Home›Clinicians›Can I Bill Medicare When the Patient or GP Is Overseas?
Can I Bill Medicare When the Patient or GP Is Overseas?
Clear answers for every scenario — with MBS source, telehealth rules, reciprocal agreements, and what to tell your MDO.
Sources — Tier 1, verified from MBS Book July 2026
1. MBS Book July 2026. Explanatory Note GN.3.9 — patient eligibility for Medicare services. Reciprocal Health Care Agreements as at 1 March 2026. Explicit FAQ: "Can I provide remote supervision from overseas?" Available at mbsonline.gov.au
2. Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth). Section 3 — services must be provided in Australia. Section 7 — Reciprocal Health Care Agreements. Available at legislation.gov.au
3. Services Australia. Reciprocal health care agreements — eligibility and how to enrol. servicesaustralia.gov.au ↗
MDO advice: This page covers Medicare billing rules only. Indemnity coverage for overseas clinical activity varies between providers and individual policies — contact your MDO directly before providing any clinical service overseas or to overseas patients.
Disclaimer: Information from MBS Book July 2026 — verify at mbsonline.gov.au. RHCA country list current as at March 2026. Not legal or insurance advice.
Short answer: No, in both directions. The Health Insurance Act 1973 requires both the patient and the practitioner to be in Australia for Medicare benefits to apply. No exceptions for telehealth, phone calls, or "it was just a quick prescription." Source: Health Insurance Act 1973; MBS Book July 2026.
Select your scenario
❌ No — cannot bill Medicare
The rule: The Health Insurance Act 1973 requires the person rendering the service to be in Australia. Your Medicare Provider Number is what links the claim to you as the rendering practitioner — and you are not in Australia.
This applies to all service types — face to face (clearly impossible), video telehealth, phone telehealth, prescription generation, care plan reviews, or any MBS item.
Telehealth items explicitly require the practitioner to be in Australia
There is no exemption for "emergency" contact or "just a prescription"
The patient may also lose access to subsidised PBS prescriptions if no valid MBS service was rendered
Indemnity risk: If you provide clinical advice while overseas and something goes wrong, your Australian indemnity policy may not cover you. Your policy covers you practising as a registered medical practitioner in Australia. Call your MDO before providing any clinical service while overseas — even a brief phone consultation.
What GPs actually do: Arrange coverage from a colleague at the practice. The covering GP can bill using their own provider number — they take clinical responsibility for the consultation.
Source: Health Insurance Act 1973. MBS Book July 2026 — "Can I provide remote supervision from overseas? No. The Health Insurance Act 1973 requires the person rendering the service to be in Australia."
❌ No — cannot bill Medicare
The rule: To receive Medicare benefits, a patient must be permanently resident in Australia and present in Australia at the time the service is rendered. An Australian citizen or Medicare card holder who is temporarily overseas is not eligible for MBS services during that time.
Patient calls from overseas for prescription renewal — not billable
Patient on holiday, requests telehealth with their GP — not billable
Australian expat living overseas contacts their old GP — not billable
Patient in transit at an overseas airport — not billable
Having a valid Australian Medicare card does not confer eligibility for services provided when the patient is not physically in Australia.
Indemnity consideration: Providing clinical advice to a patient overseas — even to your own regular patient — may fall outside the scope of your Australian medical indemnity policy. If the advice leads to harm and the patient claims in an overseas jurisdiction, your Australian MDO may not be able to represent you. Contact your MDO before providing ongoing or clinical advice to patients who are overseas.
What you can do: Provide general health information (not clinical advice). Direct the patient to local healthcare in the country they are in. For urgent situations, direct to emergency services in their location. You may also provide a private fee-paying service, clearly not billed to Medicare — but check your indemnity coverage first.
Source: Health Insurance Act 1973 s3. MBS Book July 2026, GN.3.9 — "to be eligible for Medicare services, a patient must permanently reside in Australia."
❌ No — cannot bill Medicare
Both parties being overseas does not create a Medicare-billable service. Medicare covers services provided in Australia. Neither the GP nor the patient being in Australia means no MBS benefit can be claimed, regardless of their shared location.
There is no provision under the Health Insurance Act 1973 for services rendered outside Australia, even if both parties are Australian citizens or registered practitioners.
Indemnity risk is highest in this scenario. Two Australian doctors meeting overseas and one treating the other, or an Australian GP treating their travelling patient overseas, creates a significant indemnity grey area. Your Australian policy almost certainly does not cover clinical practice overseas. Call your MDO before acting in any clinical capacity while overseas, even for another Australian.
Source: Health Insurance Act 1973. MBS Book July 2026.
⚠️ Depends on their country — check RHCA status
Visitors from 11 countries with a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) with Australia can access MBS services while they are physically in Australia. You can bill Medicare for these patients as you would for any Australian patient.
Important: RHCA patients must enrol in Medicare first (yellow Medicare card) to access MBS services. New Zealand and Irish visitors get public hospital care and PBS medicines only — not MBS services — unless they hold a green Medicare card.
RHCA countries (as at March 2026)
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
Full MBS access
🇧🇪 Belgium
Full MBS access
🇫🇮 Finland
Full MBS access
🇮🇹 Italy
6 months only
🇲🇹 Malta
6 months only
🇳🇱 Netherlands
Full MBS access
🇳🇴 Norway
Full MBS access
🇮🇪 Ireland
Hospital + PBS only*
🇸🇮 Slovenia
Full MBS access
🇸🇪 Sweden
Full MBS access
🇳🇿 New Zealand
Hospital + PBS only*
*Ireland and NZ visitors access MBS only if they hold a green Medicare card. Otherwise hospital and PBS only.
All other countries: visitors are not eligible for Medicare. They should have their own travel insurance or private cover. You can see them as a private patient and charge your private fee.
Source: MBS Book July 2026, GN.3.9. Services Australia — reciprocal health care agreements. Health Insurance Act 1973 s7.
❌ Not PBS-subsidised — private prescription only
A patient who is overseas cannot receive PBS-subsidised medicines for use overseas. The PBS covers medicines dispensed in Australia to patients who are in Australia.
You can write a private prescription — but the patient will pay full private cost wherever they fill it, if the medicine is even available in that country
You cannot bill a telehealth consultation to Medicare if the patient is overseas (see above)
Sending a prescription digitally to a patient overseas does not create a valid PBS claim
Practical advice for patients travelling: Before they leave — ensure adequate supply of regular medications. Electronic prescriptions (eScripts) can be held in a token wallet but dispensed only in Australia. Patients needing medication while overseas should see a local doctor in that country.
Prescribing risk: Prescribing without an adequate consultation is a registration risk regardless of location. Prescribing for a patient overseas without the ability to conduct a proper assessment increases this risk. Consult your MDO if asked to prescribe for patients regularly consulting from overseas.
Source: PBS — medicines dispensed in Australia to eligible patients. MBS Book July 2026.
❌ No — supervisor must be in Australia
This is explicitly addressed in the MBS rules. A GP supervisor overseas cannot provide supervision that allows a registrar or nurse to bill Medicare on their behalf.
The MBS Book states directly: "Can I provide remote supervision from overseas? No. The Health Insurance Act 1973 requires the person rendering the service to be in Australia. As the medical practitioner's Medicare Provider Number is used to claim the service, they are considered to be the person who renders the service."
This applies to:
Practice nurse items billed on behalf of the GP (items 10997, 93201, 93203 etc.)
Registrar consultations where the supervisor's oversight is part of the service
Any item where "supervision" is a descriptor requirement
Solution: Arrange a covering supervisor in Australia before travelling. The covering GP must be physically at or contactable from the practice and available to provide clinical oversight. They bill under their own provider number.
Source: MBS Book July 2026 — explicit FAQ response on overseas remote supervision. Health Insurance Act 1973.
If your patient or practice situation involves overseas — what to do
1
Do not bill Medicare for any overseas scenario
No item number, no telehealth, no exception. The risk of a compliance audit finding outweighs any short-term income.
2
For patients overseas who contact you — provide general information only
Direct to local healthcare. For urgent situations: local emergency services. For medications: local doctor. Avoid specific clinical advice that could create a duty of care claim in an overseas jurisdiction.
3
Call your MDO before any overseas clinical involvement
Especially if providing any advice to an overseas patient, or considering any clinical activity while you are overseas. MDA: 1800 011 255 · Avant: 1800 128 268 · MIPS: 1800 061 888
4
Before you travel — arrange a covering GP
The covering GP takes clinical responsibility and bills under their own provider number. Document the arrangement. This is routine — most practices have a locum or colleague cover arrangement.
5
For overseas visitors in your practice — check RHCA status
Ask at the desk: do they have an Australian Medicare card? If yes — bill normally. If from an RHCA country and no card — they need to enrol at a Services Australia centre first. All others — private fee, no Medicare.