Cleanbill Blue Report (January 2023)

Between August and December 2022, Cleanbill’s team found, called and listed full information, including pricing information, for every general practitioner (GP) clinic in each of Australia’s capital cities, as well as the entirety of the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. 

Cleanbill has used the aggregate pricing data from the listing of these clinics to publish the 2023 Blue Report, the largest ever survey of Australian general practitioners’ pricing practices.

The 2023 Blue Report surveyed 4,188 GP clinics, estimated to manage around 21,000 GPs, who serve approximately 70% of the Australian population. 

Just 42.7% of these clinics offer bulk billing (no out-of-pocket fee) consultations to all of their patients. Outside of Sydney and Melbourne, fewer than 1 in 3 GP clinics will bulk bill all patients, while in Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory this number approaches 1 in 20.

Average out-of-pocket costs at the 57.3% of GP clinics that do not bulk bill all their patients sit at $40.25 for a standard, 15-minute consultation. This amount is paid by the patient, on top of the $39.75 Medicare rebate already paid to the GP clinic by the Commonwealth Government.

Almost 1 in 10 clinics surveyed nationally were also not taking on new patients, further limiting people’s ability to access primary care in their area.

You can read the full 2023 Blue Report and access the data behind it below.