Recent legislative changes have simplified recognition of General Practitioners (GPs) as specialists, streamlining access to higher Medicare rebates for your patients. GP access to Medicare will be determined by continued registration status with Ahpra. Medical practitioners who have been awarded fellowship must be registered as a Specialist GP with Ahpra.  

Fellows who do not hold specialist registration with Ahpra

If you have gained fellowship with the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) or the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and are not registered as a specialist with Ahpra, you must apply to update your registration status with Ahpra by 16 April 2021, prior to expiry of the transition period.

Current Fellows of ACRRM and RACGP who do not hold specialist registration with Ahpra and do not complete an application for specialist GP registration in time will lose access to the higher rebates.
 
You can check if you fall into this group by:
  1. Checking your current registration status with Ahpra by clicking here
  2. Type in your surname and first name and click on ‘Search’
  3. If there are multiple entries, scroll until you find your details and click ‘View Details’
  4. Scroll down the page to ‘Registration type’
  5. If you are a fellow of ACRRM or RACGP, you should hold Type: Specialist registration and Specialty: General Practice
  6. If you hold General Registration only, you will have to apply for specialist registration with Ahpra before 16 April 2021 by clicking 'Applying to update my registration status'
If you need assistance to submit your application, please contact Ahpra on 1300 419 495. 

 

GPs who were previously on the Vocational Register

GPs who were previously listed on the Vocational Register and wish to be re-instated and recognised as a GP by Medicare will need to complete an Application for Vocational Registration for General Practitioner form. Forms must be submitted to Services Australia by 30 April 2021. Please note, there will be no opportunity to return to the Vocational Register after 15 June 2021.
 
If you no longer need access to specialist GP Medicare items, or if you are already registered as a specialist GP with Ahpra, no further action is necessary.