Labor senator suggests doctors taking part in ‘cartel behaviour’ against $8.5 billion Medicare scheme 

A Labor senator has suggested some doctors in tight markets are engaging in “cartel behaviour” by acting together to boycott or hold out on joining the government’s $8.5 billion Medicare scheme.

Michelle Ananda-Rajah — who was a doctor prior to entering Parliament as a Labor Senator — expressed her concerns over the roll out during Wednesday’s Senate estimates.

“I received some anecdotal feedback just on my travels from community members to particular regions where there’s been some pressure on some doctors to not bulk bill,” the Labor senator said.

“This is in, again, areas where there are a few clinics and it’s a little bit like cartel behaviour.”

Health officials, however, defended the roll out and said the Government was intervening where possible to expand Australia’s access to fully bulk billing general practices.

They also claimed the Government’s two-year goal of enrolling 3600 GP clinics had been achieved in just five months.

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Micheal Kidd told the hearing he didn’t have any evidence to validate Senator Ananda-Rajah’s suggestion that doctors were pressuring others not to sign up.

“The answer is no, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not happening,” he said.

“The decision (to sign up to the scheme) are individual decisions. So, individual doctors are deciding whether they’re willing to adopt this incentive.

“Of course, every doctor in a practice is required to come to consensus if the practice is going to sign up to the program.“

Under the scheme, which was the headline 2025 election promise, GPs will receive an incentive payment for every single patient they bulk bill.

Previously, the incentives only applied to children, pensioners or people with concession cards.

The hearing was also told that Northern Territory’s bulk billing rates have soared 13.7 per cent to 89.6 per cent — an increase well above other jurisdictions.

Since the Government’s initiative launched, WA has recorded a 4.6 per cent increase to a 74 per cent bulk billing rate, Victoria’s rate lifted 5.5 per cent to 83.7 per cent and South Australia experienced a 5.9 per cent rise to 80.4 per cent

Both Queensland and New South Wales experienced a boost of 4 per cent to 79.5 per cent and 85.6 per cent retrospectively.

The Australian Capital Territory reported the worst results, with a minor lift of 1.4 per cent to a 54.1 per cent bulk billing rate.

Finance Minister Katy Gallagher said Labor recognised it was a harder market to crack into but said the Government was continuing to roll out urgent care clinics.

It includes two which are expected to open in Gungahlin and South Tuggeranong this month.

When asked why the NT’s bulk billing rates had soared higher than other jurisdictions, health officials said it was due to the incentives offered.

The Department’s Penny Shakespeare explained that the Territory is deemed rural and regional so better premiums are applied for GPs who decide to switch their billing practices.

“Darwin is considered rural-regional, and we have scaled benefits for for rural and remote regional areas, so that means that the payments are higher,” she said.

“We have heard from rural colleagues, whether that’s providers or other service delivery people, that the bulk billing rate in rural, regional, remote areas has gone up a lot.”

The Department’s assistant secretary Mary Warner added that bulk billing rates in all recorded age groups had improved in the last quarter.

In the year to March 2026, Ms Warner said the bulk billing rate for under 16s lifted from 89.8 per cent to 90.8 per cent, while over 65s rose 87.2 per cent to 88.5 per cent.

For the larger 16 to 64 age group, the rate rose from 68.5 per cent to 76.2 per cent.

Concessional rates rose slightly from 91.9 per cent to 92.7 per cent, while non-concession recorded a lift from 62 per cent to 72.5 per cent.