Weekly roundup of the business of general practice

Appointments through Medibank's online doctor pilot, delivered by its Amplar Health arm, rose 34% from July to August. Eligible members with hospital cover get three virtual GP consults a year at no cost. Medibank is the second insurer after Bupa to fund these consults, which Medicare does not rebate where patient and GP have not met in person in the past 12 months. A practice's patients with hospital cover can now see their insurer's GP online for free.

New South Wales

• Penrith, an accredited medical centre. $75,000. BusinessForSale
• Western Sydney, a medical centre with a dental surgery. $6,200,000 plus stock. SEEK Business
• Albury, an established medical clinic in a DPA and MMM2 area. $375,000. SEEK Business

Victoria

• Rowville, a long-established practice, AGPAL accredited. SEEK Business
• Albert Park, inner Melbourne, a long-established general practice. $370,000 plus stock. SEEK Business
• Melbourne's inner east, an accredited medical centre. $545,000. SEEK Business

Queensland

• Bargara, a family medical centre. BusinessForSale
• Toowoomba, a GP clinic with freehold. SEEK Business
• Hillcrest, in Brisbane's south, a GP practice with the property included. SEEK Business
• Bowen, a medical centre under management in a DPA and MM4 area. $1,500,000. SEEK Business

South Australia

• Elizabeth North, a long-established surgery with a retiring doctor and an established patient list. BusinessForSale

Allied health

• Liverpool, in western Sydney, a dental clinic sold with a medical centre. $1,000,000. BusinessForSale

• Nedlands, WA, Riverside Health, a mixed-billing general practice at Nedlands Square with onsite pathology, opened 30 September 2026. Practice website

The GP openings monitor carries the full index: 34 independent practices and 11 group-operator sites tracked since early August, with confirmed opening dates where practices publish them.

Since 1 October, businesses including general practices may not add a surcharge to debit or credit card payments, and renaming the fee does not avoid the ban. Card networks still charge the practice, a cost one accountant puts at $2,000 to $5,000 per GP a year. Practices may raise fees for everyone or discount cash, provided the full price is shown. A practice that keeps its fees unchanged pays the card cost from its margin.

Ahpra and the National Boards issued interim guidance on 24 September on financial and commercial conflicts of interest. It names businesses that advertise, prescribe and dispense a single medicine or pay hidden incentives to overservice, and its case studies cover GP referrals inside vertically integrated groups. Ahpra can prosecute anyone who incites a practitioner to unprofessional conduct, with fines up to $120,000. Owners and group operators who set referral or incentive terms carry that exposure alongside their doctors.

From 1 November GPs can bill four new phone attendance items, 92033, 92034, 92063 and 92064, to prepare or review a chronic condition management plan. From the same date GPs can bill the Healthy Kids Check for three-year-olds through the existing health assessment items 701 to 707. Practices that load the items into their billing software before the start date can claim from the first day.