Aleisha Orr
New stats show a third of all WA GP clinics are fully bulk billing
The number of fully bulk billing GP clinics in WA has doubled since the federal government introduced the Bulk Billing Incentive Program.
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Aleisha Orr
Government figures show an additional 30 WA GP clinics have moved to a fully bulk billing model since February, on top of the 88 that did so in the three months after the program was introduced in November 2025.
It takes the total number of clinics signed up to the program in the state to 235 - about a third of WA’s GP clinics. This has bumped the rate of bulk billing in WA above 76%.
WA’s bulk billing rate had been 69.9% in September 2025, ahead of the introduction of the incentive program.
However, the state continues to lag behind others, with the national rate of general practice bulk billing sitting at 81.4%.
Only the ACT, which has historically recorded the lowest bulk billing rates in the country, has a lower rate than WA.
Nationally 1471 previously mixed billing practices have registered as Medicare Bulk Billing Practices, taking the total to 3,819 - that is just under half (49.4%) of all GP clinics.
The government launched he incentive program with the aim of 90% of all GP clinics to be fully bulk billing by 2030.
While the program was designed to improve access to primary care, some GPs have been critical about the rate at which rebates are paid, saying they do not match the cost of delivering services.
On the table for those that sign up is a 12.5% incentive payment. For a clinic to benefit from the new incentives, all GPs at that clinic must take part.
That payment is to be split between the practice and doctors, with 6.25% being given to individual GPs and the other half being paid to the practice. This was a controversial decision for doctors.
The government is counting on clinics signing up to receive incentive payments for a wider variety of patients, but GPs have had to consider whether the incentive payments will boost their income or not.
Federal Health Minister Mark Butler said the latest data was proof the incentive program was working.
"Across the country more and more GP practices are becoming fully bulk billing clinics meaning all patients need is their Medicare card, not their credit card."