Cardiff GP clinic switches to full bulk billing under Medicare boost

11 December 2025

newy.com.au – Residents can now visit Cardiff General Practice without paying out-of-pocket fees after the long-running clinic moved to full bulk billing under the Federal Government’s Medicare changes.

The change means patients in Cardiff and surrounding suburbs will only need their Medicare card for standard GP appointments, the practice no longer charging a gap fee, as part of what the federal government describes as the single largest investment in Medicare since its creation more than 40 years ago.

The shift from mixed billing to bulk billing is designed to lower cost barriers for people seeking primary health care locally, the practice now claiming Medicare directly for standard consultations instead of asking patients to pay and then recover part of the fee.

Health Minister Mark Butler said the move at Cardiff was part of an $8.5 billion Medicare package aimed at delivering more bulk billing and more doctors for patients across the country.

“Labor built Medicare, and we are strengthening it for all Australians,” Mr Butler said. “I want everyone in the Lake Macquarie region to know they only need their Medicare card, not their credit card, to receive the health care they need. Delivering on this election commitment lifts up our entire nation and ensures no one is held back, and no one is left behind.”

Under the expanded arrangements, bulk billing incentives are now being paid to GPs at Cardiff General Practice for every patient they bulk bill; previously, these incentives were only available for children under 16 and concession card holders.

Cardiff General Practice is among more than 1,100 GP clinics in New South Wales that the government says have signed up to become Medicare Bulk Billing Practices. The Albanese Government’s plan aims for nine out of 10 GP visits to be bulk billed by 2030, which would lift the number of fully bulk billed practices nationally to about 4,800, around three times the current figure.

Shortland MP Pat Conroy said the Cardiff clinic had moved quickly to take advantage of the expanded incentives.

“I commend the staff at Cardiff General Practice who were quick off the mark to join the Albanese Government’s expanded bulk billing incentive from day one,” Mr Conroy said. “It’s great news for people who need to see their local GP and can now do so without having to worry about the cost of their appointment.”

Mr Conroy said local residents had struggled to find bulk billing doctors in recent years. “After almost a decade of cuts and neglect by the previous Liberal governments, I know it has been hard to find a bulk billing GP in Lake Macquarie” he said. “This is just the start of more GP practices in the Shortland electorate working towards full bulk billing for the benefit of the local community.”

Practice manager Angela Kirkpatrick said “Cardiff General Practice was established in 1978, so we have cared for multiple generations of our local community, and our patients are not just a number to us,” Ms Kirkpatrick said. “We have always tried to consider each patient’s individual situation when billing and we have always bulk billed pensioners and children aged under 16 years.”

She said the practice’s commitment to bulk billing had come at a cost. “Our commitment has seen us lose GPs to private billing practices, and combined with the rising costs of providing these services, that commitment has seen us risk our business to maintain a high bulk billing rate,” she said.

Ms Kirkpatrick said the decision to move to full bulk billing on all Medicare-eligible services would help stabilise the clinic’s finances while strengthening ties with local patients. “We are delighted to be able to offer our patients 100% bulk billing on all Medicare eligible services. It will allow us to reconnect with our community, and the bulk billing incentive will reduce some of the financial strain of just keeping the doors open,” she said.

Mr Conroy said Cardiff General Practice’s decision was an early example of how the expanded incentives were intended to work, with more clinics in the Shortland electorate expected to consider moving to full bulk billing in coming years.