What is the “General Practice in Aged Care” Incentive?
This is a FAQ BLOG and you can refer to our General Practice Incentives & How To Get Them blog here.
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Date Updated: 2025-07-07
What is the “General Practice in Aged Care” Incentive?
The “General Practice in Aged Care” Incentive helps elderly individuals in aged care homes receive quality medical care from their usual GPs. By giving incentives, it encourages practices and GPs to visit regularly, plan check-ups, and coordinate care to ensure the residents stay healthy.
Am I eligible?
Practice
As a practice, you can earn the incentive if you are registered in the:
- Organisation Register
- MyMedicare program (with banking details added)
- General Practice in Aged Care Incentive
Responsible Provider or GP
A ‘Responsible Provider’ makes sure that registered patients get the eligible services they need, including services from other health professionals at the practice. To be a ‘Responsible Provider,’ they need to be connected to a patient who is signed up for this program through MyMedicare.
You can be a responsible provider if you are:
- An eligible primary care provider (See Appendix 10.2 at page 19)
- Linked to their eligible practice in the Organisation Register
- Declared as the Responsible Provider of eligible services to the registered patient, including coordinating services provided by the care team
Patient
For practices and providers to be eligible to receive the incentive, patients must:
- Permanently live in a Residential Aged Care Home (RACH), not including respite care
- Register with the MyMedicare program and link to an eligible practice and responsible provider
- Have the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive indicator selected on their MyMedicare profile by their practice
Provider and Practice are responsible for making sure that the patient is eligible for the incentive as part of the patient registration process. Practices will have to:
- Link providers and their MyMedicare-registered patients to their practice
- Add in their bank details
- Select the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive indicator on their patients’ MyMedicare profiles
- Link patients to the Responsible Provider at the practice
How much is the incentive?
Responsible GP: $300 per patient, per year
Practice: $130 per patient, per year
Providers will also be paid for seeing their patients in an aged care home, and practices will be remunerated for managing the care for patients living in an aged care home. The incentive will be given to the registered providers and practices that meet the servicing requirements:
- Quarterly servicing requirements:
- 2 eligible regular services delivered per quarter, each in a separate calendar month
- At least one of the regular visits is provided by the Responsible Provider
- A second visit is provided by the Responsible Provider or another member of the patient’s care team
- 12-month servicing requirements:
- 2 eligible care planning services delivered over a 12-month period, and
- 8 eligible regular services delivered in the 12-month period
What if I work in a rural area?
If your practice is located in MM 4 – 7, then you can provide 4 regular visits per 12-month period by eligible telehealth MBS items if you are unable to attend a face-to-face service. Please note that eligibility for telehealth services will also be assessed based on the location of the practice as recorded in the Organisation Register.
Do I need to bulk bill my services under the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive?
Regular Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS), bulk billing and out of pocket costs can still apply as decided by the practice and in line with existing bulk-billing requirements.
Do I need my patient’s consent to register them to the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive?
It is better to talk to your patient about the benefits of registering for the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive. When patients agree to MyMedicare, they can also agree to join incentive programs.
This is because patients can opt out of the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive anytime. Practices must remove a patient from the program as soon as possible after getting a withdrawal request.
How do I register my patients for the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive?
Under the Organisation Register, practices can register for the General Practice in Aged Care Incentive.
We Can Help You
Here at People Medical Consulting, we have a passion for guiding medical practitioners through their career pathways to Australia. We have extensive experience in assisting medical facilities in recruiting doctors from local and overseas who will best suit their requirements.
We provide Document Assistance for those requiring support for their PESCI with IME, ACRRM or RACGP, registration and all other mandatory AHPRA requirements, fellowship program related forms and letters, application for Medicare provider and prescriber numbers, application for 19AB or 19AA exemptions and preparation of employment documents.
If you want to talk to someone about your pathway or practice management—book a consultation with us below, or if you need Recruitment or Document Assistance, contact us at help@peoplemedical.com.au or click the buttons below. We’d be glad to help you!
Information from this blog has been taken directly from:
- General Practice in Aged Care Incentive – 6 June 2025 – 7 July 2025
- General Practice in Aged Care Incentive program guidelines – 17 June 2025 – 7 July 2025
- General Practice in Aged Care Incentive fact sheet – 10 June 2025 – 7 July 2025
- General Practice in Aged Care Incentive – Frequently asked questions for GPs and practice – 6 November 2024 – 7 July 2025
- MyMedicare Practice Eligibility – 6 June 2025 – 7 July 2025
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