Market Research
How the decline of bulk billing is driving demand for private GP home visits
Australia's bulk billing rate fell from 88.9% in 2020-21 to 77.9% in 2024-25 before recovering to 84.1% in the June 2026 quarter. In 2024-25, more than 1 in 5 Australians paid a gap fee for GP visits. Here is what that structural shift means for the private home visit market. Sources listed at the end of this post.
Australia's bulk billing rate declined 11 percentage points in the four years to 2024-25 and then recovered to 84.1% in the June 2026 quarter (Medicare Statistics). Private billing remains common. Australians who already pay a gap at the clinic are a natural audience for a service that charges a private fee to bring the doctor to their home.
Update, October 2026: bulk billing has recovered since the November 2025 incentive. The national GP bulk billing rate was reported at 84.1% for the June 2026 quarter, up almost five percentage points on the same quarter a year earlier (Department of Health, Department of Health). Out-of-pocket costs and availability still vary by practice and patient group, and home visits are a privately billed service that does not depend on the rebate.
The numbers behind the decline
According to Medicare Statistics, Australia's GP bulk billing rate for non-referred consultations stood at 88.9% in 2020-21. By 2024-25 it had fallen to 77.9% — a decline of 11 percentage points in four years. It then recovered to 84.1% in the June 2026 quarter. This occurred despite the federal government tripling bulk billing incentives for children under 16 and concession card holders in 2023, and introducing a new Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program from November 2025, as reported by William Buck. GP practices across Australia have found that accepting the Medicare rebate as full payment is no longer financially sustainable. Access Health and Community, a Melbourne-based practice, notes publicly that government incentive payments “still don't cover the full cost of providing high-quality care.”
What 77.9% actually means
A 77.9% bulk billing rate means that in more than 1 in 5 GP consultations, the patient pays a gap fee. At 6.1 visits per person per year (AIHW), that is a significant number of out-of-pocket payments across the Australian population. Private billing is not an unusual or unfamiliar experience for Australian patients. For many, it is already their routine.
The connection to private home visit demand
The 2020-21 to 2024-25 decline in bulk billing created a population of patients who already pay privately for GP care and who are therefore potential customers for private home visit services. Perth Home GP has operated on exactly this premise since 2020, charging patients upfront with a $150 out-of-pocket cost after the Medicare rebate for a standard 20-minute daytime visit — comparable to the gap fee at a premium private clinic, with the added value of the GP coming to the patient.
What this means for C.A.L.L.S
C.A.L.L.S is a private billing marketplace. GPs set their own fees. Patients pay through the platform and claim their Medicare rebate afterward. The model is financially sustainable because it does not depend on bulk billing economics — it depends on patients who are already comfortable paying privately for GP care, a group that grew as bulk billing fell and that remains substantial even after the 2025-26 recovery. C.A.L.L.S is built for patients who value a GP coming to them and are comfortable paying a private fee.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Australia's current bulk billing rate for GP visits?
77.9% in 2024-25, down from 88.9% in 2020-21 (Medicare Statistics). In 2024-25, more than 1 in 5 Australians paid a gap fee for GP visits before incentives lifted the rate again in 2025-26.
Why is bulk billing declining in Australia?
The Medicare rebate for standard GP consultations has not kept pace with the rising cost of running a GP practice. Many practices have found that accepting the rebate as full payment is no longer financially sustainable.
Keep reading
Daytime GP Home Visits in Australia: The Market, The Demand, The Opportunity →Why No National Service Covers Daytime GP Home Visits in Australia →What Patients Actually Pay for Private GP Home Visits in Australia →The Australian GP Home Visit Market: Size, Growth, and the Daytime Opportunity →Sources
- Medicare Statistics — GP bulk billing rate (2024-25)
- IBISWorld — General Practice Medical Services in Australia (2026)
- AIHW — General practice, allied health and other primary care services (2026)
- William Buck — Understanding potential changes to the Medicare Benefits Schedule (2025)
- Perth Home GP — Daytime GP Home Visits
- Access Health and Community — GP Fees and Payments