultant physician for a formal report.
• For more information, see the MBS fact sheet: Amendments to electrocardiogram items 11707 and 11714

Clarifying MBS items that are hospital-only services – Tranche 2

• Several MBS items for specialist procedural services that should only be provided as hospital treatment and billed at 75% of the schedule fee are still able to be claimed at the 85% benefit.
• In two consultation phases with clinical peak bodies and specialist colleges, items for the removal of the 85% benefit were identified.
  • In phase one, 55 clinical bodies and specialist colleges were consulted. Of the 965 items reviewed, 833 items lost the 85% benefit. The changes were implemented on 1 March 2025.
  • In phase 2, the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (DoHDA) consulted with 60 clinical peak bodies and specialist colleges. Outcomes of the consultation resulted in a list of 129 MBS items that will have the 85% benefit removed. This means the Extended Medicare Safety Net no longer applies to these items. 43 MBS items will have the 75% benefit removed.
• For more information, see the Quick Reference Guide – Clarifying MBS Items that are Hospital Only Services – Tranche 2