FOI 26-2847 – Medicare Funded Telehealth Services

Written by Claude Haiku 4.5 from the extracted text on 16 May 2026. It can miss or misread redacted and scanned pages. Check the source before relying on it.

This Department of Health response letter explains Medicare's telehealth eligibility requirements under the MBS scheme. Generally, patients must have at least one face-to-face consultation with their GP within 12 months before accessing telehealth services. However, specific exemptions exist for children under 12 months, homeless persons, after-hours urgent care patients, those isolating due to COVID-19 public health orders, patients of Aboriginal Medical Services, people in natural disaster-affected areas, and those accessing specific blood-borne virus, sexual and reproductive health, and GP mental health services. The letter references detailed eligibility criteria available through MBS Online and directs patients to MyMedicare registration and 1800Medicare as alternative pathways to access primary care services.