Assignment of benefit (AoB) is the process where a patient agrees for their Medicare benefit to be paid directly to the provider as full payment for the service, meaning the patient has no out-of-pocket cost for that service. 

Changes include:

• Following a 12-month transition period (ending July 2027), verbal consent for AoB will no longer be permitted (including for telehealth).
• An electronic or physical signature will be required from the patient or a responsible person on the AoB agreement. The signature must be identifiable, auditable and compliant with the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 - Federal Register of Legislation.
• Patients will be able to assign a benefit before or after a service is received, so long as the patient agreement is made prior to an MBS claim being lodged.
• Practitioners no longer need to sign the agreement.
• Practitioners will no longer need to use an ‘approved form’, so long as the agreement includes the information required as set out in subsection 65C(4) of the Health Insurance Amendment (Assignment of Medicare Benefits and Other Measures) Regulations 2025 - Federal Register of Legislation.
• Practitioners will be required to keep a copy of the completed AoB agreements for two years and must provide a copy to the patient upon request.

The Department of Health, Disabilities and Ageing have released an FAQ document that provides information about the up-coming changes.

Commencing 1 July 2026, the Department will use the 12-month transition period to explore other regulatory and legislative options to further reduce the administrative burden on both GP practices and patients while ensuring the integrity of Medicare is maintained.

During this period, verbal consent remains available in all settings, enduring assignment is available earlier for eligible groups, and compliance will begin only after regulatory changes are complete, starting with prevention and education. 

Practices and software vendors should continue preparing for long-term workflow and digital changes. 

From 1 July 2026, patients registered with MyMedicare, residents of aged care homes, and patients of Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHO) and Addiction Medicine Services (AMS) will be able to make an enduring assignment of benefit for ongoing GP bulk billed services, either directly or through a person acting on their behalf. Specifically;

• A patient registered with MyMedicare will be able to make one enduring agreement to receive services from all general practitioners at their MyMedicare practice, if offered.
• A patient of an ACCHO or AMS will be able to make an enduring agreement with the ACCHO or AMS, and they will be able to have multiple agreements with multiple ACCHS or AMS.
• A patient living in a residential aged care home will be able to make multiple enduring agreements with different practitioners.

If an enduring agreement is entered into prior to 30 June 2027, it will remain in place for 12 months. Once the agreement is in place, the provider is required to bulk bill the patients (or “assignor”) for any future in-scope services until the agreement is terminated.