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Bulk Billing

If you are a mixed or private billing practice, understanding your bulk billing rate is crucial to determining your current performance and how you can work towards a better business strategy

To navigate to this cabinet, go to Clinic Insights > Past Clinic Metrics > Billings Tab > Bulk billing percentage

The sections included in this article relating to the Bulk Billings calculator are:

Bulk billing snapshot

These metrics show you at a glance the Percentage of Bulk Billing based on:

  • Total bulk billings: This figure shows the proportion that bulk billings make up against all overall billings at the practice by service date, including all custom items and not limited to just MBS or DVA items.
  • MBS items bulk billings: This figure is the percentage of MBS billings by service date that have been bulk billed by Medicare/DVA item number. This metric can be switched between billings dollar amount, items, and invoices by using the 'Bulk billing type' filter.
  • GP NRA items bulk billing: This figure compares the proportion of GP NRA services that were bulk billed to the total number of GP NRA services performed for patients with an active medicare card. The BBPIP incentive is calculated based on this proportion, rewarding practices that bulk bill close to 100% of services in addition to registering on the National Health Services Directory.

TOP TIP! These figures may appear differently because the different items attract different fees and invoices may have more than one item listed.

You could have 50% of your billings, bulk billed- where you had $400 in MBS item bulk billing and GP NRA items bulk-billed $200.

For the $400 of billings, 8 items are billed but only 3 items were bulk-billed would mean 37.5% of your items were bulk-billed. 

Over those $400 billings, if you raised 6 invoices, of which only 1 was bulk-billed, your invoice's bulk-billed percentage would be 16.6%

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Bulk billing analysis

Use the tabs on the page to get a breakdown of your bulk billing data via each category. 

Here you will find key metrics to help you understand your bulk billing data:

  • MBS bulk billing rate by item: This chart is the proportion of MBS billings by service date that have been bulk billed for item numbers that are eligible to be billed to Medicare/DVA, split by item number. 

TOP TIP! Use the "Select Item" filter to review specific MBS Items that your practice routinely does or does not bulk bill. Do you bulk bill your Care Plan reviews? Do you have a policy to privately bill Pregnancy Tests to ensure the consumable costs are covered?

Note: Item numbers with a value of 0% during the date period were either never claimed or were claimed but 100% privately billed.

Note:  These metric can be switched between billings dollar amount, items, and invoices by using the 'Bulk billing type' filter.

  • Percentage of MBS billings bulk billed by Practitioner: This chart is the proportion of MBS billings by service date that have been bulk billed for item numbers that are eligible to be billed to Medicare/DVA, split by Practitioner. 

  • Trend of MBS billings bulk billed: This graph is the proportion of MBS billings by service date that have been bulk billed for item numbers that are eligible to be billed to Medicare/DVA over the selected timeframe vs. the previous period, over time. Utilise the filtering located in the sidebar to specify the time periods you wish to compare, as well as the desired level of granularity.


TOP TIP! Use the filter "Compare to the same range in the last:" to view the Trend of eligible bulk billing by total amount billed over multiple previous periods. 

Use this filter to compare how incentives and budget changes have impacted your bulk billings. 

Bulk billing by eligibility types: These charts show the proportion of eligible billings by service date that have been bulk-billed by MBS/DVA item number, for patients who are eligible for bulk-billing, by eligibility type. Use the filter as shown below to view different eligibility types.

    • MBS billings bulk billed by DVA card- This chart shows the proportion of total billings that have been bulk-billed for patients by DVA card.

    • MBS billings bulk billed by concession card - This chart shows the proportion of total billings that have been bulk-billed for patients by their concession card type.

    • MBS bilings bulk billed by age - This chart shows the proportion of total billings that have been bulk-billed for patients who are 15 years and under and patients who are 16 years or older.



    • MBS billings bulk billed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander status- This chart shows the proportion of total billings that have been bulk-billed for patients who are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.


NOTE: A patient's eligibility type reflects their current eligibility type/status on file.

If a patient previously attracted an incentive payment but shows under the No eligibility group, it may be that their eligibility status has changed since the service was provided.
e.g. a 15 year old at the time of service, but is now 16 years old and meets no other eligibility type at the time of viewing the data.


A patient may fall into multiple bulk billing eligibility categories.

eg. If a patient has a Health Care Card and is 15 years and under, they will be identified in your Bulk Billing by eligibility type in both reports.
Running individual reports by eligibility type, then collating the totals, will result in a patient potentially appearing multiple times, as the reports have been generated independently of each other.

(It will not impact the total (unfiltered) percentage of billings, items, or invoices bulk billed)

    TOP TIP! Use the filters on the page to break down all data and see a list of bulk-billed patients by eligibility type. 

    If you are trying to reduce bulk billing in the practice and move towards more private billing, this metric is a good indication of what is being bulk-billed outside of general bulk billing eligibility (concession cardholder or 15 years and under). Use the filters on the page via eligibility type and select "Others". This will formulate a list of all patients bulk billed under this eligibility. Here you can see exactly what is being bulk billed and determine eligibility. You can track this percentage over time as you move towards mixed/ private billing.

    Refer to our "Private billing opportunity page" to see the opportunity for the practice should bulk billed services be privately billed. 

    • Total bulk billing by payer: This chart represents the percentage of total billings by service date attributed to each type of Payer.


    • List of patients bulk billed: This table details the patients who have been bulk billed by service date in the selected timeframe. You can filter this table by practitioner, bulk billing eligibility or Medicare/DVA item to see how much each patient has been bulk billed. This table may show additional items bulk billed if there are duplicates in the number of items billed, the items billed will only show the unique items and exclude any duplicates.

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    Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program

    Predicted 12.5% BBPIP: This figure shows the predicted BBPIP if the practice has been assessed as universally bulk billing by the federal government. It is calculated as 12.5% of total GP NRA bulk billings for the selected period.

    GP NRA billings bulk billed by practitioner: This chart is the proportion of GP NRA billings by service date that have been bulk billed. To qualify for the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Payment (BBPIP), all practitioners in the practice must be participating in bulk billing for GP Non-referred attendances (GP NRAs). This chart helps identify which practitioners are impacting your practice's eligibility for the BBPIP.

    Trend of GP NRA billings bulk billed: This graph is the proportion of GP NRA billings by service date that have been bulk billed for item numbers that are eligible to be billed to Medicare/DVA over the selected timeframe vs. the previous period, over time. Utilise the filtering located in the sidebar to specify the time periods you wish to compare, as well as the desired level of granularity. This metric only includes those who have a current Medicare card or an expired one.

    Privately billed GP NRA services impacting BBPIP eligibility: This table shows the details of all GP Non-referred attendances that have been privately billed in the chosen date range. If your practice is a bulk billing practice eligible for the Bulk Billing Practice Incentive Program (BBPIP), these services will impact your eligibility. This metric includes all patients, regardless of Medicare card status.

    These metrics and the cabinet is only available to our Best Practice software customers

    Is adopting universal bulk billing right for my practice?

    Assessing whether your practice should adopt a universal bulk billing model can be complex, with many factors to consider. To support this decision, we have analysed the financial implications on your behalf. These metrics provide the key insights needed to make an informed choice.

    For more detailed information, please visit our 2025 Bulk Billing Incentive Changes page.

    Total billings (by service date): This figure represents total billings (inclusive of GST, and based on service date) and how they compare to the same time last year. Click to see billings against target at a daily level, or by individual Practitioner. Billings will include those from inactive or deleted users. Read more about this metric here.

    Billings if adopting universal bulk billing: This figure shows what total billings at the practice would be if the practice switched to a fully bulk billed model. It includes the expanded bulk billing incentive availability, 12.5% BBPIP, and the removal of the private gap for relevant services.

    Total services by medicare card status: This figure represents the proportion of total services, including non-GP NRAservices by medicare card status in the selected period of time. If your practice is considering adopting a universal bulk billing model, this chart can help identify whether your current patient cohort is likely to benefit.

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    Private billing opportunity

    Refer to our "Private billing opportunity page"  to review your potential earnings if you were to privately bill items you bulk-billed and understand the impact of this on your practice billings. 

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    Billing breakdown

    Use this tab for a breakdown of billings via:

    • Billings by Practitioner and Payer: This figure breaks down total billings by each practitioner and who the billing's Payer is. This can be filtered by item number or role using the above filters.
    • Billings by Payer: This figure represents the proportion of total billings attributed to the different types of Payers.
    • List of billings by Payer: This table lists each Practitioner's billings to Medicare, DVA and private billings. If you select a weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly period, you can also see how this compares to the same time last year. Using the dropdown, you can view this table by $'s billed or as a % of total billings.
    • List of patients bulk-billed: This table details the patients who have been bulk-billed in the selected timeframe. You can filter this table by practitioner, bulk-billing eligibility or MBS/DVA item to see how much each patient has been bulk-billed.

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