AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, DISABILITY AND AGEING
HEALTH INSURANCE ACT 1973
Health Insurance (Medicare Benefits Payable in Respect of Professional Services - Services Rendered under the Commonwealth Medicare Urgent Care Clinics Program – Northern Territory) Direction (No.2) 2026
I, Nigel Murray, Assistant Secretary, MBS Policy and Specialist Programs Branch, Medicare Benefits and Digital Health Division, Health Resourcing Group, delegate for the Minister for Health and Ageing, acting under subsection 19(2) of the Health Insurance Act 1973 (the Act), hereby:
- REPEAL the Health Insurance (Medicare Benefits Payable in Respect of Professional Services - Services Rendered under the Commonwealth Urgent Care Clinic Program – Northern Territory) Direction 2026; and
- DIRECT that Medicare Benefits shall be payable in respect of:
- A professional service (as defined in section 3 of the Act) which has been agreed to be provided:
- under a Schedule to the Federation Funding Agreement executed on 20 June 2023 between the Commonwealth (represented by the Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (ABN: 83 605 426 759) and the Northern Territory (represented by the Chief Minister, Minister for Health (ABN: 84 085 734 992); and
- as part of the Commonwealth Medicare Urgent Care Clinics Program for which items specified in Schedule A of this Direction; and of the general medical services table (means the table prescribed under subsection 4(1) of the Act), the diagnostic imaging services table (means the table prescribed under section 4AA of the Act), or the pathology service table (means the table prescribed under section 4A of the Act) relates: and
- Where the professional service is provided to:
- an eligible person (as defined in section 3 of the Act);
- a patient who is not receiving the service as part of an episode of hospital treatment (as defined in section 121-5 of the Private Health Insurance Act 2007);
- a patient who also is not receiving a service which attracts a payment through Schedule L of the 2026-2031 National Health Reform Agreement for a service rendered to a public patient; and
- The professional services referred to in paragraph (2)(a) must be provided:
- at a practice location specified in Schedule B of this Direction; and
- by a general practitioner, prescribed medical practitioner or participating nurse practitioner who is registered to provide services with Services Australia under the Commonwealth Medicare Urgent Care Clinics Program mentioned in paragraph (2)(a).
- DECLARE that this Direction commences on 1 July 2026 and ceases to have effect at the end of 30 June 2028 unless earlier repealed.
Dated 24 June 2026
Nigel Murray
Assistant Secretary
MBS Policy and Specialist Programs Branch
Medicare Benefits and Digital Health Division
Health Resourcing Group
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
SCHEDULE A
MEDICARE BENEFITS SCHEDULE ITEMS AS AGREED under the Commonwealth Medicare Urgent care clinicS program
For services listed in the below tables, all provisions of the Act and regulations made under the Act, and the National Health Act 1953 and regulations made under the National Health Act 1953, relating to medical services, professional services or items apply.
General Medical Services Table
Group | Group Name | Subgroup | Subgroup Name | Item Number | |
A1 | General practitioner attendances to which no other item applies | 3, 23, 36, 44, 123 | |||
A2 | Other non‑referred attendances to which no other item applies | 1 | Other medical practitioner attendances | 52, 53, 54, 57, 151 | |
A5 | Prolonged attendances to which no other item applies | ||||
A7 | Acupuncture and non‑specialist practitioner items | 2 | Prescribed medical practitioner attendance to which no other item applies | 179, 185, 189, 203, 301 | |
3 | Prescribed medical practitioner prolonged attendances to which no other item applies | 214, 215, 218, 219, 220 | |||
10 | Prescribed Medical Practitioner after‑hours attendances to which no other item applies | 733, 737, 741, 745, 2197 | |||
A22 | General practitioner after-hours attendances to which no other item applies | 5000, 5020, 5040, 5060, 5071 | |||
A23 | Other non‑referred after‑hours attendances to which no other item applies | 5200, 5203, 5207, 5208, 5209 | |||
D1 | Miscellaneous diagnostic procedures and investigations | 6 | Cardiovascular | 11707 | |
T4 | Obstetrics | 16500 | |||
T7 | Regional or field nerve blocks | 18213 | |||
T8 | Surgical operations | 1 | General | 30003, 30006, 30026, 30029, 30032, 30035, 30038, 30042, 30045, 30049, 30052, 30055, 30061, 30064, 30068, 30099, 30207, 30216, 30219 | |
2 | Colorectal | 32147, 32174 | |||
5 | Urological | 36800 | |||
8 | Ear, nose and throat | 41500, 41647, 41659, 41677 | |||
9 | Ophthalmology | 42644, 42650 | |||
14 | Hand or wrist surgery | 46513, 46528, 46531 | |||
15 | Orthopaedic | 47015, 47018, 47024, 47030, 47042, 47057, 47063, 47069, 47301, 47348, 47354, 47361, 47387, 47423, 47444, 47453, 47462, 47466, 47471, 47543, 47561, 47579, 47595, 47637, 47663, 47735, 47904, 47915, 47916 | |||
M1 | Management of bulk-billed services | 1 | Management of general bulk-billed services | 10990, 10991, 10992, 75855, 75856, 75857, 75858 | |
2 | General support service | 75870, 75871, 75872, 75873, 75874, 75875, 75876 | |||
M14 | Nurse practitioners | 1 | Nurse practitioners | 82200, 82205, 82210, 82215, 82216, 82226, 82227 | |
*Note: Claims under any item in Group A7 in the General Medical Services Table may only be exempt from subsection 19(2) of the Act when the services are claimed by a Prescribed Medical Practitioner operating under the Medicare Urgent Care Clinics Program.
Diagnostic Imaging Services Table
Group | Group Name | Subgroup | Subgroup Name | Item Number |
I1 | Ultrasound | 1 | General | 55028, 55032, 55036, 55038, 55048, 55054, 55065, 55066, 55070, 55071, 55076 |
3 | Vascular | 55238, 55244, 55246, 55252, 55274, 55276, 55278 | ||
4 | Urological | 55600 | ||
5 | Obstetric And Gynaecological | 55700, 55704, 55706, 55707, 55712, 55718, 55721 | ||
6 | Musculoskeletal | 55812, 55844, 55848, 55850, 55856, 55858, 55860, 55862, 55864, 55866, 55868, 55870, 55872, 55874, 55876, 55878, 55880, 55882, 55884, 55886, 55888, 55890, 55892, 55894 | ||
7 | Transthoracic Echocardiogram and Stress Echocardiogram | 55126, 55132, 55133, 55141 | ||
I2 | Computed Tomography | 1 | Head | 56001, 56007, 56013, 56016, 56022, 56028, 56030, 56036 |
2 | Neck | 56101, 56107 | ||
3 | Spine | 56220, 56221, 56223, 56226, 56233, 56237 | ||
4 | Chest and upper abdomen | 56301, 56307 | ||
5 | Upper abdomen only | 56401, 56407, 56409, 56412 | ||
6 | Upper abdomen and pelvis | 56501, 56507 | ||
7 | Extremities | 56620, 56622, 56623, 56627, 56629 | ||
8 | Chest, abdomen, pelvis and neck | 56801, 56807 | ||
9 | Brain, chest and upper abdomen | 57001, 57007 | ||
11 | Interventional techniques | 57341 | ||
12 | Spiral angiography | 57357 | ||
I3 | Diagnostic Radiology | 1 | Radiographic Examination Of Extremities | 57506, 57509, 57512, 57515, 57518, 57521, 57522, 57523, 57524, 57527 |
2 | Radiographic Examination Of Shoulder Or Pelvis | 57700, 57703, 57706, 57709, 57712, 57715 | ||
3 | Radiographic Examination Of Head | 57901, 57905, 57907, 57915, 57921, 57924, 57927, 57930, 57933, 57945, 57960, 57963, 57969 | ||
4 | Radiographic Examination Of Spine | 58100, 58103, 58106, 58108, 58109, 58112, 58115 | ||
6 | Radiographic Examination Of Thoracic Region | 58500, 58503, 58509, 58521, 58524, 58527 | ||
7 | Radiographic Examination Of Urinary Tract | 58700 | ||
8 | Radiographic Examination Of Alimentary Tract And Biliary System | 58900, 58903, 58909 | ||
9 | Radiographic Examination For Localisation Of Foreign Bodies | 59103 | ||
10 | Radiographic Examination Of Breasts | 59300, 59302, 59303, 59305, 59314 | ||
12
| Radiographic Examination With Opaque Or Contrast Media | 59751
| ||
I4 | Nuclear Medicine Imaging | 1 | Nuclear medicine- non PET | 61329, 61345, 61357, 61421, 61425, 61473 |
3 | Adjunctive services | 61505 | ||
I5 | Magnetic Resonance Imaging | 1 | Scan Of Head – For Specified Conditions | 63001, 63007 |
2 | Scan Of Head - For Specified Conditions | 63040, 63049, 63058, 63064 | ||
6 | Scan Of Spine - One Region Or Two Contiguous Regions - For Infection or Tumour | 63151 | ||
7 | Scan Of Spine - One Region Or Two Contiguous Regions - For Other Conditions | 63161, 63167, 63173, 63176, 63179, 63182, 63185 | ||
8 | Scan Of Spine - Three Contiguous Regions Or Two Non-Contiguous Regions - For Infection or Tumour | 63201 | ||
9 | Scan Of Spine - Three Contiguous Regions Or Two Non-Contiguous Regions - For Other Conditions | 63219, 63228 | ||
11 | Scan Of Musculoskeletal System - For Tumour, Infection or Osteonecrosis | 63301 | ||
12 | Scan Of Musculoskeletal System - For Joint Derangement | 63322, 63325, 63328, 63331, 63334, 63337, 63340 | ||
19 | Scan Of Body - For Specified Conditions | 63461 | ||
20 | Scans Of Pelvis And Upper Abdomen - For Specified Conditions | 63740 | ||
33 | Scan of Body - Person Under the Age of 16 Years - General Practice Requests | 63507, 63513, 63522 | ||
34 | Scan of Body - Person Over the Age of 16 Years - General Practice Requests
| 63551, 63554, 63557, 63560 | ||
I6 | Management of bulk‑billed services | 64990, 64991, 64992, 64993, 64994, 64995 | ||
Pathology Services Table
Group | Group Name | Item Number |
P9 | Simple basic pathology tests | 73806, 73809, 73813, 73833, 73836 |
P12 | Management of bulk‑billed services | 74990, 74991, 75861, 75862, 75863, 75864 |
SCHEDULE B
APPROVED PRACTICE LOCATIONS AS AGREED UNDER THE FEDERATION FUNDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE NORTHERN TERRITORY GOVERNMENT
Approved primary care locations:
MMM 2 LOCATION | PRACTICE NAME | LEGAL NAME | STREET ADDRESS |
Darwin | Palmerston GP Super Clinic | FCD Health Limited | 8 Osgood Drive, Eaton NT 0820 |
Palmerston | Palmerston Medicare Urgent Care Clinic | FCD Health Limited | 3 Gurd Street, Farrar NT 0830 |