The government insists that universal bulk billing is a viable business model. So why is it offering additional grant funding?
The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing is planning to spend more than $14 million on attracting another 30 universal bulk-billing GPs to Canberra’s suburbs, a draft grant document reveals.
It comes just months before new Medicare bulk-billing incentives kick in, a move that DoHDA has predicted will triple the number of universal bulk-billing practices across Australia and bring GP bulk billing up to 90%.
While the $14 million grant is not going toward service delivery, it is intended to “establish a long-term viable bulk-billing business model, underpinned by a sustainable workforce”.
As a closed, non-competitive grant, the only eligible organisation to apply for the funding will be ACT primary health network Capital Health Network.
The PHN will then have the job of commissioning private companies to spend the money.
Worth a total of $14.3 million over three years, the grant itself is split into two activity streams.
Most of the money – $10.5 million – will go toward attracting a provider or providers to establish three new universal bulk-billing GP clinics in the suburbs of Belconnen, Gungahlin, Molonglo, Tuggeranong or Weston Creek.
The grant money can only be used to establish a clinic and attract GPs, not for direct service delivery.
Under the Health Insurance Act 1973 section 19(2), doctors cannot bulk bill when other government funding is already in place for a service.
Related
While Canberra has the second-lowest number of GPs per capita and the lowest bulk-billing rate of any state or territory, The Medical Republic did identify at least three existing GP clinics in Belconnen, Gungahlin and Tuggeranong advertised on Google Maps.
Molonglo and Weston Creek, however, appeared to have just one GP clinic each.
The DoHDA draft grant opportunity estimated that the three new clinics would require 10 GPs each and specifically stated that the commissioned provider would attract these doctors from interstate and overseas.
“The private provider(s) would provide support, such as an initial recruitment and retention bonus, assistance with accommodation or other ancillary supports, to encourage individual GPs move to and work in Canberra,” it said.
“Funding may be used to upskill GPs to obtain additional qualifications and enable them to work to their full scope of practice.”
The intended outcomes include 85% retention of GPs after two years.
The remaining $3.8 million in grant funding is set to go toward securing the future of the Interchange Health Co-op in Tuggeranong “by supporting a private provider to undertake ongoing management and maintain a fully bulk billed model”.
A long-standing Canberra practice, the Interchange was placed into voluntary administration in April 2025 but is still operating.
Booking platform HotDoc lists just one GP as taking appointments at the clinic.
Intended outcomes for this stream included recruiting more GPs, nurses and allied health professionals to the clinic, upskilling existing staff and completing capital works on the site.
It is expected that the grant opportunity will go live before the end of the year.
